Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

28 reviews

dramagirl2003's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

you know you’ve read a lot of books when you can predict the ending less than halfway through. didn’t really spoil it though, i was determined to see if i was right. i can’t believe that i went from thinking

richard was cute to accurately accusing him of murder

in less than 6 pages

thoughts while reading

p8: um what else is he supposed to say? it’s the truth. he’s pretty much just been the victim of a hate crime and now you’re harassing this 14 year old kid

I made a jet pack. And they killed me for it.

p15: oh no, truancy! cause that totally confirms terrorism right 🙄

Alternative fact (presidential edition): The children of Muslim American parents are largely responsible for the growing number of terrorist attacks.
Truth: The director of the FBI testified before Congress that "a majority of the domestic terrorism cases we've investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence.”

p118: wait, her name’s ellen ellis? that’s crazy

Lie: "What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening." —Donald J. Trump, July 24, 2018
Truth: "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." —George Orwel, 1984
Fact: Truth is stranger than fiction.

Truth: The older you get, the better you are at hiding.

p162: ack! richard’s kinda cute

p168: what if

richard is the secret white supremacist? he’s usually around when something happens, and it would be so dramatic if the love interest was faking the entire time

Fact: Sticks and stones can break your bones...
Alternative fact: ...but words will never hurt you.
Truth: Words can be terrifying. Sometimes words leave scars. Words can break you, too.

Truth: Reading helps you discover who you are. Reading makes you more empathetic.
Truth: In a war, books can be weapons.

Fact: In the United States, citizens are offered equal protection under the law.
Truth: Some Americans are more equal than others.

p230: i’m almost certain that

richard is the mastermind.

Truth: Sometimes the body remembers what the mind cannot.

p235: hmm the secret spot is probably where jawad was found

Truth: "Go Home" is a xenophobic favorite.
Truth: Racists are really bad at geography.

p247: this is some of the most obliviously racist questioning i’ve ever encountered

p260: i bet

richard is framing nate

p267: well that’s pretty damming dude

p270: oh the keychain used to belong to safiya. interesting

p274: whadup karen mcmanus cameo ✨

p287: aww safiya 🥹🫶🏻

“Are you avoiding me?”

yes. as she should be

p319: OMG IT IS

RICHARD

Content Warnings

nafsaila's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.5

Hollow Fires is a fast paced mystery filled with social commentary. The main character Safiya is part of her high school newspaper that is suddenly hacked following an article published by her. The backlash pushes Safiya into a whirl wind investigation that put her and her close friends in danger. In trying to solve the who done it in a murder and multiple hate speech incidents, not only will they learn about the criminals but also how far they are willing to go to stop it.

Content Warnings

cinder00239's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

xread_write_repeatx's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

cvl_1103's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

revremishores's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

What a fantastic read and timely story. This is our YA All Iowa Reads, and a perfect selection for this year. It deals with the online radicalization of teens into white supremacists through the lens of a murder-mystery thriller. It also delves into the nuances around truths, lies, facts, and alternative facts. The plot kept me engrossed and the social commentary was poignant.

Content Warnings

clawclawclaw's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

bookymac95's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

weatherd's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Hollow Fires was a riveting and profound story about community and justice in the face of an unspeakable tragedy. I thought the format of this story was so interesting since it combined typical narration with articles, phone calls and video transcripts. I also thought the dual pov between Safiya and Jawad was well-done. We got to find out how Jawad’s past intertwined with Safiya’s and allowed readers to gain insight into what happened to Jawad while Safiya investigated. I thought Safiya was a good main character and I enjoyed her determination and sense of justice. I kind of guessed who killed Jawad (an ironic prediction turned out to be true 😭) but I was engaged in finding out how they would be revealed. The resolution of the mystery felt a little quick to me, but I think the overall plot was well-written. This is a powerful story about how fear and hatred can infest a country, and how the strength and resolve of a community can overcome it.

Content Warnings

More...