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A review by bookedupandbusy
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
5.0
This book deserves all the stars and more. I went in blind and was amazed by the rawness and deep emotion of the story. I think you should go in blind too. So I won’t discuss the characters/storyline & plot too much and focus more on how the story made me feel.
Set in Syria, this is 19 year old Salama’s story. She is a pharmacist working at the hospital saving those affected by the Syrian Revolution. She is selfless and I regularly forgot that she was 19 years old carrying the weight of the victim’s suffering on her shoulders.
The story is about the human emotion behind the Syrian conflict. It is beautiful but also terribly horrifying.
The book is classed as young adult, however this is subjective. I personally struggled to read some parts because the writing is so well done, that the imagery was so vivid in my head that I could not cope with some parts. I just kept seeing the videos and photos from news reports years ago with Syrian children in hospitals.
I am thankful for this story for the awareness of the Syrian revolution and not shying away from the realities of war on young adults and children, which I find some authors tend to desensitise for obvious reasons.
The highlight of the story for me was Kenan and Salama’s relationship. Their love is awkward and innocent but showed strength amidst the tragedy. They needed each other to survive and I believe their love was written in fate.
PTSD is a major theme throughout but it is explored in an interesting way which may also shock you.
Set in Syria, this is 19 year old Salama’s story. She is a pharmacist working at the hospital saving those affected by the Syrian Revolution. She is selfless and I regularly forgot that she was 19 years old carrying the weight of the victim’s suffering on her shoulders.
The story is about the human emotion behind the Syrian conflict. It is beautiful but also terribly horrifying.
The book is classed as young adult, however this is subjective. I personally struggled to read some parts because the writing is so well done, that the imagery was so vivid in my head that I could not cope with some parts. I just kept seeing the videos and photos from news reports years ago with Syrian children in hospitals.
I am thankful for this story for the awareness of the Syrian revolution and not shying away from the realities of war on young adults and children, which I find some authors tend to desensitise for obvious reasons.
The highlight of the story for me was Kenan and Salama’s relationship. Their love is awkward and innocent but showed strength amidst the tragedy. They needed each other to survive and I believe their love was written in fate.
PTSD is a major theme throughout but it is explored in an interesting way which may also shock you.