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mattyb'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Biphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, Transphobia, and War
Moderate: Deportation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Outing, Islamophobia, and Cancer
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Addiction, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
aceofknives's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Sexual content, Cancer, Outing, Addiction, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, and Drug use
Minor: Car accident, Classism, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, and Cursing
joisaddler's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Murder, Violence, Deportation, Racism, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
beautifulpaxielreads's review
- 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
4.0
I read this novel in three days which is extremely rare for me, and I kind of wish I'd taken more time to fully absorb all the points Nazemian was making in what for him, is a deeply personal story.
The novel is narrated by three young men from three generations of an Iranian family: Moud, an out gay Iranian-American in 2019, his father Saeed, an Iranian engineering student sent away for his safety among growing calls for revolution in 1978, and finally, Bobby in 1939 - a young man who has no idea of his heritage, and whose American stage mother is determined to turn her handsome son into a movie star.
Aside from love, one of the main themes of OTBM is about injustice and the many forms it takes, and the difficulty of fighting that injustice when the odds are stacked against you. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, colonialism, sexism, xenophobia - Nazemian touches on all of these issues, some more briefly than others but nevertheless still impactful. It also talks about the blind spot that exists in Western society when it comes to people of different ethnicities, depicted here in the conversations between Moud and his American boyfriend, Shane.
A minor criticism I did have was that there were times at which I felt a disconnect between myself and the main characters like I was viewing them from behind a glass wall. However, that may have been because I was reading too fast to be able to process my feelings properly.
This was a stunning, important read.
Graphic: Child abuse, Deportation, Hate crime, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: War and Colonisation
Rampant homophobia, including one character who is initially very homophobic. Use of the "p*nsy* slur. A significant portion of the novel is set in historical and modern-day Iran, which is under authoritarian rule and has an appalling human rights record, particularly against women, children, and LGBTQIA+ folk. In Iran, same-sex relations may be punishable by death.quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Deportation, Suicide, and Blood
pey333'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Police brutality and Homophobia
Moderate: Blood, Drug use, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, and Deportation
betweentheshelves'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? Yes
4.5
Each character grows in their own way, and I appreciated the way this book also discussed the reality of queer people in Iran, even today. It truly is a powerful book, and I can see why it is getting so much praise!
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Deportation, and Suicide
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, Racism, Grief, Police brutality, Suicide, Xenophobia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, War, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexism, Violence, Death, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol, Deportation, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Colonisation, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Addiction, and Blood
rachel_23's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Violence, Racism, War, and Police brutality
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
legalplanner's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
By setting this against the back drop of three different men in the history of Mahmouds family you get to see how each of them struggled with who they were and how they would manage to go beyond this and become a stronger family.
At first I wasn't totally sure how all of these stories were going to intersect or even come together to what they did. I am so glad that I was able to read this in advance and can say that this is another amazing LGBTQIA+ and Own Voices novel from Nazemain.
Graphic: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship