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A review by bluehairedlibrarian
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a tough book to read. Two Middle Eastern teenagers - one who was taken to the states after an earthquake destroyed her village in Pakistan and another, who is the son of Middle Eastern immigrants - survive life in their small, California desert town by relying on each other. Or at least they did until a massive fight pulled them apart. Now they're trying to deal with their problems on their own, and having a hard time doing it.
This book deals with so many hard issues - parental death, the lack of society safety nets, medical debt, physical familial abuse, drug use, and drug dealing. It's honestly a lot to pack into one story, but it works due to Tahir's use of language. The language is often beautiful enough to dull a little of the pain of living alongside these characters. As the two teens become friends again and everything goes even worse for them, it feels a little forced, but I enjoyed the flash forward and the promise of a relatively happy ending for these two.
This book deals with so many hard issues - parental death, the lack of society safety nets, medical debt, physical familial abuse, drug use, and drug dealing. It's honestly a lot to pack into one story, but it works due to Tahir's use of language. The language is often beautiful enough to dull a little of the pain of living alongside these characters. As the two teens become friends again and everything goes even worse for them, it feels a little forced, but I enjoyed the flash forward and the promise of a relatively happy ending for these two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, and Death of parent