A review by hoodleyrootz
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

4.0

I really enjoyed this read. I was expecting a more sinister reveal about the Centre's workings, maybe because I just read another book that had cannibalism, the cannibalism reveal wasn't as shocking to me. I kind of wanted something more dramatic. Ultimately, my favorite sequence didn't have to do with the Centre at all. I adored the scene where the author takes us through the two options for Anisa's relation with Shiba's dad. Its commentary of the responsibility put on women in those situations and how both could have negative repercussions was tastefully done. The overall social commentary was my favorite part of the book. I enjoyed how I constantly assessed whether I would eat a human to learn a language so quickly. Main reason I rated four stars over five is that I felt the ending was really abrupt. I wanted just a few more pages into what the final decision was. Would recommend overall.