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annabel_rhodes 's review for:
A Good Country
by Laleh Khadivi
I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I actually did. It definitely explored some interesting and important ideas, and I definitely gained a deeper understanding of certain issues, however, I just didn't find myself reaching for this book, especially throughout the middle section. My main problem was with the pacing. I went into this book thinking I would be reading about a teen slowly and subtly being groomed into a terrorist group, that by the end of the book I would fully understand and almost empathise with the characters decisions. Instead, it felt like Rez went from hating Islam to being a fanatic within a couple of pages, and I didn't really understand his sudden switch at all. I understand that it was probably meant to have resulted from a build-up of small events throughout the book, however, this really didn't come through in the writing. (in a way I was weirdly reminded of reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes). This definitely wasn't a bad book by any means, it just didn't live up to my expectations.