A review by claudiaswords
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 [I got to read this book ahead of its publication because I was provided an arc copy through NetGalley]
This book is a bit complex to review because as much as its characters may be fictional, the things that happen to them, the events that take place in its pages, are incredibly real. This book packs a punch, it is not long, but every single page of it is important. Every single page made me think about how lucky I am to have the life I have. 
This book deals with a family that has to flee their home country (Afghanistan) and their arduous journey to Australia, where they hope to find a new home. It depicts the horrors of being a migrant, the difficulty and dangerousness of the trip but also what happens once you reach the place you struggled so much to get to. 
There were many things in this book that were difficult to read, for me the hardest were the chapters in the detention camp, but like I said before, they are difficult to read because they are very real, and that makes it important for them to be read and known. I think, aside from the realness of this story, the thing that made my heart break the most was seeing the innocence leave Firuzeh and Nour little by little, hardship by hardship, but see them still fight, still hope. Because, after all, I think this book is also about that, about growing up and not believing in the stories of your childhood anymore but eventually realizing you need them to endure the injustices of life. 
I really appreciated the chapters that changed perspectives, seeing how many people cared or at least thought of this family who seemed to be so alone against the world. E. Lily Yu's prose is enchanting and captivating (in some ways - the best ways- it reminded me of Helen Oyeyemi's), her characters are so real it made me think this was a true story. Firuzeh and Nour and Nasima and Abay and Atay and everyone else in this book are fictional but sadly there are many people in the world with stories too similar to theirs. 
I think everyone should read this book, more so if you think it is easy being a migrant, or that the reason they come to your country is to steal your job or live off of your help. I think if you read this story and your heart doesn't break even the slightest bit for the real people behind it then that is because you don't have a heart and so it could never break. 
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