williamgideon 's review for:

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak

4.5

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I really love Elif Shafak. Her writing, storytelling and ability to craft complex and loveable characters is just spectacular. I loved every minute of reading this book. I was never bored, which is very rare for me lol. It was just so interesting, the setting and all the characters. Leilas friend group was so amazing. It kind of reminded me of the show Pose in the way it handled the found family trope alongside grief and opression. This is a really amazing book and the second best book of Shafak's that I've read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia

Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy