All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir – Anticipated Reads of 2022 // Sabaa Tahir wrote it, and that’s all that matters

Sabaa Tahir is going into the contemporary genre.

CONTEMPORARY!

Young Adult, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Pakistani-Rep

All My Rage
by Sabaa Tahir

Lahore, Pakistan. Then.

Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Cloud’s Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.

Juniper, California. Now.

Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.

Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.

When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.

Expected Publication: March 1, 2022

There’s a character named Salahudin!! I really like the name Salahudin, and was first introduced to it because of a cartoon show I grew up watching that created a fictionalized account of the real and historical Salahudin (aka Saladin)‘s years as a teenager/young adult. Truth is though, I don’t actually know know the historical importance/role of Saladin (like, I know he was important and he was a general, but I haven’t obsessively read and memorized his bio)…but I absolutely loved the adventures that the characters went on in the show.

Anyway, this is the first time ever that I’m seeing Salahudin being used as a name for a character in a book, and a book written by Sabaa Tahir no less, so I’m very excited! And yes, I know the name has nothing to do with anything, and you probably don’t really get why I’m geeking out about it so much, but it means a lot to my Inner Child.

I’ve been wondering ever since I found out that this book was going to be published whether this will be as heartbreaking as some of the events in An Ember in the Ashes were. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about Ember on my blog, but I did read the series around February of last year, and the last two books were so emotionally devastating, it still pains me today to remember some of the events.

Spoilers for the series An Ember in the Ashes

Harper dying (i don’t even want to begin on this, there’s just so much tears and pain. why did he have to die 😭😭 why world, why 😭😭).

Livia dying (an absolute queen and a wonderful empress, the empire didn’t deserve her).

Faris dying (not sure if anyone will remember him, he was a side character (from Elias’s friend group before Elias left, and then he was working with Hel), and he sacrificed himself so Hel could live, and it was just so sad because Hel couldn’t help him, and she had to leave knowing he wouldn’t make it. And he knew he wouldn’t make it. And he’s just a side character, but his death rattled me so much okay, I’m a sensitive soul 😭).

Considering that Ember managed to pack such a punch, and this book’s premise seems to be promising even more punches, I’m probably not ready to handle it.

But, I still want to experience this book right now, please and thank you.

Some questions for you:

• Have you heard of All My Rage? Are you looking forward to reading it?
• Have you read An Ember in the Ashes? What did you think of it/the series?
• What are some contemporaries that you can’t wait to read this year?

Chat with me in the comments below!

26 Books I Plan to Read This Summer (ft. lots and lots of diverse reads)

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I know that this is an incredibly ambitious list and I might not read all of these books. But I do have them all on hold/currently borrowed so I’ll have to make an effort to read them.

I think this is the first time I’ve ever made a summer TBR post, but these books sound too good to not mention, so I figured this would be the best way to get these onto your radar. Be sure to check some of them out! There’s so much diverse representation here, and books from multiple genres, so there should be a little something for everyone.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai – Review

Welcome guys!!! Today’s review is of The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai. This book started out great, but by the time I was halfway through, I was bored and didn’t really care anymore. However, the main character’s resolve to help and protect his mother salvaged the story for me.

Book: The Bridge of Little Jeremy

Author: Indrajit Garai

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Summary: Jeremy’s mother is about to go to prison for their debt to the State. He is trying everything within his means to save her, but his options are running out fast. 

Then Jeremy discovers a treasure under Paris. 

This discovery may save his mother, but it doesn’t come for free. And he has to ride over several obstacles for his plan to work. 

Meanwhile, something else is limiting his time…

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Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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*Jeremy. I really liked Jeremy’s resolve to do everything that he could to help and protect his mother and his friends. His character had faults and he wasn’t perfect. He grew with the story and he was really mature. He loved art, and was really passionate about his paintings, which I loved since I like to paint sometimes as well.

*Description. I liked the description of Paris. It was beautiful and made me feel more in the story. The way it looked in the different seasons, the history, it was just really nice.

*Plot. The plot was okay. I liked the idea, but the execution was meh. The story was a bit too long, and I was bored through-out most of it. However, it touched on a lot of different important topics, like the harms and benefits of social media, inheritance tax, and also explored Jeremy’s relationship with his single mother who is mostly absent through-out the story.

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*Slow and Boring. I think the story could have been reduced by maybe a 100 pages. It was too long, and I was bored through most of it because nothing really happened except until the very end. It was also very boring being in Jeremy’s head all the time, because he was always thinking the same thing over and over. By the end of the story, I just didn’t really care anymore.

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This was okay. I didn’t love it, I don’t think I’d recommend it, but here’s a positive review to help you decide! The story has a positive message, and the plot was interesting, but the execution could have been better. (Brendon’s Positive Review)

One sentence summary: An okay contemporary novel with a passionate main character.

Overall, 2.5 stars rounded down to 2

★★☆☆☆

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Indrajit Garai, an American citizen now, was born in India in 1965. After his Bachelors degree from Indian Institute of Technology and Masters from Harvard, he worked as a corporate strategy consultant and as an investment banker in America, Spain, and England, while studying parallelly Ayurveda (ancient medicine of India) for stress management. In 2001, after the birth of his daughter, he moved to Paris, opened his private practice of stress management, and then authored six books in this field (five in French and one in English).

Authoring these books on stress management gave him a deep love for writing. Since 2015, he has devoted himself full-time to creating literature.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green – Review

Hey everyone! Welcome to my review of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. This book was emotional, painful, sad, and an amazing story that deals with mental illness. I loved the main character Aza, and I felt fer her so much.

Book: Turtles All The Way Down

Author: John Green

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: It all begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward. Turtles All the Way Down is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

In his long-awaited return, John Green shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity.

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Quote: “Your now is not your forever.”

*Aza. I loved Aza because of how fragile she was. I loved her because of how real and painful her story was. I just wanted to hug her, to hold her, to make her feel better, to try and help her. She was an amazing main character and I felt her pain so much.

*Mental Health Rep. I loved how the book dealt with such a heavy and sad topic. Aza’s thought spirals were portrayed beautifully and it made me realize how much I don’t know about mental health. I loved how at the end, she wasn’t magically cured or her illness vanished. It was realistic, and I’m glad that this book was so honest in its representation.

*Writing. The writing was beautiful. It made me feel there, it made me feel inside Aza’s head. I understood and felt her pain and that is absolutely amazing. Kudos to Mr. Green for making such a heartfelt story.

*Mystery. To some people, this book may seem centered on a mystery, but it’s not. This book is about Aza and her mental health battle. Sure, there is a mystery and Aza is invested in it, but it doesn’t take up the whole story. It’s just mentioned at the beginning and Aza does do some snooping with her friend, Daisy, but then it isn’t really mentioned until the end. It is definitely NOT the focus of the story.

*Davis and Noah. Davis was adorable. And poor Noah, I really felt so sorry for him. Aza’s relationship with both of them was so sweet and endearing and cute. I loved all of them.

*Philosophical. There were so many great points raised in this story. Questions about the true nature of your existence. Can you control your life, or is someone else controlling your life for you? Does your environment shape who you become? Or has it been decreed? This is a great book for book clubs and to have a serious discussion about after reading.

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Quote: “Anybody can look at you. It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.”

*Daisy. I am definitely not a fan of Daisy. At first, I thought she mildly annoying, but at a certain point (if you’ve read it, you’ll know) I was horrified by her. She was so insensitive. She was so hurtful. After that point, I couldn’t sympathize or feel for her anymore. What a horrible friend.

*Legalities. Something happened and the legal side of me was eager to hear what happened afterwards but it was never mentioned. I was disappointed, but it wasn’t anything that seriously detracted from the story.

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Quote: “True terror isn’t being scared; it’s not having a choice on the matter.”

This was a painful yet amazing read. It raised a lot of good questions and is amazing for discussions. I would recommend this and I really hope you enjoy it if you read it.

One sentence summary: An insightful, heartbreaking, and amazing read.

Overall 4.75 stars rounded to 5

★★★★★

Have you read Turtles All The Way Down? What did you think? Have you read any other John Green books? Let’s chat in the comments.