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amy_louise's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Violence
girlreading's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
A beautifully and cleverly written intergenerational coming-of-age story exploring culture, family, trauma and the importance of understanding your history. This was a tender, emotional and impactful book and one I’m sure to remember this for a long time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Suicide
modryzamek's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Colonisation
melaniesmolter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Violence
mcweelsie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Deportation
kelly_e's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Title: Only This Beautiful Moment
Author: Abdi Nazemian
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Poetic • Enlightening • Impactful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.
1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.
1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side.
Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Only This Beautiful Moment was another one of my 12 recommendations from 12 friends challenge in 2024. I don't read a lot of young adult, simply because I often want more depth and emotion in my reads, yet this one sounded like it had those things.
Following three generations of men from the same Iranian family at the same point in their lives, this coming-of-age story is incredibly well written. It's intergenerational queer historical fiction at its finest. It touches on theme of ever changing nature of familial bonds, of the search for identity, and on the power of not only forgiving the ones we love, but ourselves.
Beyond the actual story, I enjoyed learning so much about Iranian culture and history, more specifically the LGBTQ community there. An ode to the resilience of the Iranian people and queer Iranians, this is an incredibly educative book. I also appreciated the idea of how simple moments in time help shape who we are and who we become.
Only This Beautiful Moment was another solid recommendation for my 2024 challenge. The beautiful depiction of family history and the resilience of the human spirit is something I won't soon forget. This is one I will be recommending to readers of all ages for years to come.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• intergenerational stories
• learning about different cultures
• queer historical fiction
⚠️ CW: homophobia, police brutality, religious bigotry, hate crime, racism, xenophobia, toxic relationship, violence, gun violence, death, death of parent, grief, sexual content, drug use, deportation, suicide, infidelity, outing, blood, cultural appropriation, alcohol, body shaming, cancer, terminal illness
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Not everything unspoken is a secret. Some things just belong to those who experienced it."
"History is a quilt. You pull one thread and everything changes."
Author: Abdi Nazemian
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Poetic • Enlightening • Impactful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.
1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.
1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side.
Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Only This Beautiful Moment was another one of my 12 recommendations from 12 friends challenge in 2024. I don't read a lot of young adult, simply because I often want more depth and emotion in my reads, yet this one sounded like it had those things.
Following three generations of men from the same Iranian family at the same point in their lives, this coming-of-age story is incredibly well written. It's intergenerational queer historical fiction at its finest. It touches on theme of ever changing nature of familial bonds, of the search for identity, and on the power of not only forgiving the ones we love, but ourselves.
Beyond the actual story, I enjoyed learning so much about Iranian culture and history, more specifically the LGBTQ community there. An ode to the resilience of the Iranian people and queer Iranians, this is an incredibly educative book. I also appreciated the idea of how simple moments in time help shape who we are and who we become.
Only This Beautiful Moment was another solid recommendation for my 2024 challenge. The beautiful depiction of family history and the resilience of the human spirit is something I won't soon forget. This is one I will be recommending to readers of all ages for years to come.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• intergenerational stories
• learning about different cultures
• queer historical fiction
⚠️ CW: homophobia, police brutality, religious bigotry, hate crime, racism, xenophobia, toxic relationship, violence, gun violence, death, death of parent, grief, sexual content, drug use, deportation, suicide, infidelity, outing, blood, cultural appropriation, alcohol, body shaming, cancer, terminal illness
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Not everything unspoken is a secret. Some things just belong to those who experienced it."
"History is a quilt. You pull one thread and everything changes."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Deportation
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, and Alcohol
hanhantap's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Police brutality, and Death of parent
ornamentalhermit's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
What an important story to share.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Violence
yasidiaz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book, even more so than I expected. If I were to give one complaint about the book it would be only how long some of the chapters were. However, it didn't make me enjoy the story any less.
Seeing the story of the family going from three generations was beautiful and heartbreaking to see. Anyone who knows me knows I love character-driven stories, I love a good character study, and seeing how different get to where they are. This book gave me exactly that and it makes my writer's heart flutter.
You get to see the complicated history of this family and understand the pain they still carry up to the present of the book. If I had to pick which of the three stories that I loved yet broke me the most, it was Bobby'swho is Moud's grandfather . Yet, seeing how Moud's story ended gave us hope of not only how this family could finally start healing, but also how we can't stop fighting for our communities.
I read this through Libby, but I loved this book I must get a physical copy immediately. The cover is also one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.
Seeing the story of the family going from three generations was beautiful and heartbreaking to see. Anyone who knows me knows I love character-driven stories, I love a good character study, and seeing how different get to where they are. This book gave me exactly that and it makes my writer's heart flutter.
You get to see the complicated history of this family and understand the pain they still carry up to the present of the book. If I had to pick which of the three stories that I loved yet broke me the most, it was Bobby's
I read this through Libby, but I loved this book I must get a physical copy immediately. The cover is also one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Violence, and Deportation