“The reality is that PalFest and boycott movements and 

confrontations don't play as lone strikers and do not seek to 

monopolise the struggle. There need to be midfield players, defenders holding the back lines - everyone has to find their role in the collective effort if we're to have results.”

Like all collections from different artists, some gripped me stronger than others. The poetry made an especially strong impact, and I look forward to reading more from many of these authors. As others have noted, the reflections from many of the Western authors who grew up in pro-Zionist atmospheres and did little to challenge their beliefs about Palestinian liberation became tiresome to read. However, the pieces from Palestinians and other perspectives kept the collection from becoming too repetitive. I have followed PalFest organizers and attendees on social media, and hearing from organizers and attendees across the years in this book gave me a deeper appreciation for the work and impact art has.

"’Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.’"

Much funnier and darker than I was expecting.  Required a lot of suspension of disbelief, but the writing was engaging and easy to read. For example, very weird that Elizabeth spouted such strong political convictions on her TV show but had no qualms about working for a military contractor. At the same time, I wanted her to shove it in the face of her old bosses. Loved the time jumps and how the other story lines wove together. Picked it up because most of my aunts have read it this year, so looking forward to hearing their opinions when I’m home over the holidays.

Very western-focused intro to philosophy. When the book starts to touch on Eastern or Islamic philosophies, it got a bit cringey, but could be forgiven as the letters were written to a Norwegian child and in the ‘80s. I would have appreciated such an intro when I was getting into learning about Ancient Greece. The storyline of Sophie and the mysterious philosopher and Hilde did not hold my interest much, but it’s an interesting premise to explore different philosophical schools of thought.

A comprehensive but clear look at how law, especially from the UN and international bodies, has failed the Palestinians, how USA and Britain have betrayed them, and how Israel ignores any law that doesn’t serve the expansion with no consequences. Some of the language gave me pause, but overall a very informative read.

Cozy and cute! Loved how everyone was on board but still gave her time to come around herself.

I loved Palestinians Walks by Raja Shehadeh, so I was eager to read more from him. This book is just as beautiful and emotional. The details of his fathers’ landmark legal case and the ways Shehadeh came to realize their lives mirrored each other left my jaw on the floor. While the big-picture of the Israeli occupation is clear to me, many of the little details of cruelties from Israel and Jordan had escaped my attention. It was especially difficult to read about how advocating for a two-state solution destroyed his family, only for the PLO to accept that proposal at Oslo. Now it is clearly too late, as Shehadeh notes. 

Read with the #ReadPalestine Week.

Cute romance. Took me a while to get into, but it was sweet by the end.

Uzma Jalaluddin is an immediate read for me, but unfortunately this was the first book of hers that I didn’t love. It’s still a cute holiday romance, but I found Anna deeply annoying and didn’t feel the spark or thrill that makes a romance great from either couple. 

First Anna: She’s so unobservant, I couldn’t take her chapters seriously. How do you meet a man one night, describe his exact features on the actor in the film you watch the next morning, and then run into him just an hour later and not recognize him - especially knowing there’s a movie filming in town? Her repetitiveness about her feelings about Nick and the thoughts she’s had since the plane turbulence brought my attention to all the things she overlooked - how was she buying things without Canadian currency? Why is her room first described as so incredibly disgusting and moldy while the rest of the hotel is fine? (Especially when, somehow, Dadu manages to later get a new room to himself) How can she say one of her all-time favorite Christmas songs is "’O Tannenbaum” and doesn’t blink when Josh says his last name is Tannenbaum? The letter just magically blowing at her feet all the time?

The fact that she convinces herself to say yes to Nick when he proposes, despite only being together six months and everything readers saw him do, and then all her agency and decision making about him is completely washed out because he’s been hung up on his ex the whole time? Josh looks like the next solution to her problems, rather than Anna finding her independence and also love.

Her micro-aggressions also felt weirdly forgotten after the first third of the book.

Maryam I really liked, until about half way through the book when her chapters became repetitive. I felt for her struggle overcoming her hurt from her past relationship and breaking out of her role in her family, but there’s only so many times I could read how she didn’t want to fall in love again because it ended badly last time before I became annoyed. She claims she put her foot down with her family, but I never saw her do that until she finally had it all out with Saima. I hope she finds her happy ending, but I didn’t really feel it here. So much of her repeating her hang-ups and focusing on party planning and her career took away time I wish had been spent on her and Saif instead. 

The setting in the early 2000s was also jarring. Little about the slang/speech, pop-culture, or fashion references put me in that time period. Only when they talked about phone plans would I remember it wasn’t set in the 2020s. 

The focus on careers felt as rushed as the romances. Of course I want everything to work out at the end of a book like this, but it almost seems like because it was set during the holidays, the way everything suddenly came together was supposed to feel magical. Maybe I’m just not in the mindset for a fluffy romance right now, but I really missed the spark and butterflies I was hoping for here. 

“When they look at their soldiers, they see sons and daughters. When we look at their soldiers, our hearts also beat harder, although it is for different reasons.”

The beginning of this book gave me such a strong sense of Déjà vu, I double checked that I hadn’t read it before. The writing was so welcoming, the feeling persisted - especially in scenes about family history.  By the middle of the novel I was sure this was one of the best books I’ve read this year. The end left me with chills. 

“Even if I cannot live in it, my soul will reawaken if there is a Palestinian state.”

Infuriating how relevant this still is. As always, Davis is clear and persuasive. I greatly appreciate how far back in history she went to explain the current prison system in the West, and how it impacts the entire world.