Scan barcode
violerwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Grief, Sexism, Drug use, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Death, War, Confinement, and Racism
rhi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, War, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Grief, Suicide, and Genocide
Minor: Sexual harassment and Drug use
caitonline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
readwriteknit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Islamophobia, War, Racism, Murder, and Xenophobia
time4tori2read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Sexual content, and Grief
sarahdoggen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Classism, Grief, Racism, Violence, War, and Gun violence
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and War
lianne_rooney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Racism, War, Hate crime, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
wordsareworlds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I also found the layers of storytelling Hamid used very interesting. There is Saeed and Nadia's relationship, and one step out we get to know a bit about people who intersect their lives and often how those people die or another detail from their future, and then also more about the war that has now most definitely come to their city, and then snippets of separate, apparently unrelated events around the world. There is a surreal quality to Hamid's descriptions. They simultaneously feel a step removed and immediate. All of this is related as past events, and without much explicit or long description of the characters' feelings, but the events and their actions make those feelings abundantly clear and impactful. I spent a lot of time thinking about why Hamid chose to give us glimpses into specific moments in Saeed and Nadia's lives, and which side characters he chose to give us more details about. Each choice felt very deliberate and like it built on what was going on around them in a complex and nuanced way.
The book overall was very interesting, and the ways that the doors changed some things about immigration and otherness and not others were layered and complex. I enjoyed Saeed, Nadia, and the evolution of their relationship. Also very, very happy about having a bi South Asian MC whose sexuality wasn't a source of angst or persecution. The book has a sense of ebb and flow about it, and that neither happiness nor sadness is all-encompassing or static, and the doors don't change that but make both more accessible and immediate to people's lives.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and War
moonytoast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
maybe would’ve rated this higher if there weren’t sentences verging on seven or more lines long…. if it would necessitate a block quote, it shouldn’t be a single sentence! trust me, this is coming from a resident long sentence girlie who constantly got feedback about how long my sentences were in my essays for high school.
all in all though, this was a nice read and an interesting examination of how magical realism could impact our world’s sociopolitical climate and policies (i.e. nativism and immigration politics).
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, Drug use, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury