Tag: book review

Books, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: American Panda

by Zaheerah1 Comment on Review: American Panda
Review: American Panda

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

At seventeen, Mei is a freshman at MIT and on the road to complete her parent’s dreams for her: become a doctor, marry their preapproved suitor and continue their family line with children. Living in fear of being disowned like her older brother, Mei can’t seem to bring herself to tell her family her real dream lies with dance. Now she’s away from home and falling in love and learning the truth that could possibly shatter her future forever.

I’m not going to lie, I was surprised by how much I loved this book. I was genuinely thrown off by how much I ended up liking this. The narrative was so compelling as we watch Mei struggle with her overbearing parents and how cultural differences clash with what she wants to achieve – I really enjoyed the emphasis on the issue not being with cultural differences but how her parents use it to put their happiness over Mei’s. Even though Mei as a character and myself are worlds apart, I found her journey so relatable and it had me in tears at so many moments.

Honestly, Mei’s development was one of the best parts of this entire novel. We watch her try to struggle between being a good daughter while also wanting to follow her dreams and you get caught up very quickly in her emotions. She starts off as a sheltered kid who does her best to keep up with her parent’s expectation to slowly learning that it’s okay to not be the perfect image she’s expected to upkeep. And she slowly learns to get rid of the initial stereotypes she holds over other. Chao does an excellent job of portraying the drama between her and her family, which was so heartbreaking to read. Mei’s mother took a long time to grow on her, but you honestly develop a sense of appreciation for her, especially towards the end of the book and how the very same family issues and cultural values that affect Mei has had an impact on her.

The background characters all have my heart. And I loved how Mei’s personal development with all of them ended so happily. Especially with Darren and Nicolette.

Overall, Chao’s debut novel is a hit for me. It was such an emotional rollercoaster and a profoundly personal read that I recommend to anyone.

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Content warning: ableist language, fat-antagonism, the death of a family member and mentions of suicide. (If you’ve read the book and felt like I’ve missed something out, please tell me!)

Books, Contemporary, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Run, Riot

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Review: Run, Riot
Review: Run, Riot

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

* I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.

After Taran’s twin brother witnesses a murder, it suddenly becomes a giant game of cat and mouse in their tower block. Them vs the police. Them vs everyone else. Hari and her friends soon learn there’s something else happening in the estate, something that will uproot from everything they knew.

Run, Riot tackles some pretty important topics. Racism, police brutality, corruption and gentrification. It has the makings of being a very compelling book. It was fascinating to read this fast-paced story as these group of kids face these moments of injustice from the very people who are meant to protect them. One death leads to the breakdown of an entire community and exposes a trail of corruption that goes further than anyone expected. I really enjoy how the narrative played how, a minute by minute account of events, over a twenty-four-hour time lapse, with moments of flashbacks. I could definitely see this on TV.

I’m actually struggling to put into words what I didn’t like about this book. I just didn’t connect with the characters nor plot. It just felt bland, and many moments were just so dull to read. It’s not as adrenaline-fuelled you would think it would be. Which was a real shame because I actually enjoy its concept and plot, but I was actually really disappointed in its execution. The plot was gripping, its characters genuinely fascinating to read about but the whole book just didn’t work for me. Which really frustrated me because I was enjoying this and I wanted it to be better, but it wasn’t.

Overall, an interesting read about a group of teens standing up and speaking up for what they believe in. Personally, I think my dislike of this is just from my own personal reading experience/taste, but I still think it’s a book that a lot of people will enjoy, hopefully much more than I did.

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Books, Romance, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Review: When Dimple Met Rishi
Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

[I found this review hidden in the pits of my drafts, how it managed to stay hidden is beyond me 😂]

Promised to each other by their parents, Dimple and Rishi finally meet at a programming course. Only, Dimple has no idea that she’s being set up while Rishi thinks he’s meeting his future wife.

I would say I was severely disappointed by When Dimple Met Rishi. I really wished the plot made sense. If it were just a little bit clearer, it would’ve improved this story so well. Dimple and Rishi both enter this programming course but the lack of them is doing what they came for is odd. The story is supposed to follow their romance, but I wished it was a bit more consistent in its background. Like there’s an app contest which later leads to a talent show which leads to even more confusion.

I think I’ve come to the decision that I liked these characters separately, but not together, they’re a damn mess that really doesn’t work well.

Dimple was a very irritating main lead. Just because the lines “Not like other girls” wasn’t used, doesn’t mean that wasn’t there. Dimple literally never fails to mention how different she is to other girls because she’s into STEM subjects and how she’s not like those art girls. I wished this book celebrated girls in STEM without throwing girls who don’t go into those subjects under the bus. Dimple is constantly putting down loads of the “mean girls” in this book, which is literally almost all the remaining girls in the book. Most of the time I really enjoyed her character, mainly because she’s ambitious and career-motivated, but the amount of girl hate indeed clashed for me, personally, about her character.

I feel bad for Rishi, he’s trying the most to be on his best behaviour and to get Dimple to fall in love with him. It was a bit creepy at first, and I didn’t enjoy the fact he ends up having to put up a lot with her behaviour. Especially in one scene, there’s an annoying invasion of Rishi’s privacy that’s immediately brushed away in the plot.

Overall, I would say When Dimple Met Rishi was a sweet read, despite my shortcomings about it. A fun, culturally diverse read but I wouldn’t really rush to recommend it.

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Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Warcross

by Zaheerah9 Comments on Review: Warcross
Review: Warcross

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Warcross has taken the world by storm. Millions log in every day, millions are made every day from it. And Emika Chen has hacked her way in. Now its creator, Hideo Tanaka, wants to hire her, a teenage hacker, to undercover its biggest security issue.

Warcross is seriously one of the best books I’ve read this year. I can’t believe how much I loved this book. It’s so thrilling and engaging that I was so shocked how well this book suited my reading taste. (Seriously, if anyone knows any other books like this, throw them my way.) I loved everything about this.

The world its set in is so annoying amazing that I’m mad we don’t, as humanity, have not reached the kind of technology there is in Warcross. Warcross is, in simple terms, a VR game where the player is literally immersed into their environment. The sky’s the limit basically in this game. And like we have Smash Bros tournaments, there are competitions where the best players are pitted against each other in the ultimate gaming tournament. It’s so brilliant to read how the game worked, which connected users worldwide and made VR practically actual reality. The workings of the game were so much fun!

I have to admit the plot twist in this book was very predictable. I picked it up quite early who it was that was hacking into the Warcross system, but I have to admit I was completely thrown off by the other half of the reveal as well. I’m just glad I read the book now when its sequel, Wildcard, is closer to being released.

Just from this one book alone, I now understand the hype around Marie Lu’s books. If my TBR list weren’t so jam-packed, I would’ve read everything else she has written in a heartbeat straight after reading Warcross. Her cast of characters here are so amazing and brilliant, and I quickly grew to love in like seconds. They’re all so different but work so well together. I can’t tell you how great they are. I think Hideo may be the only character that still hasn’t grown as me, especially as the love interest. His role out of that was so engrossing, and I absolutely loved him. I’m a picky romance reader even in a book I loved like this, it just didn’t get to me. Like the development between them was sweet but, again, not for me.

Overall, there were certain elements, such as game design, to its world that left questions and some moments of predictability but nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot. Like damn, I’m more upset that this is the first Marie Lu book I’ve read. What have I been missing out?

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Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: The Wrath & the Dawn

by Zaheerah2 Comments on Review: The Wrath & the Dawn
Review: The Wrath & the Dawn

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5/5)

「Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.」

Every night the bride of the Caliph of Khorasan is killed. Until Shazi volunteers to outwit and kill the king in revenge for the death of her best friend. In the vein of the original 1001 nights, she holds off her death by telling a story every night the extends onto another.

I think The Wrath and the Dawn started off really well for me. It’s plot really grabbed from the very beginning, and it did exceed my expectations. Ahdieh has a gorgeous writing style that suits this novel’s intriguing plot. There’s a lot of quote-worthy lines that I really liked, but it was a shame I didn’t really feel the connection between them for it to really hit deep. There’s a magic system that I enjoyed but isn’t really introduced fully yet which I hope gets developed in the sequel.

Shahrzad is a great female lead. Her charismatic behaviour and sharp wit was amusing and her bravery had me rooting for her from the very beginning. But that very much drops very soon once you realise she has no idea what she’s going despite the story setting her up as this character that knows what she’s doing. How she managed to fall in love with him was questionable considering her aims. Khalid wasn’t even that great anyway. His mysterious persona wasn’t that interesting enough to want to care for him, I just wanted to know why he killed those girls, not really caring for his character. The background characters were actually my favourites of the plot I feel like we should’ve gotten a bit more background information and set up at the beginning of the novel before we get pushed straight into the story. I find it strange that enjoyed the plot of this book but didn’t enjoy its characters.

The Wrath and the Dawn have its obvious appeal to romance and retelling lovers. Despite its flaws, I did actually quite enjoy reading this book. It’s vibrant setting, and secondary characters are its most significant highlights. With a cliff-hanger like that, I do intend to read the sequel.

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Books, Contemporary, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Something in Between

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Review: Something in Between
Review: Something in Between

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

Jasmine de los Santos is the perfect student. Working hard to please her parents, hoping to get a full college scholarship to her dream college. But the dream is shattered when she is rewarded an award she can’t accept. Her entire family is residing in the U.S. illegally after their visas expired years ago. Now Jasmine’s breaking out and falling in love with the charming son of a Republican congressman. Time is running out, and Jasmine needs to find a way to stay.

I think Something in Between is a fantastic book about identity and one of the many experiences of undocumented immigrants. A significant theme of Something in Between is how children of immigrants are stuck between two worlds, two cultures, and figuring out how to identify when they clash with each other. Jasmine struggles, and her story shows the exploration of cultural conflict and how she learns that neither have to conflict with the other and you can be proud of both.

I enjoyed the dynamics and interactions between Jasmine and her family mainly. There’s a lot of diversity in this book that was really relatable. I wasn’t a huge fan of the drama that occurred within Jasmine and her friends, but I appreciated how in the end they worked it all out and rather than separating, all of them work out their issues and it’s realistically resolved.

The romance between Jasmine and Royce was initially quite sweet and adorable. It starts off with mutual respect between both of them and they slowly learn more about each other. It was later sort of ruined by miscommunication issues. Most of their problems could’ve been solved in seconds if they had just spoken more clearly. The whole ‘Are we still dating? We’re still dating.’ Thing got pretty old really quick. I didn’t hate Jasmine as a lead, but her personality tended to be very dramatic, and I wished the story focused a bit more on her actual family rather than the typical YA drama. She’s quite headstrong, and I liked that. But her family were the stronger aspects of the book, and I wished it was showed more.

There were some aspects that I didn’t enjoy, and one of them was how the Republicans were portrayed a bit too nice. Royce’s father does some terrible things, but they do help Jasmine’s family at one point, but I feel like they were a bit too nice to them when in the book they’re seen dismissing and alienating immigrants in the book.

Overall, it’s quite a good read. This is a very personal story about immigrants and finding out where we belong in a country that doesn’t want you and how the world can be terrible to them. I would definitely recommend it.

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