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gimmebooksjoanna's Reviews (326)
This is one of those books that really makes you think and I learned so much from it.
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Zeba tells her true story of growing up in an Indian family in Saudi Arabia. They follow the Islamic faith and Zeba tells us what that was like for her, particularly telling us about the challenges she faces where her parents are desperate for her to get married.
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She talks in detail about her journey and desire to forge her own path that goes against the typical route for a Muslim girl.
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Somewhere along the line, Zeba takes it into her own hands to learn more about her faith and soon learns that the obvious patriarchy isn't part of Islam at all - it's simply how it's been interpreted, by the patriarchy over the years.
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I won't tell you how Zeba's story ends (at least as far as the book is concerned!), but it's beautiful and it's so worth the read.
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What struck me most is that sometimes memoirs can be quite self-indulgent and there wasn't a hint of it in this. It was so matter of fact and honest. I didn't feel like Zeba was trying to prove a point. She was just telling her story.
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It's a short read, just shy of 200 pages and I enjoyed going on Zeba's journey with her. .
Huge thanks to @dotheworkbookclub for making it their book of choice this month - it's not one I would have been likely to find!
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Zeba tells her true story of growing up in an Indian family in Saudi Arabia. They follow the Islamic faith and Zeba tells us what that was like for her, particularly telling us about the challenges she faces where her parents are desperate for her to get married.
.
She talks in detail about her journey and desire to forge her own path that goes against the typical route for a Muslim girl.
.
Somewhere along the line, Zeba takes it into her own hands to learn more about her faith and soon learns that the obvious patriarchy isn't part of Islam at all - it's simply how it's been interpreted, by the patriarchy over the years.
.
I won't tell you how Zeba's story ends (at least as far as the book is concerned!), but it's beautiful and it's so worth the read.
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What struck me most is that sometimes memoirs can be quite self-indulgent and there wasn't a hint of it in this. It was so matter of fact and honest. I didn't feel like Zeba was trying to prove a point. She was just telling her story.
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It's a short read, just shy of 200 pages and I enjoyed going on Zeba's journey with her. .
Huge thanks to @dotheworkbookclub for making it their book of choice this month - it's not one I would have been likely to find!
3.5 rounded up ..
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Possible spoilers in the review below although they won't change your enjoyment.
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One day, the Gold siblings went to see a fortune teller who supposedly can tell you the date of their death.
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The Immortalists follow the lives of the children following this information and questions whether it changed the way they lived their lives. One thing is for certain, the day they went to see the Woman on Hester Street, their lives were inexplicably changed forever.
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The concept of this book is brilliant. It's deeply thought provoking, and I loved how the book designated parts to each sibling and cleverly interwove each ones story as the story passed the baton on. As whole sections were dedicated, rather than flitting through characters from chapter to chapter, it was easier to get invested in them.
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BUT, I found myself getting less and less interested as I went through the book. I devoured the scene setting chapter, and I kept that pace through all of Simon's part of the story and most of Klara's. But then the story fell flat. The two most complex and interesting siblings had passed away. I just didn't find Daniel and Varya half as interesting.
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This was a great premise and well written - just it fell a little short for me.
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Possible spoilers in the review below although they won't change your enjoyment.
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One day, the Gold siblings went to see a fortune teller who supposedly can tell you the date of their death.
.
The Immortalists follow the lives of the children following this information and questions whether it changed the way they lived their lives. One thing is for certain, the day they went to see the Woman on Hester Street, their lives were inexplicably changed forever.
.
The concept of this book is brilliant. It's deeply thought provoking, and I loved how the book designated parts to each sibling and cleverly interwove each ones story as the story passed the baton on. As whole sections were dedicated, rather than flitting through characters from chapter to chapter, it was easier to get invested in them.
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BUT, I found myself getting less and less interested as I went through the book. I devoured the scene setting chapter, and I kept that pace through all of Simon's part of the story and most of Klara's. But then the story fell flat. The two most complex and interesting siblings had passed away. I just didn't find Daniel and Varya half as interesting.
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This was a great premise and well written - just it fell a little short for me.
I'd already committed to too much of the book to just DNF it, but honestly, I found this bland and slow.
It was one of those novels where nothing much really happened but it just kept going on and on.
It was split into three parts. Part 1, although slow was the one I enjoyed the most. Probably because the is where the majority of the stuff happened. At this point I didn't really mind the book. Part 2 was ok albeit the main event of that part was mostly an unbelievable non-event and not in line with the the main protagonists character at all. Then Part 3 just felt nothing more than an attempt to stretch the narrative out.
It's a no from me unfortunately.
It was one of those novels where nothing much really happened but it just kept going on and on.
It was split into three parts. Part 1, although slow was the one I enjoyed the most. Probably because the is where the majority of the stuff happened. At this point I didn't really mind the book. Part 2 was ok albeit the main event of that part was mostly an unbelievable non-event and not in line with the the main protagonists character at all. Then Part 3 just felt nothing more than an attempt to stretch the narrative out.
It's a no from me unfortunately.
Synopsis:
Jess Walker is drawn into a tightly knit group of rule-breakers in her first year at university, and behind to experiment with a new version of herself. But the dynamic between the friends - and their maverick professor - begins to darken as they share secrets, lovers and finally a tragedy. Soon, Jess is faces with the question she fears the most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life?
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This wasn't the book I was expecting or wanting it to be. I wanted a real 'whodunnit' mystery. Which it wasn't. This was one of those slow burning books where it took a while for much to happen. But whilst not much was happening, it was being written beautifully and the character depth and development was incredible.
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The Truants is full of suspense and is a real coming of age story. It's incredibly unsettling and I felt uneasy throughout. Even through the slow burning, I was still on the edge of my seat and looked forward to picking the book back up.
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I'm so glad I've waited a few days to write my review on this one. The opinion was absolutely divided in the readalong and I found myself on the fence for the vast majority of the chat!
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But, I've settled on
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
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Thank you so much to @tandemcollectiveuk @bloomsburypublishing and @kateweinberg for the #gifted copy and for having me in my first readalong. I really enjoyed it
Jess Walker is drawn into a tightly knit group of rule-breakers in her first year at university, and behind to experiment with a new version of herself. But the dynamic between the friends - and their maverick professor - begins to darken as they share secrets, lovers and finally a tragedy. Soon, Jess is faces with the question she fears the most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life?
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This wasn't the book I was expecting or wanting it to be. I wanted a real 'whodunnit' mystery. Which it wasn't. This was one of those slow burning books where it took a while for much to happen. But whilst not much was happening, it was being written beautifully and the character depth and development was incredible.
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The Truants is full of suspense and is a real coming of age story. It's incredibly unsettling and I felt uneasy throughout. Even through the slow burning, I was still on the edge of my seat and looked forward to picking the book back up.
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I'm so glad I've waited a few days to write my review on this one. The opinion was absolutely divided in the readalong and I found myself on the fence for the vast majority of the chat!
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But, I've settled on
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
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Thank you so much to @tandemcollectiveuk @bloomsburypublishing and @kateweinberg for the #gifted copy and for having me in my first readalong. I really enjoyed it
I've never read anything by Katerina Diamond but after reading the first look with @readersfirst I knew this would be up my street!
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This was an extremely quick, pacy read that kept me on the edge of my seat from the start. I had a conversation with a couple of other bookstagrammers who both warned me Diamond could be a bit intense, and they weren't half right. She is NOT scared of going in!!! But honestly - it was amazing. I saw one of the twists coming but the actual way everything panned out was not on my radar AT ALL!
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This had all the right ingredients. Suspense, short quick chapters, information being drip fed and an unpredictable twist.
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I'll definitely be reading more by Katerina Diamond because this was brill!
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A solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 / 5. I knocked half a star off because whilst the ending was good, it was a little far fetched. But forgiveable because everything else was great
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This was an extremely quick, pacy read that kept me on the edge of my seat from the start. I had a conversation with a couple of other bookstagrammers who both warned me Diamond could be a bit intense, and they weren't half right. She is NOT scared of going in!!! But honestly - it was amazing. I saw one of the twists coming but the actual way everything panned out was not on my radar AT ALL!
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This had all the right ingredients. Suspense, short quick chapters, information being drip fed and an unpredictable twist.
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I'll definitely be reading more by Katerina Diamond because this was brill!
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A solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 / 5. I knocked half a star off because whilst the ending was good, it was a little far fetched. But forgiveable because everything else was great
I bought this book as it's this month's @dotheworkbookclub pick. In amongst everything else that was reading slumpy about this month, nothing about this book (mostly the cover) was grabbing me about it. I didn't feel desperate to read it.
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I can't believe I delayed it all month! I LOVED this book. It goes against my instincts because I hate long chapters, but this was written so beautifully it didn't feel like a slog. Whilst the book is not a memoir, everything about it feels like it. It's split into six stories - all at a different point on the protoganists childhood. There are two key themes running throughout the book. The political unrest in Sri Lanka and the fact that Arjie is gay. His family refer to him as 'funny' and seemingly try to gently push that side of him away. But he's happy dressing up as the main event in games of bride-bride at the tender age of 7. As we go through each story, which start off so sweet and innocent and lose that light heartedness as we go deeper through the book, we learn that this isn't just a phase and he is most definitely gay. He battles with it himself after his first 'experience' - the depth of emotion is written so beautifully. The final story is written as a series of journal entries and although his sexuality is referenced, this chapter of his life is extremely eye opening as we're told of the unrest in Sri Lanka between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
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This books is so perfect. It's written exquisitely and Selvadurai truly takes you on a heart breaking journey with Arjie and his family.
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I can't believe I delayed it all month! I LOVED this book. It goes against my instincts because I hate long chapters, but this was written so beautifully it didn't feel like a slog. Whilst the book is not a memoir, everything about it feels like it. It's split into six stories - all at a different point on the protoganists childhood. There are two key themes running throughout the book. The political unrest in Sri Lanka and the fact that Arjie is gay. His family refer to him as 'funny' and seemingly try to gently push that side of him away. But he's happy dressing up as the main event in games of bride-bride at the tender age of 7. As we go through each story, which start off so sweet and innocent and lose that light heartedness as we go deeper through the book, we learn that this isn't just a phase and he is most definitely gay. He battles with it himself after his first 'experience' - the depth of emotion is written so beautifully. The final story is written as a series of journal entries and although his sexuality is referenced, this chapter of his life is extremely eye opening as we're told of the unrest in Sri Lanka between the Tamils and the Sinhalese.
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This books is so perfect. It's written exquisitely and Selvadurai truly takes you on a heart breaking journey with Arjie and his family.