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cupcakegirly's review
5.0
My heart is so full right now!
Dare I say this might be Trish Doller's best book yet? Yes. Yes, I will.
She has done a beautiful job of showing how complicated life can be from all aspects: family, friends, love, religion, privilege, prejudice, and cultural expectations. It was a struggle not to devour Caroline's story in one sitting because I also wanted to savory every minute of it. And then I wanted to experience it all over again.
I loved the family dynamics on both sides and the romance is so freaking swoony it made my heart ache---in a good way. I had to read the last chapter twice because the first time through was little too blurry, and because it made me so damn happy!
READ. IT.
Dare I say this might be Trish Doller's best book yet? Yes. Yes, I will.
She has done a beautiful job of showing how complicated life can be from all aspects: family, friends, love, religion, privilege, prejudice, and cultural expectations. It was a struggle not to devour Caroline's story in one sitting because I also wanted to savory every minute of it. And then I wanted to experience it all over again.
I loved the family dynamics on both sides and the romance is so freaking swoony it made my heart ache---in a good way. I had to read the last chapter twice because the first time through was little too blurry, and because it made me so damn happy!
READ. IT.
sunflower87's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
missprint_'s review
5.0
"I want you to have the best life. Even if I'm not a part of it."
Caroline Kelly has her summer figured out. She's ready to spend it working at the local amusement park with her best friend, exploring weird Ohio sights with her boyfriend, and attending soccer camp to prepare to (hopefully) become her team's captain in the fall.
Then Caroline's mom gets a job offer that changes everything.
Now Caroline is joining her mother (and her father whenever he can get away from his fishing boat back home) for the summer and her senior year in Cairo, Egypt where she has been hired to open an eye clinic.
Caroline has no idea what to expect in Cairo beyond the tourist images she's seen and the preparation she and her mother have done to make sure their clothes are respectful of the city's Muslim culture. All she really knows is that she is going to feel isolated and homesick.
But almost as soon as she arrives, Caroline realizes that her new home is going to defy expectations with a rich and surprising culture, astonishing sights, and a boy unlike anyone she ever would have met back home. Moving to Cairo makes Caroline's world bigger, but it's going to take time to figure if out if Adam Elhadad can have a lasting place in it in In a Perfect World (2017) by Trish Doller.
Trish Doller's latest standalone contemporary is a contemplative examination of family, love, and privilege.
Caroline is reluctant to go to Egypt even as she realizes it's a unique circumstance and an incredibly rare opportunity. She realistically and thoughtfully handles her conflicted feelings as her opinions of both Cairo and her hometown begin to change. While she and Adam have a ton of chemistry (and are oh so cute together) the romance is subtly handled and again addresses the uneven dynamics in their friendship as they begin to grow closer (not to mention the fact that Adam is a devout Muslim and Caroline is not).
Doller's thorough and vivid descriptions offer a gorgeous introduction to Cairo which are sure to inspire a healthy dose of wanderlust in readers seeking new destinations. In a Perfect World is an excellent and optimistic novel sure to leave you smiling. Even as I write this review I am smiling as I remember this lovely little story. I can't wait for you all to read this and finish it with a little more hope and tolerance in yours hearts. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali, Just One Day by Gayle Foreman, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
Caroline Kelly has her summer figured out. She's ready to spend it working at the local amusement park with her best friend, exploring weird Ohio sights with her boyfriend, and attending soccer camp to prepare to (hopefully) become her team's captain in the fall.
Then Caroline's mom gets a job offer that changes everything.
Now Caroline is joining her mother (and her father whenever he can get away from his fishing boat back home) for the summer and her senior year in Cairo, Egypt where she has been hired to open an eye clinic.
Caroline has no idea what to expect in Cairo beyond the tourist images she's seen and the preparation she and her mother have done to make sure their clothes are respectful of the city's Muslim culture. All she really knows is that she is going to feel isolated and homesick.
But almost as soon as she arrives, Caroline realizes that her new home is going to defy expectations with a rich and surprising culture, astonishing sights, and a boy unlike anyone she ever would have met back home. Moving to Cairo makes Caroline's world bigger, but it's going to take time to figure if out if Adam Elhadad can have a lasting place in it in In a Perfect World (2017) by Trish Doller.
Trish Doller's latest standalone contemporary is a contemplative examination of family, love, and privilege.
Caroline is reluctant to go to Egypt even as she realizes it's a unique circumstance and an incredibly rare opportunity. She realistically and thoughtfully handles her conflicted feelings as her opinions of both Cairo and her hometown begin to change. While she and Adam have a ton of chemistry (and are oh so cute together) the romance is subtly handled and again addresses the uneven dynamics in their friendship as they begin to grow closer (not to mention the fact that Adam is a devout Muslim and Caroline is not).
Doller's thorough and vivid descriptions offer a gorgeous introduction to Cairo which are sure to inspire a healthy dose of wanderlust in readers seeking new destinations. In a Perfect World is an excellent and optimistic novel sure to leave you smiling. Even as I write this review I am smiling as I remember this lovely little story. I can't wait for you all to read this and finish it with a little more hope and tolerance in yours hearts. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali, Just One Day by Gayle Foreman, When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
eslismyjam's review
3.0
I didn’t love this as I have Doller’s other books. I’m not sure why. I loved that this is set in Egypt and that it deals with culture and values and all of that. I guess I thought in comparison to her other books it wasn’t as subtly effective. A lot of observations Caroline makes about Cairo and Muslims felt very obvious and a bit flat. This reads like a straight contemporary romance where I have come to expect more depth and interest from Doller’s books.
travelbypagesph's review
4.0
Took me almost two months to finish reading this book. I’ll give it 3.5 stars. Be patient with this one. It is slow-paced but you won’t regret reading it up until the last page. As a non-Muslim, this book gave me a glimpse of what Muslim life and beliefs are. It has also gone political in the latter part when there were bombings and killings. But it pointed out who were the Muslims and who were the terrorists. It didn’t just focus on the love story between two teenagers. It also touched parts of cultures, travel, family, friends, religions. This is not like any of the other normal YA novels. Worthy of my hours spent reading the entire book.
charmaineac's review
2.0
Trish Doller is typically very good at writing about people struggling through very hard times. PTSD. The foster care system. But in this case, the story was very ambitious and very timely, but still felt insensitive to me. Maybe it's because I'm used to super-liberal Canada, but I find it so hard to understand the perspective of far-right Americans.
Caroline goes to Egypt, and her whole world expands. Adam's whole world expands too, but from the other end of the spectrum. That part is nice to see, although I really don't think their ending was realistic. I'd never been in Africa until this past April, and that was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. Ms. Doller definitely shows the beauty in individual people, architecture, and the rich cultural history of a foreign land.
At the same time, she discounts the whole thing with undertones of terrorism. Yes, there are extremists and extremist-hopefuls out there. There are people disillusioned and frustrated by corrupt governments that don't protect their interests. There are American drones wreaking constant havoc in war-torn areas. It didn't have to be *this* exact situation that drove the Kelleys away from Egypt. It could have been an accumulation of everyday evils; things that impact people in all sorts of grimy cities — think pickpocketing, kidnapping, or something else that would happen when people are desperate, but fight their way through. It could have been an illness; something that drew attention to failure in the system and lack of available resources for the people (make it water-related and hit two birds with one stone). There were so many options, and we had to resort to terrorism here? Come on.
I liked how American expatriate communities were portrayed though, because I think that's pretty accurate in developing and newly industrialized nations around the world. Are you really immersing yourself in a foreign country if you just stay in an insular American community and send your kids to an American school? Likewise, I loved how Trish Doller showed that not all Americans are equally privileged. Someone from the Midwest realistically isn't in the same financial situation as someone from New York or California or DC, and I like how that was emphasized in the most subtle ways.
As for the star-crossed lovers... they never made my heart sing, but I can see how they're good for each other. The rest of their LIVES would be hard together, but if more people are open to interracial, interreligious, and intercultural romances, we will only start to see a more diverse and inclusive world. Because if you think about it, the more it happens, the less likely people will be able to fit inside a box (I'm looking at you, American standardized tests).
Caroline goes to Egypt, and her whole world expands. Adam's whole world expands too, but from the other end of the spectrum. That part is nice to see, although I really don't think their ending was realistic. I'd never been in Africa until this past April, and that was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. Ms. Doller definitely shows the beauty in individual people, architecture, and the rich cultural history of a foreign land.
At the same time, she discounts the whole thing with undertones of terrorism. Yes, there are extremists and extremist-hopefuls out there. There are people disillusioned and frustrated by corrupt governments that don't protect their interests. There are American drones wreaking constant havoc in war-torn areas. It didn't have to be *this* exact situation that drove the Kelleys away from Egypt. It could have been an accumulation of everyday evils; things that impact people in all sorts of grimy cities — think pickpocketing, kidnapping, or something else that would happen when people are desperate, but fight their way through. It could have been an illness; something that drew attention to failure in the system and lack of available resources for the people (make it water-related and hit two birds with one stone). There were so many options, and we had to resort to terrorism here? Come on.
I liked how American expatriate communities were portrayed though, because I think that's pretty accurate in developing and newly industrialized nations around the world. Are you really immersing yourself in a foreign country if you just stay in an insular American community and send your kids to an American school? Likewise, I loved how Trish Doller showed that not all Americans are equally privileged. Someone from the Midwest realistically isn't in the same financial situation as someone from New York or California or DC, and I like how that was emphasized in the most subtle ways.
As for the star-crossed lovers... they never made my heart sing, but I can see how they're good for each other. The rest of their LIVES would be hard together, but if more people are open to interracial, interreligious, and intercultural romances, we will only start to see a more diverse and inclusive world. Because if you think about it, the more it happens, the less likely people will be able to fit inside a box (I'm looking at you, American standardized tests).
liralen's review
3.0
Off to Egypt... There's some interesting stuff here: adjusting to a new country and a new culture; inter-religious romance; trying to hang on to home while also embracing the new. I just wish the entire story hadn't hinged on romance. There's virtually nothing else here: it's more than 200 pages into the book before Caroline goes to the 'summer open house' for the international school she's supposed to attend; a character has a heart attack, and the sole purpose is to throw Caroline and Adam together more often; it feels like almost every scene starts with Caroline scheming some way to hang out with Adam again. Not that they don't do and see some interesting things, but without Adam I think the book would be something of a void.
I don't know. I love that they do have to navigate what it means to be in a relationship when they both come from religions with pretty...I don't know how to say this. Specific rules? She's Catholic and he's Muslim. It bothers me quite a lot that Caroline's mother suggests that Caroline might 'lead [Adam] astray' (199). Her father contradicts this, but there are two really uncomfortable implications: first, that being Egyptian and Muslim automatically makes Adam more 'innocent' and in need of protection, and second, that Caroline (by virtue of being...American? Female? I don't know) is automatically some kind of...Jezebel? It's better than her worrying that Adam's going to take advantage of Caroline, I guess, but I wished for more depth. It also feels like this is...how to put this? I'm struggling with words today. Written for an audience that doesn't know much about Islam, and therefore taking pains to show Caroline getting over her prejudices. Well-intentioned but again sometimes cringey.
Letting the story run through a full school year might have taken this closer to a lot of what's already out there, at least in some ways, but I think we also would have gotten a broader scope. I like seeing characters end up in places not too often seen in Western YA fiction, but I'd love to see them realise that there's more to life than romance.
I don't know. I love that they do have to navigate what it means to be in a relationship when they both come from religions with pretty...I don't know how to say this. Specific rules? She's Catholic and he's Muslim. It bothers me quite a lot that Caroline's mother suggests that Caroline might 'lead [Adam] astray' (199). Her father contradicts this, but there are two really uncomfortable implications: first, that being Egyptian and Muslim automatically makes Adam more 'innocent' and in need of protection, and second, that Caroline (by virtue of being...American? Female? I don't know) is automatically some kind of...Jezebel? It's better than her worrying that Adam's going to take advantage of Caroline, I guess, but I wished for more depth. It also feels like this is...how to put this? I'm struggling with words today. Written for an audience that doesn't know much about Islam, and therefore taking pains to show Caroline getting over her prejudices. Well-intentioned but again sometimes cringey.
Letting the story run through a full school year might have taken this closer to a lot of what's already out there, at least in some ways, but I think we also would have gotten a broader scope. I like seeing characters end up in places not too often seen in Western YA fiction, but I'd love to see them realise that there's more to life than romance.
heisereads's review
5.0
Another fantastic Trish Doller book, another book that kept me up late turning pages because I was sucked into the story from the start and needed to know how it would end. I shipped Caroline and Adam hard. The Cairo setting comes alive through Caroline's experiences and the Egyptian culture seeps through the pages. What I loved most is that it's a romantic book I could see many students loving, and totally appropriate for middle school readers, while not shying away from what are likely the realities of the difficulty of coming from different cultures and religions while falling in love. This book faces the issue head on, and still feels open and honest as real teens would react. It was handled in what seems to be a respectful way because there is an openess and appreciation for each person having their own beliefs and values that permeates the book, while acknowledging the need for more people to be aware of what's happening in our societies, and giving teens the space to discover themselves and their own versions of what is the right way to make life choices. This is an eminently readable story for opening eyes, hearts, and minds.
After sleeping on it, I'm waking up still thinking about this book. And I think it would be fascinating to get a sequel or companion from Adam's or. Aya's perspectives. The story has great family dynamics and is insightful, but it's all from a white perspective of learning about this other culture/religion through the people and experiences, which seems to be handled well. But it leaves me curious about what the Muslim perspective would be of learning about American culture through getting to know this family who lives in Cairo for this time and impacts their lives. We get pieces of it through the conversations, but I'd love more.
After sleeping on it, I'm waking up still thinking about this book. And I think it would be fascinating to get a sequel or companion from Adam's or. Aya's perspectives. The story has great family dynamics and is insightful, but it's all from a white perspective of learning about this other culture/religion through the people and experiences, which seems to be handled well. But it leaves me curious about what the Muslim perspective would be of learning about American culture through getting to know this family who lives in Cairo for this time and impacts their lives. We get pieces of it through the conversations, but I'd love more.
cowmingo's review
3.0
I appreciate when a book introduces me to a culture I know little about. Doller takes us to Egypt and we see the world through Caroline's eyes. New country, new rules, completely different culture and completely alone. What I don't appreciate is when a book tries to do too much. We've got an introduction to Egyptian culture, food and religion with a smattering of romance and terrorism. We've got a book that ends entirely too quickly after the climax with a fairytale ending you can see coming the minute you start the final chapter.
What we don't have is a story that feels complete. When I finished the book, I was mad. Mad that this is the world we live in, mad that the book ended the way it did, mad at what seemed to me as unnecessary plot points. I thought about the book all day trying to put my feelings into words and all I could come up with was this was a good book with good themes that could have been a great book if it had just tried a little less hard.
Three of five stars. Available now. Young adult/romance/travel.
https://thesebooksaremyfriends.wordpress.com/
What we don't have is a story that feels complete. When I finished the book, I was mad. Mad that this is the world we live in, mad that the book ended the way it did, mad at what seemed to me as unnecessary plot points. I thought about the book all day trying to put my feelings into words and all I could come up with was this was a good book with good themes that could have been a great book if it had just tried a little less hard.
Three of five stars. Available now. Young adult/romance/travel.
https://thesebooksaremyfriends.wordpress.com/