Reviews tagging 'Violence'

They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Dena Takruri, Ahed Tamimi

57 reviews

nadia_not_there's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

This is essential reading to understand real daily Palestinian experiences. Grateful I got to read this. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and War

Minor: Sexual content

corsetedfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative fast-paced

5.0

I genuinely don't know how to begin to write a review for this book. 

In many ways, this book is both to story of a girl forced to be an activist far before her time, and the story of her people, her country, both during her life and before. 

I expected to cry, but I didn't- I just felt the deep ache of the story- of injuries, deaths, imprisonment, and the deep grief of colonization stealing your land. It almost feels like a crime to even try to summarize events that Ahed describes in such sorrow infused bluntness. 

However, I will mention two parts of the book that hit deeply- firstly, her account of finishing her senior year of high school while in an Israeli prison for slapping a solider, including one of her fellow prisoners wrangling a course in international law for the girls to take. The description of the girls slowly realizing that what had happened to them was not only wrong, but illegal, broke me, especially balanced with their understanding that those international laws can't help them. Secondly, Ahed ends the book, despite the grim reality she is writing in, with a firm belief that Palestine will be free in her lifetime, and a poignant description of the joy and elation that will sweep the country when that freedom is won. I often struggle to hold onto hope for the future, and I didn't grow up under apartheid, so seeing her strength was incredibly inspiring. 

All in all, I would go so far as to consider this book required reading for anyone looking to understand Palestine and support the Palestinal resistance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

amaranth_wytch's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

What an incredible memoir. It’s so hard to hear but so important. She is so reflective and her life story is incredible. Especially her time in prison. I also appreciate how she talked about afterwards. I think everyone should read the story to get an understanding of Palestine and the conflict as well as what the children of Palestine have been through. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

zombiezami's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

jartone93's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

goddessofwhatnot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This book should be required reading in all high/secondary schools in the world.

‘They Called Me a Lioness’ is by far the most accessible book I’ve yet to read about the Palestinian struggle and life under Israeli occupation.  All relevant aspects of the issue are addressed (including historical, political, legal, cultural, etc), all from the first person perspective of a teenaged Palestinian girl.

If I were to try to introduce someone to the subject of Palestine, I would first have them look up “the Nakba,” then I would immediately hand them a copy of this book!
✨10/10 stars ✨ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dragongirl271's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death and Torture

katiechasingchapters's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Police brutality

mirandaleighhhh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Incredibly painful to read - in part because everything worsened after this was published, and because Ahed was arbitrarily arrested AGAIN in 2023 - but vital. I really recommend this as a comprehensive starting point to the Palestinian struggle. 

I've seen a handful of reviews calling this propaganda, and I have to assume that they are either zionists, or unfamiliar with the multilayered yet extremely simple issue. From the bottom of my heart, I hope people get a grip on both reality and their humanity. Ahed's story (as she herself points out many times) echoes the stories of countless Palestinians, and you can look up every event mentioned in the book and find ample resources going back to 1948. 

Free Palestine.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Sexual harassment, and War