A review by mooncrab
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

2.0

The story was flat and emotionless, but set in a deeply emotional setting. This created a disjointed feeling along with frustration at the unrealistic, underdeveloped story. The main characters were children which felt too juvenile for me to connect with, but the language was harsh enough that it wouldn’t be appropriate for school-aged kids. The ending left me unsatisfied and really annoyed; if the story is allegorical after all, it does even less for the actual plight of refugees than the bulk of the book did. I’ve given the book 2 stars because the author writes well and has the skills to tell a vivid story if he desires; the writing saved this book from being a 1-star rating.