A review by raygersh
We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal

3.0

3.5 freed stars
There was so much to enjoy in this novel, but equally as much to make me want to bury my head under a mountain of pillows and not emerge for hours. To be honest, I removed a full star for the length of this book. It felt like such an undertaking and I had to drag myself through it. The number of times Nasir and Zafira had the same thoughts in their heads but refused to voice them drove me mad. I spent 3/4 of the book waiting for them to communicate, only to be utterly disappointed. The problem was not the length in and of itself, just the pacing of events and progression of relationships.

Despite all my griping, I did actually really love pieces of this. The friendship between Zafira and Yasmine was unique and interesting. The reality of the pain of forgiveness was a truth I rarely see braved in a YA novel. The relationships within the zumra were also so fun and there were moments I was giddy with their adventure.

Overall: I liked and enjoyed this book, but it was quite a journey to make it to the end.