Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

7 reviews

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."

 

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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

bookcaptivated'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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Death of parent

aceofknives's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Deportation

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Classism

quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Blood, and Deportation

betweentheshelves'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

4.5

There really isn't a lot of YA with Persian representation, especially with characters who go to Iran. I can think of a few, but there isn't a lot. This book is really steeped in Persian culture, especially focusing on current and past events in Iran. The format of following this family through three generations really helps the reader to gain perspective, and each story was just as interesting as the others. 

Each character grows in their own way, and I appreciated the way this book also discussed the reality of queer people in Iran, even today. It truly is a powerful book, and I can see why it is getting so much praise!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Police brutality

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Blood, and Deportation

tinytrashqueen's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Drug use

Animal death (additional information):

the dog does not actually die but the mom lies and says he does to force tears

legalplanner's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

This was such an interesting read coming after the Chander Legacies from Nazemain. The story's three different perspectives gave an insight into the generation trauma, both the growth and sad delays in the evolution of a country.

By setting this against the back drop of three different men in the history of Mahmouds family you get to see how each of them struggled with who they were and how they would manage to go beyond this and become a stronger family.

At first I wasn't totally sure how all of these stories were going to intersect or even come together to what they did. I am so glad that I was able to read this in advance and can say that this is another amazing LGBTQIA+ and Own Voices novel from Nazemain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Toxic relationship

Minor: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Deportation