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thepretentiouspoet's reviews
104 reviews
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have some very mixed feelings about this book.
For one, I think that it has been marketed incorrectly. The blurb states that it is a book about the Muslim experience post-9/11, and that it centres on one family's response to the outpouring of hate in America directed at Muslims. 9/11 is touched on, and the role of Islam in Shadi's life is a fairly prominent feature, but it is definitely not a story about those things. It is a story of a girl trapped between the death of her brother, her father's ill health, her mother's suffering mental health, and the resentment that has brewed between her and her sister, the strains of a broken friendship, the isolation of being a teenage girl shouldering familial responsibilities among personal and global tragedy, and the isolation of simply being a teenage girl.
I think, as a result of this, the focus in this book was very divided. I didn't know what this was meant to be a story about - flitting between family troubles, friendship troubles, some kind of forbidden romance between Shadi and Ali, a very anti-climatic friendship with Noah, and the occasional themes of Islam and Islamophobia, it was very hard to actually grasp what I as a reader was meant to gain from reading this story. Which is fine - not every book needs to have something to say. But for a book that covered such a range of topics, it was jarring to have the themes be so constantly reprioritised within the narrative - I was so interested to read about Shadi's hatred and love for her father, who she blames for her brother's death and subsequently wishes death upon, but then we would be swept into a chapter in which Shadi and Ali have some meaningless platitude-filled argument over why they should or shouldn't be together.
Shadi as a character was very interesting, and I loved reading about her. The use of lyrical repetition in the writing style was beautiful, and it really aided Shadi's voice. Which is why the inane relationship with Ali annoyed me so much - Shadi is fascinating, and yet she becomes another all-too-malleable female character whenever Ali entered a chapter. If the romance had been cut from this book, it would have been far stronger.
And finally: the book was too short. It covered so many topics with incredible nuance and depth, and yet it stumbles into an ending around the 250-page mark with some cliched kiss-and-make-up scene. Why the story ended there, I do not know. All the situations that I was interested to read more about were left unresolved, and we are left only with an image of Shadi being just another female YA protagonist. It did a massive disservice to the book - if it had been 100 pages longer and able to fully explore the incredibly interesting themes brought up through every character Shadi interacted with that wasn't Ali, then it would have been a masterpiece.
As such, I cannot rate it higher than 4 stars, and I am remiss to even give it that. It was a fantastic book excluding the bizarre ending and really unnecessary romance, and it is so sad that it didn't achieve all the things that it so easily could have. I think it's a great book, but with some obvious caveats to that. Would still recommend, broadly, and will definitely read it again.
For one, I think that it has been marketed incorrectly. The blurb states that it is a book about the Muslim experience post-9/11, and that it centres on one family's response to the outpouring of hate in America directed at Muslims. 9/11 is touched on, and the role of Islam in Shadi's life is a fairly prominent feature, but it is definitely not a story about those things. It is a story of a girl trapped between the death of her brother, her father's ill health, her mother's suffering mental health, and the resentment that has brewed between her and her sister, the strains of a broken friendship, the isolation of being a teenage girl shouldering familial responsibilities among personal and global tragedy, and the isolation of simply being a teenage girl.
I think, as a result of this, the focus in this book was very divided. I didn't know what this was meant to be a story about - flitting between family troubles, friendship troubles, some kind of forbidden romance between Shadi and Ali, a very anti-climatic friendship with Noah, and the occasional themes of Islam and Islamophobia, it was very hard to actually grasp what I as a reader was meant to gain from reading this story. Which is fine - not every book needs to have something to say. But for a book that covered such a range of topics, it was jarring to have the themes be so constantly reprioritised within the narrative - I was so interested to read about Shadi's hatred and love for her father, who she blames for her brother's death and subsequently wishes death upon, but then we would be swept into a chapter in which Shadi and Ali have some meaningless platitude-filled argument over why they should or shouldn't be together.
Shadi as a character was very interesting, and I loved reading about her. The use of lyrical repetition in the writing style was beautiful, and it really aided Shadi's voice. Which is why the inane relationship with Ali annoyed me so much - Shadi is fascinating, and yet she becomes another all-too-malleable female character whenever Ali entered a chapter. If the romance had been cut from this book, it would have been far stronger.
And finally: the book was too short. It covered so many topics with incredible nuance and depth, and yet it stumbles into an ending around the 250-page mark with some cliched kiss-and-make-up scene. Why the story ended there, I do not know. All the situations that I was interested to read more about were left unresolved, and we are left only with an image of Shadi being just another female YA protagonist. It did a massive disservice to the book - if it had been 100 pages longer and able to fully explore the incredibly interesting themes brought up through every character Shadi interacted with that wasn't Ali, then it would have been a masterpiece.
As such, I cannot rate it higher than 4 stars, and I am remiss to even give it that. It was a fantastic book excluding the bizarre ending and really unnecessary romance, and it is so sad that it didn't achieve all the things that it so easily could have. I think it's a great book, but with some obvious caveats to that. Would still recommend, broadly, and will definitely read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Self harm, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Hate crime
Common Bonds: An Aromantic Speculative Anthology by C.T. Callahan, B.R. Sanders, Claudie Arseneault, RoAnna Sylver
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This anthology was everything that I wanted it to be.
Full of warmth, laughter, intensity and love, this collection of 19 short stories and poems explores every type of valuable relationship that doesn't hinge on romantic attraction and shows the impacts that they can have on someone. From sibling dynamics, arch-rivals, and queerplatonic lovers, to parental bonds, mentor-mentee dynamics, pack bonding, best friends, and everything else in between, this truly filled every facet of love and affection with so much care. While not every story explicitly used the word "aromantic", the decentering of romance from every one of these pieces gave them the ability to explore human connections with so much more compassion and complexity.
There were a few stories in here that I don't feel I understood and so couldn't appreciate fully, but that was only three out of nineteen, and even then I often appreciated the quality of the writing and story craft. Every other piece brought something beautiful to the realm of aromantic stories. Some of them brought me to the verge of tears; others made me laugh out loud. Two of them (Would You Like Charms With That?, and Half A Heart) made me sit in contemplative silence after reading because they had touched me in such a deep place that I couldn't immediately collect my thoughts about them.
In particular, I appreciated Moon Sisters, Shift, and A Full Deck for the ways in which they took well-known supernatural story elements (werewolves in the first two and demon-hunting in the latter) and made aromantic and asexual identities a core part of the tropes. It really felt that the identities of the characters were a necessary part of the story, and I really admired how the writers had been able to tie the representation into the plot in that way.
My personal favourites (if I can cull from a batch of superlative work) were Moon Sisters, Cinder, Not Quite True Love, Would You Like Charms With That?, A Full Deck, Half A Heart, Discography, and Seams of Iron.
I cannot recommend this collection enough to anyone on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrums, or simply those who want more stories that focus on love that isn't romantic. There is something for everyone in this collection, and especially if you have an inclination towards fantasy and sci-fi stories - which I personally don't, and even then, I was so drawn into the stories that it didn't matter. I love this anthology. It will be a comfort read for me for years to come.
Full of warmth, laughter, intensity and love, this collection of 19 short stories and poems explores every type of valuable relationship that doesn't hinge on romantic attraction and shows the impacts that they can have on someone. From sibling dynamics, arch-rivals, and queerplatonic lovers, to parental bonds, mentor-mentee dynamics, pack bonding, best friends, and everything else in between, this truly filled every facet of love and affection with so much care. While not every story explicitly used the word "aromantic", the decentering of romance from every one of these pieces gave them the ability to explore human connections with so much more compassion and complexity.
There were a few stories in here that I don't feel I understood and so couldn't appreciate fully, but that was only three out of nineteen, and even then I often appreciated the quality of the writing and story craft. Every other piece brought something beautiful to the realm of aromantic stories. Some of them brought me to the verge of tears; others made me laugh out loud. Two of them (Would You Like Charms With That?, and Half A Heart) made me sit in contemplative silence after reading because they had touched me in such a deep place that I couldn't immediately collect my thoughts about them.
In particular, I appreciated Moon Sisters, Shift, and A Full Deck for the ways in which they took well-known supernatural story elements (werewolves in the first two and demon-hunting in the latter) and made aromantic and asexual identities a core part of the tropes. It really felt that the identities of the characters were a necessary part of the story, and I really admired how the writers had been able to tie the representation into the plot in that way.
My personal favourites (if I can cull from a batch of superlative work) were Moon Sisters, Cinder, Not Quite True Love, Would You Like Charms With That?, A Full Deck, Half A Heart, Discography, and Seams of Iron.
I cannot recommend this collection enough to anyone on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrums, or simply those who want more stories that focus on love that isn't romantic. There is something for everyone in this collection, and especially if you have an inclination towards fantasy and sci-fi stories - which I personally don't, and even then, I was so drawn into the stories that it didn't matter. I love this anthology. It will be a comfort read for me for years to come.
A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann
2.75
I had quibbles with the quality of the plotting, character development, and writing as a whole, but I feel like I can't bash this book too badly simply because of the valuable representation that it offers to drastically underrepresented communities. I didn't like it, but I wouldn't want to put someone else off reading it because it might be the book that gives them an epiphany of self-acceptance like other asexual stories have done for me. It's a shame that "bad" (in my opinion) books like this get pushed hard simply because they offer representation in a very narrow market, but until there are enough stories about asexual people to go around, it will continue to be the most important book that some people have ever read - and who am I to say that they're wrong?