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zombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, and War
Colorismbooknerdnative's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is a stunning story about identity and discovering oneself. This book was so reflective and open, and offered some really great conversations. I think this one would be great for book club! I really love books with two storylines and points of view that eventually find a connection point, and this one weaved this connection together perfectly. It was beautifully written, but definitely more consumable than a lot of literary fiction titles I've read. It was compulsively readable, making this one palatable for many readers. Which is great, because I think this will be a really important and eye opening story for so many readers.
I want to first say that as a cishet person, I cannot directly speak to the experience of being trans and have tried to be aware of that in my review. One thing I really found influential about this narrative, is being able to walk with our protagonist (who is unnamed at the start of the novel), as they discover their true self. I have read more books with trans folks at the center, in which they are more settled in their identity, & I really appreciated this look into someone finding the openness within themselves to be who they are and embrace themselves fully. This book has a lot of inner dialogue, and dialogue between characters surrounding sexuality and gender that I found to be really reflective and important to the overall conversation. I also really love that this book brings to light the notion that we can still be figuring out who we are even in adulthood. There is no timeline to gender, sexuality, or self discovery.
This book also discusses immigration -the cast is multi-generational, mostly Syrian-American, living in post-9/11 New York City.
It's also full of art, nature, avian passion, and beauty.
It has an epistolary element as well, if that's something you enjoy!
I just think this book has so much to offer, and i really hope that more people read it.
I want to first say that as a cishet person, I cannot directly speak to the experience of being trans and have tried to be aware of that in my review. One thing I really found influential about this narrative, is being able to walk with our protagonist (who is unnamed at the start of the novel), as they discover their true self. I have read more books with trans folks at the center, in which they are more settled in their identity, & I really appreciated this look into someone finding the openness within themselves to be who they are and embrace themselves fully. This book has a lot of inner dialogue, and dialogue between characters surrounding sexuality and gender that I found to be really reflective and important to the overall conversation. I also really love that this book brings to light the notion that we can still be figuring out who we are even in adulthood. There is no timeline to gender, sexuality, or self discovery.
This book also discusses immigration -the cast is multi-generational, mostly Syrian-American, living in post-9/11 New York City.
It's also full of art, nature, avian passion, and beauty.
It has an epistolary element as well, if that's something you enjoy!
I just think this book has so much to offer, and i really hope that more people read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Grief
Minor: Cancer and Misogyny