A review by rayne_1906
How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Audiobook - 3 hours - This book was enjoyable enough, but I can't help but feel a lot of it was unnecessary. There was too much 'filler' for me, as a lot of the parts describing his time in Rome just felt there for the sake of it, and didn't further the plot, or my understanding of the characters at all. I also thought the parts in the interrogation room felt incredibly unrealistic - there's no way anyone would speak that way to someone questioning them, especially not when they'd been targeted based on islamophobia. Overall, I suppose I felt this book felt conflicted between trying to be serious and trying to be lighthearted and fun, and fell awkwardly in the middle instead. That being said, as a light read, it held my attention well enough, and was a decent read.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings