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rrickman33's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
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
5.0
ewalkergrace's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Mental illness and Alcohol
Minor: Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Body shaming, and Islamophobia
bookmarking's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
erosencrantz's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cloudkurona's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tbretc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
diabianca's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
anniesher23's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really wanted to like this one. I love the idea of a book about 20-something female friendships, which is how this was marketed. The overall message was definitely how important female friendships are, but you don’t actually see the characters’ friendships for the vast majority of the book.
All of this could be okay, but the writing was just really not good. The dialogue felt like watching a bad teen Netflix drama and the prose could get cringey as well.
There were parts of the story/certain relationships that I really loved, but I wanted more from the author even in those parts.
Finally, I didn’t love how men were depicted generally. It’s not my place to criticize how an Arab woman depicts Arab men. It made me a bit uncomfortable that all the Arab men were various levels of shitty people, but I recognize it’s the author’s choice to depict misogyny in her own culture and that’s completely fair. But then why were the white men SO GREAT? Go ahead and write a story where one of the themes is misogyny in your own culture, but why pretend it doesn’t exist in others? It felt very unbalanced and unrealistic.
All of this could be okay, but the writing was just really not good. The dialogue felt like watching a bad teen Netflix drama and the prose could get cringey as well.
There were parts of the story/certain relationships that I really loved, but I wanted more from the author even in those parts.
Finally, I didn’t love how men were depicted generally. It’s not my place to criticize how an Arab woman depicts Arab men. It made me a bit uncomfortable that all the Arab men were various levels of shitty people, but I recognize it’s the author’s choice to depict misogyny in her own culture and that’s completely fair. But then why were the white men SO GREAT? Go ahead and write a story where one of the themes is misogyny in your own culture, but why pretend it doesn’t exist in others? It felt very unbalanced and unrealistic.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape
steffski's review
4.0
I understand this one is controversial. But I really appreciated the tension between religion/culture/self and how young people are trying and failing to navigate that. I think she sheds light on a reality that we don't often know how to put words on, and that life does feel like a string of interconnected "impossible" things.
There were moments when the book was slow and the middle could have been so much shorter.
There were moments when the book was slow and the middle could have been so much shorter.