A review by thepurplepixel
The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi

5.0

This is not a feel-good romance and is much grittier than I imagined. That said, I appreciated the depth and care with which Abawi presented faith and the manipulation of it. She brings to light the horrors of the cycle of violence, and does not muddy it with naive optimism that everything will work out perfectly just because one wishes it. The book is well-written. Choosing to have chapters from the perspective of Fatima, Sami, and the antagonist showcase the humanity of each and make the tragedies within the plot all the more keen. I found the novel suspenseful and I had to finish it in one sitting. This book gave more to me than I thought it would, and it helped me refine some thoughts. As such, it deserves a full five stars.

Content Warnings: verbal, physical, and s*xual violence (including towards children). Despite the protagonists being teenagers, I don’t know that I would give this to any but older high school students at the earliest.