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popthebutterfly 's review for:

Monster Child by Rahela Nayebzadah
3.0

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Monster Child

Author: Rahela Nayebzabah

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Afghan, Muslim, Immigrant MC, family, and side characters

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: fiction, adult content

Genre: Fiction

Publication Date: May 18, 2021

Publisher: Buckrider Books

Pages: 200

Recommended Age: can't recommend, DNFed (language, rape/sexual assault)

Explanation of CWs: Lots of cursing and explicit language. Sexual assault and rape is written in detail. Creepy language about women's bodies.

Synopsis: In a powerful debut novel author Rahela Nayebzadah introduces three unforgettable characters, Beh, Shabnam, and Alif. In a world swirling with secrets, racism, and a touch of magic we watch through the eyes of these three children as Nayebzadah’s family of Afghan immigrants try to find their way in an often uncaring society. But as a sexual assault on thirteen-year-old Beh unleashes the past and destroys the family the reader is left wondering who is the monster child? Is it Beh, who says she is called a disease? Is it Shabnam, who cries tears of blood? Is it Alif, who in the end declares “We are a family of monsters”? Or are the monsters all around us?

Review: I had to DNF the book at pg. 61. The book is good and I think a lot of people would enjoy the writing, but there's a lot of things in the book I felt really triggered by. There's lots of explicit language in the book. The way women are talked about in the book is very explicit and hurtful, especially when, in reference to Muslim children who adopt western culture "look like every other girl in school waiting to pop their cherries". There's also rape in detail in this book with a minor involved and I wasn't expecting that from this book. I knew it would be touched on but I didn't know the extent of it. I think this would be a great read and I wish this would have been a good read for me, but it was just too much for me in the end. However, the story is extremely well written and the characters are well developed. I also loved the world building and the plot of the book. The pacing was also on par.

Verdict: It's good and I'd have loved to read more, but I just can't at the moment. Not for me but maybe for you!