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belle2008's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
fromjuliereads's review
- 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
The only reason I felt like I really couldn't give it 5 stars was that the writing was a tad repetitive at times, and it would pull me out of the story. BUT I would argue that the story itself is 5 stars.
We really need more people to read stories like this one.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
- 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
She’d wanted to make every child feel they weren’t alone, to fan their potential into roaring flames of hope and promises to be fulfilled one day. Teaching gives her a sense of purpose and, unexpectedly, intoxicating independence. No matter what, she knows she’ll survive.
Afaf, a Palestinian-American, is the principal of an all-girl Muslim school. The book opens the day a shooter attacks the school. We then alternate between that day, and different stages of Afaf’s life, starting from when she was a little girl and her older sister disappeared.
For a book this short, it addresses a lot of different themes : untreated mental illness, racism, islamophobia, loss of a child, religion and faith, complicated mother-daughter relationships…
Maybe too many themes, because at moments it felt very superficial and I would’ve liked for it to be a little more dept.
I absolutely loved the writing style and how emotional it was! The characters were very well fleshed out and felt very real.
I cared a bit less about the present time events. The shooter’s POV was something I wasn’t expecting. I have to say, it kinda threw me off at first, but at the end I found it pretty interesting to see how fear and misinformation can turn someone into such a hateful and violent person.
My favourite thing about this book was probably witnessing Afaf’s relationship with religion develop, and seeing her finally find a community and a place to fit in.
In short, a book I won’t stop recommending to everyone!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Racism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
hannahrhian's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
ballgownsandbooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Domestic abuse