This book is set after the adventure is over, the bad guy defeated and you can now relax and enjoy your life. Or something like that. It's an interesting concept and I enjoyed reading this, but I just couldn't connect to the story or the characters as much as I'd hoped to. I wasn't really involved with the story and it was pretty clear from the beginning what this story is going to be about and how it's going to end. I think I would prefer it if there's more adventure, if this wasn't just the happily ever after defeating the bad guy, since without it, it reads a lot like a romance book and I just don't enjoy those as much as fantasy, for instance.
3.25
This book was alright. Easy and fun to read.
A lot of things happen that feel unnecessary and don't quite fit in the overall story... So instead of it moving the story forward or making it more interesting, it slowed it down and made it a bit dull and boring, I feel like. Some things in this book make me furious too, but that is because I am not the target audience (YA is not something I really enjoy anymore).
The blurb definitely does not quite convey what this book is truly about and I feel like it's fun to read even though quite a few things were mentioned but not really explored. It leaves me a little bit confused and frustrated at the end because I don't quite see the point of it all, but in a way it's a bit typical for a YA/coming-of-age novel. However, I had a good time reading this - I liked the characters, the writing and most of all how the story was told.
4.5
I enjoyed this book, I love Heather Morris' writing. Sad and emotional and I am so glad it has a happy ending, made me feel hopeful and believe in good people even when the situation was not good at all. People can do horrible things but they can still be good when they least expect it.
A non-fiction book that reads so easily, I forgot it's not fiction in the first half of it. I really enjoyed reading this until that last part. It got more difficult to read as it made me really sad and reflect a lot more on the things mentioned and described. I probably won't stop thinking about this book for a while, since it does address some rather heavy subjects.
Really enjoyed this one. It really deals with some more serious issues than I expected and although those could've been explored much more. Some things felt very YA and if it weren't for those elements, this might be a 5 star. The story and characters felt very superficial at times but I was able to overlook this even though I had to cringe every single time and ask why?
Some things I didn't like: (no actual plot spoilers below)
- the protagonist being "not like other girls"- the narration/her inner monologues read like a teenager and not like an 18-year-old- the "romance", it wasn't really there for me. (story spoiler: Felt like it only happened because it was convenient, insta-love sort of. And she was practically drooling all over him from the moment they met but telling herself not to be that kind of girl... ugh. )- the comments on people's bodies/body shape (story spoiler: even the protagonist describing herself from a POV of a male character like it felt like she was objectifying herself, just to express how that person must not like what they're seeing. i thought we were long past this... like why do you have to emphasise how big your butt is but how tiny your boobs? There's nothing wrong with having small boobs?? )- we don't really get to know her family, the community as a whole or as individuals. We get snippets here and there but I wish there was more.- the not so YA content, and then just acceptance, no trauma, no grief? It didn't seem real and all that just came out of nowhere.. TW and CW warnings: rape, murder, drug abuse, death, bigotry Not too graphic luckily but it was still a lot... although I can also understand that this can be very much someone's reality. It just wasn't what I expected in a YA novel and a protagonist who sounds like a teenager.
Having said all this, I enjoyed the descriptions of the lands, their traditions, their experiences and everything new that I've been introduced to. And I honestly would love to read more books like this one but not YA. But I'm also aware that the adult books may include even more serious and heavy things, so I'd prefer something more like this novel actually.
4.5
One of my favourite books for sure. I love so many poems in this collection, especially because I can relate to how the speaker feels a lot. It's not 5 stars for me because it gets repetitive after a while...
The poems with descriptions of nature were my favourites, especially the ones that can also be understood as the feelings of the speaker.
I can see myself rereading this book over and over again and finding more ways to understand the poems.
Not sure what I expected but this was a lot more difficult to read than I thought it would be. There are a lot of uncomfortable things that happen in this book and unlikeable characters, which I have to say was intentional. But it didn't make it any easier to read. I did not want to follow what the characters were up to and doing to each other. It also addresses a lot of the country's history and politics which is important but since I was uncomfortable reading this, I couldn't really get myself to care. It's just not something I can really read for my own enjoyment.
4.25
This book was not easy to read as it deals with quite some heavy but important topics. The story is beautifully told with the way this book is structured. It doesn't really give me much of a chance to get emotionally attached to the characters but my heart still ached reading about their lives. It was a bit confusing at first but luckily there is a family tree in the book and that really helped.
4.75
I loved reading this book a lot. The writing was amazing and I was so blown away reading it all. My brain couldn't comprehend how such simple words can be so meaningful.
The second to last chapter was a bit less than mind-blowing, got a bit confusing because this book does not have a lot of punctuation, almost barely any punctuation, to be frank. I remember some commas and some question marks but that's pretty much it. Didn't bother me though, I really liked it.
This book is more of one traumatic and sad event after another with no time to process or with no happy events in-between that would make you feel hopeful. I felt it lacked some character development and some focus on how these events affect the characters.
Loved this and really needed this today <3
But now I am extremely hungry and want to eat every single dish they had too
TW/CW: rather explicit rape scene, murder, mention of child abuse, in particular sexual abuse
2 things:
1. I really liked the descriptions in the second half of the book.
2. I didn't like the protagonist at all. Which is why I couldn't love this book.
This book is great in the way it addresses this difficult situation from the pov of someone who grew up in Afghanistan. But other than that, I didn't like the protagonist's story. I have some issues with it, which made it really difficult for me to decide if I liked this book or not. To be frank, the protagonist is an asshole. And this whole book is about his 'redemption.' Did he redeem himself in the end? I can't say. But what I can say is that I have some issues with this book presenting him as someone who is not a good person in the first half of the novel, who mistreats his 'friend' because he can't help himself but see him more as a servant, although he pretends he doesn't, who is a liar and has fun at someone else's expense who is not even aware that they are secretly made fun of, and then tries to redeem him by 'saving' their son, who turns out to be his nephew. This is very oversimplified and I know this novel has more to offer than this but it bothers me that this redemption story can be summarised as: hey, you were a horrible person and witnessed your servant's rape but didn't do anything and then made sure their life is hell, but then find out they died, leaving their son orphaned in a really bad situation, so moving him to the US will redeem you? This part just really bothered me.. Did he become a better person? Did he learn from his mistakes? I can't tell.. Then also is he only taking his nephew to the US only because he's his nephew and he feels responsible and they're related? And taking his nephew to the US does not equal saving him. He's far from saved. He may no longer be in a bad situation but he has to deal with that traumatic experience. But does the protagonist help him or get him some professional help? A lot of things and ideas in this book are also very outdated. A product of its time, as they say. Does it excuse it though? I don't know. I just know that I am not comfortable with this, so for me it was not the best reading experience.
I really wanted to like this book and the whole concept is great but while reading this I just wasn't entirely sure what is going on. The way it's written, it was not really clear how it's structure and as someone who always struggles a bit with figuring that out in the beginning, I was completely lost and confused while reading this book. But the writing was nice!!
One of my favourite books. This is so wholesome and adorable! Made me feel cosy inside and I can't wait to read the rest!
One of my ultimate favourite books. I just love the writing, I love the story, I love the characters.
The second book of the Harry Potter series was just as good as the first one. No disappointment here. It was interesting to follow Harry in his second year and the way he has grown from what happened before. Also I have noticed after this re-read that it mentions the way his encounter with Voldemort troubled him. And how Fred and George always try to lighten up the mood. That is always a highlight for me. It is always interesting how I notice new things every time I re-read this series over and over again.