A review by sunnymashi
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

MESSY REVIEW BELOW!!!
Mixed emotions. Certain spots in the book felt quite impactful while other spots dragged. like Stephen’s death scene literally pained me… it was so devastating to read.
Everyone was flawed, which was a great touch of depth to all the characters. The best characters were probably the supportive older figures of Tara, Jimmy, and Stephen. Their influences brought light to the novel with their perspectives… Speaking of characters I admired how clearly separated the different points of view are. You could tell which character was which easily, which is a sign of decent characterization so I applaud that. BUTTTT I do have to say that Art’s dialogue at times sometimes felt a bit… preachy? Like I do get the intention but the execution was slightly off sometimes. The drama was so… deep?
While I get why Reza felt like he had to date Judy to try to be straight… I first off felt bad because it felt so deceitful in general but then the added layer of Judy getting so excited made me feel even worse. Also the friendship breakup was so complex it made sense but it also was frustrating??
  ALSO I DID NOT EXPECT TO SEE JUDY GET IT ON WITH SAADI??! THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING. i was so confused and flabbergasted that that happened.
I wish the story didn’t use the f slur so much… It was uncomfortable to constantly read it
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