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moonmisandrist's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Hard one to review because so much of this felt like a real story, like my story. I'm sure 30-something-year-old Australian millennials who grew up Muslim and queer (especially Lebanese and Turkish ones) will read this book and feel like they are looking into a mirror. I saw my cousins in Jamal's as the police continually hounded them. I saw the 'we all know but won't speak of it' sentiment of Turkish culture regarding sin.
I saw the beauty too, of found family, of unbreakable familial bonds, of God and love, self-acceptance and love, of Sakr's origins as a poet feeling into the verse of this novel.
I saw the beauty too, of found family, of unbreakable familial bonds, of God and love, self-acceptance and love, of Sakr's origins as a poet feeling into the verse of this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault and Police brutality
Minor: Alcoholism
grets_reads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Incest and Mental illness
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