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secre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really, really hate it when authors take a solid premise and stick in a wildly unlikely twist to jazz up the conclusion. And that’s what happened here. Strangely enough, I had my suspicions fairly early on that all wasn’t as it seemed. There were elements that didn’t quite sit right. But I ignored my suspicions and figured it was just the author’s style. Well, it was the author’s style, I guess. Just the style in question is ludicrous twists.
Maybe two stars is harsh, but I’m rarely quite so peeved on finishing a novel. And I think it’s the wasted damn potential that gets me. You’ve taken a serious, tragic and catastrophic series of events - forgotten baby syndrome - and deliberately made it tawdry, tacky and sordid. With 33 families in 2022 left shell shocked and grieving because that one moment of inattention leading to the death of their child, Abdullah has taken their story and made it less. In the face how much judgement and anguish is experienced, the guilt and shame of forgetting your own child and causing their death, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for the topic to be dealt with sensitively. And for 80% of this, that would seem to be the case. But it’s thrown away and discarded in the final chapters. Left to the side for the sake of the sensationalist twist.
So yeah, maybe the two stars is harsh. But I can’t justify going any higher considering my gut wrenching disgust at how this was handled by the end. It would have been better finishing abruptly at the 80% mark instead of this … charade of tragedy.
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Chronic illness
Minor: Suicide
patienceholmes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death, Blood, Sexism, and Suicide
oceanwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Leila adores her nephew Max... so what happens when he's found dead on her watch? Next thing she knows she's put in front of a jury to decide if this was a terrible accident or intentional. Through the trial, a lot of things that have gone unsaid between her and her sister Yasmin come to light. This along with flashbacks to other difficult times in their lives makes for an emotional journey. But it doesn't end there. There are more secrets being kept that threaten to change everything.
The book is broken up into three parts, each one following a different moment surrounding Max's death and the trial. The writing is immersive, though it jumps around from character to character mid-chapter which I found to be distracting at times. Nevertheless, I was hooked and finished the book in under twenty-four hours. There were some other things about it I didn't care for, however, I can't be specific what as they could be considered spoilers.
A huge thanks to HarperCollins/Harper360 for sending me a free ARC to read and review!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Child death
Moderate: Infertility, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Mental illness
jen1804's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall I enjoyed this read, not an easy read by any means, quite harrowing at times given it’s nature - exploring the death of a child, and the grief and the familial fall out that comes with it. But it’s really well written and as I said the ending was unpredictable in a multitude of ways which I really liked!
Satisfactory ending? Yes.
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Murder, Grief, Chronic illness, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abandonment
lousnewchapter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Grief, Death, Infertility, and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, and Suicide
mikki_9's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Suicide
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death of parent
honeyreads1066's review against another edition
5.0
This story is ultimately about family, about being able to forgive and how tragedy affects everyone. It is a raw and messy portrayal of family and relationships.
The book follows Leila who has struggled to have kids and her sister Yasmin who has a son Max. After Andrew, (Yasmin's husband) gets an emergency call from work, Leila is asked to drop Max to school. Tragedy befalls the family as on this hot day, Leila leaves max in the car causing his death and the continuing trial for manslaughter changes everything within the family. Was it just a tragedy or something more sinister?
The characters themselves were so fleshed out, I felt like these were people I knew and truly felt the conflicting feelings and they were so human, none of them was all good and always made the right decisions, they were complicated and that made them feel real.
The ending had me reeling, with twist after twist after twist. It didn't feel cheap and it made sense though I wasn't expecting any of it. Overall I absolutely would recommend this though the subject matter is extremely upsetting. This story is so much more than just one event but also the complicated relationship between sisters.
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent