Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Falling by T.J. Newman

12 reviews

linesiunderline's review

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The kind of book that reads like an action movie. It was certainly thrilling, and all of the behind the scenes detail  about piloting / flight attending felt spot on, clearly written by someone with lived experience. Casting the terrorists as Middle Eastern men is problematic, even though you can see the author attempt to manage that choice somewhat differently than the oft-written narrative. She doesn’t succeed there, however, because it’s all very surface, so we are still left with racist stereotypes.
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happiestwhenreading's review

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I personally fell into this book very quickly and didn't come up for air until the last page. Newman totally took on a new twist to teh whole hijacked airplane trope and added a new twist that I was actually terrified of! Seeing how Newman is an ex-flight attendant herself, she was able to provide some insider information that lent to the credibility and suspense in a whole different way!

Also, if I'm being honest, this could have been a totally different experience had I read it prior to the horrific incident that is currently taking place in Afghanistan (Aug 2021). Without giving away any specific spoilers, some of the commentary really made me evaluate my own complicity and understanding of the US's position in Afghanistan.
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