Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

42 reviews

decie's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Medical content, Grief, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Death of parent, Genocide, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

alexiafox's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, War, Torture, Gore, and Sexual harassment

czoltak's review

dark emotional sad tense 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

“No matter what happens, you remember that this world is more than the agony it contains.”

🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙

I am honestly speechless after this book. I am in shock over how many intense emotions I just experienced over the course of 400 pages. I want to start by saying first and foremost that this should absolutely be required reading in schools. People need to read this and understand a larger scope of the world. This book is so important for spreading the importance of how deeply a war destroys regardless of who’s shores it’s on. The messages and themes of survival, PTSD, and the loss of innocence were heartbreaking and yet so necessary especially in today’s world. For fans of ‘The Book Thief’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is an incredibly moving story about one girl’s journey to survive war torn Syria. Salama must find a way to save herself and her sanity while the world around her is torn apart and the life she has always known is completely obliterated. With a hallucinatory form of fear as one of her only constant companions, Salama struggles with the need to stay alive but also to stay true to her roots and her home country. Her strength and bravery is so deeply infectious, you’ll be unable to do anything other than root and hope for her over the course of the story. Much like ‘The Book Thief’, the personification of darker themes (death/fear) and the blunt descriptions of the destruction will draw you in and won’t let go even after you turn that final page. This book needs to be picked up and read by so many more. Please pick this up and spread its influence if you’re able. In today’s world this is the kind of literature we need and should be promoting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Torture and Xenophobia

myths_reads's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I'm not the biggest fan of historical novels but this takes the win on so many levels. Given the topic of the book, I was a bit apprehensive about how someone would be able to make the necessary impact. Still, Katouh blew all of my expectations out of the water and left me teary-eyed throughout the book. I think the biggest win for this book is how easily the author is able to have a profound discussion on war, and the impact it has on people. She takes politics off the topic and shows that the people who suffer in war are the innocents caught in the crossfire. 

The story is real and heartfelt. It also doesn't shy away from difficult topics, from showing the horrors of war. But it also shows hope and shows that there is a silver lining in the horrible moments. The only reason why this book did not get a five star from me is because I never felt 100% attached to the characters. Obviously, this book is not targeted to my age-group so there's that.

I still think EVERYONE should read this book. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Grief, Blood, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

eryn_gilbert's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Murder, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Child death, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Blood, Violence, Torture, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Mental illness, Medical content, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

arshiya_amreen90786's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Grief, Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Vomit, Genocide, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Murder, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment

breadwitchery's review

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, War, Medical trauma, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Torture

kato_dg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Mental illness, Rape, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Title: As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Author: Zoulfa Katouh
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: September 13, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Heartbreaking • Haunting • Hopeful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.

Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.

But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.

Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd seen a few people include As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow on their 'best of 2022' lists, so I instantly added it to my TBR. While YA isn't a genre I typically gravitate towards, I did have a sneaky suspicion I'd need to keep the Kleenex box handy with this one, and those suspicions were confirmed.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is so heartbreakingly devastating, making it hard to read at times, yet I felt the rawness of Zoulfa Katouh's love, pain, sorrow, and hope in every single word. Touching on loss, grief, trauma, and finding love in the most unexpected of places/times, it's also a story of hope. Each of the characters found a way to wiggle into my heart, particularly Salama. I felt empathetic for everything she'd endured and has to go through. At various points, I found myself contemplating what I'd do in her situation.

The writing was phenomenal! I just could not believe this is a debut novel, and there's no denying this author's raw talent. While the writing is incredibly accessible, something typical of many YA novels, the emotional depth and realness makes this standout above the rest. The structure is well thought out with several twists I didn't expect. I really wish I'd had the audio to go along with the book, as I know it would have added another layer of emotion.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is so raw and real that it shattered my heart and healed it time and time again. It opened my eyes to a better understanding of life in war-torn Syria - the reasons people flee, the reasons they choose to stay, and the things people will do for those they love. This is YA at it's absolute finest. There's no denying the incredible writer Zoulfa Katouh is and I'll be keeping an eye out for anything she writes in the future.

If you read one book this year, please let it be this one!

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• all readers!
• teens
• anyone looking for a strong female protagonist

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Might. What a word. It holds infinite possibilities of a life that could have been. So many options stacked one on top of the other, like cards waiting for a player to pick and choose."

"Survivor's skin is a remorse we are cursed to wear forever."

"Death is an excellent teacher." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Genocide, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Medical content, Grief, Torture, Medical trauma, War, and Vomit

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Confinement

sibling death, death of partner

lenchen25's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Violence, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death of parent, Child death, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Genocide, Death, Child abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Eating disorder