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charliebnl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
4.75
barbiesdream's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
bookloves's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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
4.75
almas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
5.0
newman_m3gan's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
hlee1534's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Medical content, Addiction, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Alcoholism
august_ambrosia's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
2.5
woo the longest book of my year so far! i picked it up because i knew i would deeply resonate with the characters, being muslim and indian myself. i really wanted to enjoy this book, and genuinely i started off loving it. the characters are so human and make such human mistakes! however, there was moments i could tell that this was a debut. moments turned into chapters, and the last part of the novel was just... not it. (1) what happened with ehsan? was he or was he not attacked! why is it so relevant that he was not seen! (2) there was a lot of medical talk, and it felt slightly unrealistic at times! i dont know that people can stay in vegetative states for 10 years! and (3) zahra was so ... not nice !!!!! her reactions to saahils story felt SO unrealistic, and the story itself was sort of tricky to follow because saahil's narration said things that he hadn't told zahra, so it felt quite disjointed. so its uh 1 star for plot, 1 star for characters and half for a compelling story + idea.
izzy2608's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.75
hally_p's review
4.0
Ok so I didn’t actually read this book but listened to the audiobook of it. I wouldn’t have recorded this in my good reads app as read as it feels as though I’m cheating by listening to rather than reading the narrative - however, I needed to talk about this story.
I was not sure where this book would take the audience and i am such a snob when it comes to how stories are told in the sense of how they are written (I blame kite runner and classics such as Jane eyre for changing my reading life). I much prefer reading over listening to the narrative as my focus can sometimes drift but when a certain incident occurred in the story and I was laid in bed eyes wide open breathing heavily and I found myself murmuring “no, no” (haha) I knew I was at that point thoroughly invested in the book.
Loved the characters, the location (obviously being a bradfordian myself - and the fact Bradford wasn’t mentioned til the end I found very clever) the storyline and the heavy themes in the book which can be somewhat taboo in our community. Loved the homage to our Graham too. This meant a lot to me more than I realised while I’m typing up this review. Very comforting and special. I was disappointed when the book came to an end. Can’t wait to read any other books the author releases in the future.
Oh I also enjoyed how events such as lady Diana’s death for example were included in the timeline and how it affected the characters because these types of events were significant in a lot of our lives. It just made the book seem more personal and relatable.
I was not sure where this book would take the audience and i am such a snob when it comes to how stories are told in the sense of how they are written (I blame kite runner and classics such as Jane eyre for changing my reading life). I much prefer reading over listening to the narrative as my focus can sometimes drift but when a certain incident occurred in the story and I was laid in bed eyes wide open breathing heavily and I found myself murmuring “no, no” (haha) I knew I was at that point thoroughly invested in the book.
Loved the characters, the location (obviously being a bradfordian myself - and the fact Bradford wasn’t mentioned til the end I found very clever) the storyline and the heavy themes in the book which can be somewhat taboo in our community. Loved the homage to our Graham too. This meant a lot to me more than I realised while I’m typing up this review. Very comforting and special. I was disappointed when the book came to an end. Can’t wait to read any other books the author releases in the future.
Oh I also enjoyed how events such as lady Diana’s death for example were included in the timeline and how it affected the characters because these types of events were significant in a lot of our lives. It just made the book seem more personal and relatable.
rustedpages's review
4.0
Between 3.5 and 4⭐️s
The book centres around a small, Muslim, Pakistani family living in England. When the only son, Saahil, graduates university and gets involved in a messy, dangerous situation, it changes the trajectory of his life. His family struggles to keep themselves together and live normal lives in unforeseen circumstances and a tense political atmosphere.
Sometimes, you don’t need a book that’s incredibly well written or mind blowing or tear-jerking. Maybe this book was meant to be that, and though I didn’t feel all those things while reading it, it ended up being just the book I needed. I’ve been consistently avoiding historical fiction books (if this counts for one lol) for so long because of how mentally taxing they are. Even worse are the Muslim centred ones because of the same old tired tropes. I really took a risk with this one and I can easily say I enjoyed it.
Where it loses points -the very average writing, the excessive use of swear words, the vaguely racial/fat-shaming remarks here and there (I know that’s meant to be the characters’ opinions rather than the author’s but it wasn’t convincing enough). The fact that Saahil was afraid his sister would be vulgar yet was a complete player himself?? (I hate saying this but, being Irish Pakistani, a lot of it catered to my stereotypes of British Pakistanis
The book centres around a small, Muslim, Pakistani family living in England. When the only son, Saahil, graduates university and gets involved in a messy, dangerous situation, it changes the trajectory of his life. His family struggles to keep themselves together and live normal lives in unforeseen circumstances and a tense political atmosphere.
Sometimes, you don’t need a book that’s incredibly well written or mind blowing or tear-jerking. Maybe this book was meant to be that, and though I didn’t feel all those things while reading it, it ended up being just the book I needed. I’ve been consistently avoiding historical fiction books (if this counts for one lol) for so long because of how mentally taxing they are. Even worse are the Muslim centred ones because of the same old tired tropes. I really took a risk with this one and I can easily say I enjoyed it.
Where it loses points -the very average writing, the excessive use of swear words, the vaguely racial/fat-shaming remarks here and there (I know that’s meant to be the characters’ opinions rather than the author’s but it wasn’t convincing enough). The fact that Saahil was afraid his sister would be vulgar yet was a complete player himself?? (I hate saying this but, being Irish Pakistani, a lot of it catered to my stereotypes of British Pakistanis