Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Falling by T.J. Newman

18 reviews

riella_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

4.5

 This was such a wild ride. Fast paced and action packed, but I saw the "twist" from the very beginning. 
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stephr's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

If you’re looking for a book that feels like an episode of a predictable action movie this is it. Felt like a Season of Amazon’s “Jack Ryan”. Not a fan of the terrorist trope, problematic on many levels.
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manon_misheck's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

It's been about a month since I've read this and I'm still having trouble giving it a review. On the surface, it's an engaging thriller with a great premise (can a pilot choose between saving his family or everyone on the plane?). I'm sure the movie will be great! However, I can't get past a few things, especially the careless casting of a Middle Eastern man as the plane-hijacking villain. This and the other harmful stereotypes the author played into for the other supporting characters as well as some White Saviorism made it difficult to enjoy the actual story. In 2021, there are many thrillers out there that have much more nuanced and thoughtful conversations around social issues, and I'd love to see more of those be developed into movies with as large of a budget as this one has.

CW: plane hijacking, kidnapping, Xenophobia, gun violence, suicide
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librariangeorgia's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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linesiunderline's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The kind of book that reads like an action movie. It was certainly thrilling, and all of the behind the scenes detail  about piloting / flight attending felt spot on, clearly written by someone with lived experience. Casting the terrorists as Middle Eastern men is problematic, even though you can see the author attempt to manage that choice somewhat differently than the oft-written narrative. She doesn’t succeed there, however, because it’s all very surface, so we are still left with racist stereotypes.
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happiestwhenreading's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I personally fell into this book very quickly and didn't come up for air until the last page. Newman totally took on a new twist to teh whole hijacked airplane trope and added a new twist that I was actually terrified of! Seeing how Newman is an ex-flight attendant herself, she was able to provide some insider information that lent to the credibility and suspense in a whole different way!

Also, if I'm being honest, this could have been a totally different experience had I read it prior to the horrific incident that is currently taking place in Afghanistan (Aug 2021). Without giving away any specific spoilers, some of the commentary really made me evaluate my own complicity and understanding of the US's position in Afghanistan.
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read_a_long_'s review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Gripping right from the beginning, Falling is a fast paced, plot driven thriller that feels made for a tv series (Universal has acquired the film rights). I had a hard time putting it down once I started, feeling desperate to know what would happen. It’s a whirlwind ride, and great for what it is, a surface level thriller. 
 
I struggle a bit the unoriginal, stereotypical portrayal of some of the characters, and think that there are discussion points that result because of it. Newman does work to humanize and develop her characters, which can be hard to do in a quick thriller that is so heavily plot driven. 

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weeta's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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