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popthebutterfly 's review for:
It Won't Always Be Like This
by Malaka Gharib
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: It Won’t Always Be Like This
Author: Malaka Gharib
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Egyptian characters, Egyptian/Filipino American MC
Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, memoir, nonfiction, Egypt, coming of age
Publication Date: September 20, 2022
Genre: YA Graphic Novel Memoir
Age Relevance: 13+ (divorce, religion, language, sexual harassment, sexual assault, modesty culture)
Explanation of Above: Divorce is a plot line of the book. There are mentions and showings of religion and modest culture, including scenes shaming the MC for what she is wearing. There is some slight cursing in the book. There is one scene of catcalling/sexual harassment and one scene of being groped/sexual assault.
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Pages: 225
Synopsis: It's hard enough to figure out boys, beauty, and being cool when you're young, but even harder when you're in a country where you don't understand the language, culture, or religion.
Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it'll be just like every other vacation she's spent at her dad's place in Cairo. But her father shares news that changes everything: He has remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father's growing family summer after summer, Malaka must reevaluate her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness!
Malaka doesn't feel like she fits in when she visits her dad--she sticks out in Egypt and doesn't look anything like her fair-haired half siblings. But she adapts. She learns that Nirvana isn't as cool as Nancy Ajram, that there's nothing better than a Fanta and a melon-mint hookah, that the desert is most beautiful at dawn, and that her new stepmother, Hala, isn't so different from Malaka herself.
Review: I really liked this graphic novel memoir! I thought it was well done and it did well to show what growing up with divorced international parents is like. I liked seeing the juxtaposition of the MC’s American life vs her Egyptian life and I enjoyed seeing her insight and seeing how she grew throughout the novel, especially in the way her relationship grew with her stepmother. I think this would be a great book for children of divorce, especially those who have to travel a long way to see their non-custodial parent or children with new step parents. I thought the artwork was also well done, the character development amazing, and the world building great.
The only thing I had a bit of fault with is that the story just ends. It doesn’t have a resolution or anything and the author’s note mentions talking to Hala again, that she reviewed this story before it was published, but in the story itself she just kind of falls off the face of the Earth. I wish there was a bit more resolution with her.
Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!
Book: It Won’t Always Be Like This
Author: Malaka Gharib
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Egyptian characters, Egyptian/Filipino American MC
Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, memoir, nonfiction, Egypt, coming of age
Publication Date: September 20, 2022
Genre: YA Graphic Novel Memoir
Age Relevance: 13+ (divorce, religion, language, sexual harassment, sexual assault, modesty culture)
Explanation of Above: Divorce is a plot line of the book. There are mentions and showings of religion and modest culture, including scenes shaming the MC for what she is wearing. There is some slight cursing in the book. There is one scene of catcalling/sexual harassment and one scene of being groped/sexual assault.
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Pages: 225
Synopsis: It's hard enough to figure out boys, beauty, and being cool when you're young, but even harder when you're in a country where you don't understand the language, culture, or religion.
Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it'll be just like every other vacation she's spent at her dad's place in Cairo. But her father shares news that changes everything: He has remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father's growing family summer after summer, Malaka must reevaluate her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness!
Malaka doesn't feel like she fits in when she visits her dad--she sticks out in Egypt and doesn't look anything like her fair-haired half siblings. But she adapts. She learns that Nirvana isn't as cool as Nancy Ajram, that there's nothing better than a Fanta and a melon-mint hookah, that the desert is most beautiful at dawn, and that her new stepmother, Hala, isn't so different from Malaka herself.
Review: I really liked this graphic novel memoir! I thought it was well done and it did well to show what growing up with divorced international parents is like. I liked seeing the juxtaposition of the MC’s American life vs her Egyptian life and I enjoyed seeing her insight and seeing how she grew throughout the novel, especially in the way her relationship grew with her stepmother. I think this would be a great book for children of divorce, especially those who have to travel a long way to see their non-custodial parent or children with new step parents. I thought the artwork was also well done, the character development amazing, and the world building great.
The only thing I had a bit of fault with is that the story just ends. It doesn’t have a resolution or anything and the author’s note mentions talking to Hala again, that she reviewed this story before it was published, but in the story itself she just kind of falls off the face of the Earth. I wish there was a bit more resolution with her.
Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!