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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Beautifully written, but I was expecting a fantasy, and this is just a little too close to real-world events for me to handle right now. I'm hoping to come back to it later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
This was a really good book. My favorite part was the intertwining of the story of Rawiya and Nour's real life. The writing is pretty good and I liked most of the characters. Nour annoyed me at times, but she was probably supposed to since she was a 12 year old character. The ending was good.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
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:
No
This book was very well written, and very powerful.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
Pace was just too slow and I struggled to get into it despite several attempts.
The writing style is very poetic--full of metaphors and comparisons to color--partly due to Nour's sound-color synesthesia. Definitely a lot of color repetition, but I don't think it crosses the line into purple prose since it's simply how the character thinks. The two stories work as a tandem read, one being a bit more interesting the the beginning, but by the midway point both have their hooks in to motivate you through the switches.
The author's love of Middle Eastern history and culture was very evident and this is definitely one of the better historical fiction books I've read, even if it took a bit longer to get through.
The author's love of Middle Eastern history and culture was very evident and this is definitely one of the better historical fiction books I've read, even if it took a bit longer to get through.