This book is too unclear and vague for its own good. I shouldn’t be 200 pages in and still have little idea as to what is going on. I can’t build any connections with the characters as they are hardly described or not described in enough depth for me to care or sympathise with them. I’m still not even sure why Jane is throwing her life away like this as we’ve been given no reason for her to do so.

The themes are not explored in enough depth either for me to at least say that the book has some thematic depth, because so far they’ve been added as throwaway mentions and take the wrong approach. Living off the grid won’t solve climate change and while individual responsibility is still important, climate change related issues can be solved by targeting corporate entities who violate environmental regulations etc. It sends the wrong message.

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

God this book is incredible.

The writing is soooo immersive, beautiful and absolutely devastating. I've never been to Syria, nor do I know a lot about it, but Katouh's writing made it so easy to picture exactly what it's like and the feelings captured within Homs. The absolute devestation war and terror has inflicted upon Salama's people and her homelands. The love they have for Syria and how terrified they are to leave her.

Next we have Khawf, which is honestly one of the best techniques I've seen in a book in a long time. Having a person represent Salama's anxiety and PTSD is so clever, and beats having just general descriptions of what a character is feeling any day. The confusion, second guessing and constant war she was at with herself via Khawf's existence was so immersive and made me sob for her.

And without spoilers....THAT FUCKING PLOT TWIST!!!!!! I was left in shock for a while. I had to reread those lines over and over. It makes me want to reread the book just to see if there were any signs pointing to it. Absolutely jawdropping.

There's more I can say about this book, but honestly I'd recommend reading rather than anyone hearing me talk about it. It's so amazing, easily the best thing I've read this year so far. As always check content warnings beforehand though as there is a lot of potentially triggering content in this book.

Content Warnings

Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

Screen Time: How to make peace with your devices and find your techquilibrium by Becca Caddy

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Did not finish book.

This hasn't really been teaching me anything new that I haven't heard a thousand times already ... thought it would be a bit more insightful. I feel like it's also targeted at an older age demographic than what I am.

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solaria's reviews 43 reviews

solaria's reviews
43 reviews