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A review by ceebee86
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is the love letter to Syria.
I read this for an AAPI month challenge and I'm so glad I powdered through--not because it was hard for me to be interested, but because the subject matter is quite intense. Yet at the same time it is so wistful and gorgeous. I was extremely stressed reading it, and I was praying so desperately for good things to happen.
I read a lot of stories with romance but this is the first I've read in a long time where I really genuinely felt love between the two characters coming through the pages.
I thought it was beautiful the way the story is dotted with "what ifs". They were so melancholic and dreamy to read. And though this is about Syria, I do think the themes and stories of the plight of the refugee transcends time and history.
The twist near the end part of the book stunned me. It was set up artfully and I felt myself react quite strongly, as if I was there experiencing the same shock.
Gorgeous book, if you can stomach the content.
I read this for an AAPI month challenge and I'm so glad I powdered through--not because it was hard for me to be interested, but because the subject matter is quite intense. Yet at the same time it is so wistful and gorgeous. I was extremely stressed reading it, and I was praying so desperately for good things to happen.
I read a lot of stories with romance but this is the first I've read in a long time where I really genuinely felt love between the two characters coming through the pages.
I thought it was beautiful the way the story is dotted with "what ifs". They were so melancholic and dreamy to read. And though this is about Syria, I do think the themes and stories of the plight of the refugee transcends time and history.
The twist near the end part of the book stunned me. It was set up artfully and I felt myself react quite strongly, as if I was there experiencing the same shock.
Gorgeous book, if you can stomach the content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Child abuse, Blood, War, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Genocide
Moderate: Eating disorder and Pregnancy