A review by thazell
A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

emotional sad fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

There is always a girl who won't stand down and refuse to roll over for others, that is Zarin; the novel tells her story of how she ended up dead in a car accident with Porus in their home Saudia Arabia. It started with the car crash, which was interesting but it was also overwhelming as there were many characters introduced immediately as well as in the next chapters with multiple perspectives being tossed around. Then, the story unfolds of how they got into that "mess". The author tackles difficult subjects such as rape, sexual assault and gender discrimination with beautiful writing but still shows the effects on the victims that go much further than just the assault but the grief and pain as well. I can not comment on the accuracy of how the characters were portrayed based on their identity because it's not my place but one thing that did upset me is the lack of positive female relationships between ANY of the characters. All of them seemed as though with just one word they could and would turn on their friends back. That was horrid to read about as the girls were constantly putting each other down. I found many of the character relationships fell flat and Porus and Zarin's relationship also fell flat for me. There was no chemistry and it seemed that they only stuck together for plot purposes. Despite those issues, I did enjoy Zarin and her story did leave me on the edge of tears multiple times and my heart being torn from the hardships she was forced to experience because of her gender.
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