A review by zinelib
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

challenging sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I do read the occasional book written for adults, and sometimes I get through them and even like them! Ellie and Homa meet at children after Ellie's father dies and her and her mother's circumstances are reduced. Ellie's mom is a snob, but Ellie is all-in on hopscotch and even skipping school for an afternoon in the marketplace with Homa. Despite Homa being with Ellie at the top of their class, Ellie's mother is more concerned with appearances. Homa is not just poor, she's the daughter of a communist. In mid-20th century Iran, that wasn't the safest choice (not that there was a safe choice that didn't involve totalitarian bigotry). We follow the two girls as they are reunited and separated again and as they become women, experiencing love and loss.

One of them is more obviously a lion woman, but the title of this book is lion women. There are different ways of fighting, surviving, and helping others to thrive. 

Quotes

I loved being with Homa, but often felt less-than around her and as though I had to match her smarts, her strength, her ambitions. 
Yet, as I danced with Mehrdad, I realized that with Mehrdad I felt like I was enough.

We stood there, our heads touching. What she said was absurd. The world was vast and broken and filled with strife. The world was chaotic and owned by men. Not by us. 

and

That's how losses of rights build. They start small. And then soon, the rights are stripped in droves.