Book Reviews

Miné Bronkhorst & Khadijah Motara

AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

By far the best and worst book I’ve ever read

This book was truly the saddest book I’ve ever read. Just starting the book's first few chapters already had me wishing to ball my eyes out, it was truly the most gut-wrenching and heartbreaking book I’ve every read. The descriptions about the conditions in Syria and the injuries sustained by the citizens (especially the children) were so descriptive and each word felt like a sword being plunged into my heart going deeper and deeper into each page and description.

What makes this so much worse is the fact that almost everything in this book was reality, it wasn’t just some random book based of fiction, it was reality turned into fiction, a way to get a message across and a way to spread hope. This book focuses on the struggle of Syrians during the Assad regime, now while the Assad regime has fallen and some sanctions have been lifted, the country continues to face significant challenges. To me it’s so difficult to fathom the fact that this is reality and that this happens to actual people. Just reading about it broke me so I can’t fathom how those who actually lived these lives felt.

To start Salaama’s trauma was truly something that shattered me, the things she saw while working at the hospital were unimaginable: mutated body parts everywhere, the smell of blood and sickness filling the air. She performed surgery with trembling hands, without proper tools, without anaesthesia to numb the pain and without clean water or medicine to help those in need and through it all, the suffering of the children broke me. The way their small bodies shook with fear and pain, losing their homes and families, being so small and expected to fend for themselves, their cries echoing in her mind showed just how deep the scars of war can run both on the body and on the soul.

This books highlights how death is the kindest thing shown to the citizens because of all that they have endured, imagine how horrible and disgusting the conditions they live in and the torture they live through for protesting or fighting for their culture and country is, that death comes across as “the kindest thing”.

This book broke me in a way I feel it will stay with me forever, the writing was nothing but perfect. It captured the story of the Syrian Revolution so painfully perfectly, so firm and precise, and it was written in such a way that one’s heart is bound to shift and break.Through this book you live what you have read: you live the experiences, the pain and the grief that these characters felt. You truly grasp the concept of what trauma is and how when it is mixed with grief it can break you, how it can shatter you and make your mind conjure up and create things as coping mechanisms. While the ending gave a small bit of hope and a kind of happily ever after, it still broke me because of everything that happened before it. The reality of that happiness felt fragile and bittersweet, a reminder that even when a story ends with hope the pain and the losses are still there.

In the end this story was not just something I read, it was something I felt deeply. I feel it will always linger in my heart and mind, always acting as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the devastating scars that trauma and loss can leave behind and imprint on a person.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Is a gothic murder mystery that’s bound to give you goosebumps.

It’s set in 1888 London, during the time of the historical Jack the Ripper murderer. It follows the lead character and daughter of a lord, Audrey Rose Wadsworth. She’s born into the life of wealth and privilege. Expected to attend dress fittings and host teas along with all the young women her age but Audrey Rose leads a debarred secret life. She goes against her father’s wishes and societies expectations and studied forensic medicine under her uncle. Her work in forensic medicine pulls her into the mysterious investigation of the serial killer, Jack the Ripper. While reading you will not only follow along but you become Audrey: uncovering clues, performing autopsies and getting one step closer to solving the case. This book is filled with thrill, passion, adventure and twist and turns that leave you shell-shocked. Just when you’re convinced you’ve cracked the case, the plot shifts leaving you in the dark. It’s truly a remarkable book and is most definitely worth 5 stars.

A GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO MURDER - Holly Jackson

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The whole of Fairview knows the tragedy. Five years ago a girl named Andie Bell was murdered by her highschool sweetheart and boyfriend, Sal Singh, who thereafter killed himself. Pip Fitzamobi (the protagonist) knew Sal when she was a kid, he was the kindest and most considerate person she knew, so him being a murderer? It didn't make sense, something wasn't adding up. For her senior capstone project she decided to investigate the “Andie Bell Case”. Determined to prove Sal's innocence.

This book will send chills down your spine as you follow along as Pip adds suspects to her list and uncovers clues even the police couldn’t. This was truly one of the best books I’ve ever read: the writing was incredible, leaving me absolutely dumbfounded, shocked and stunned once I uncovered what actually happened to Andie Bell.

This book was truly an emotional roller-coaster. The plot twists will fill you with relief, sadness, shock and intrigue. It was written by an incredible author and mastermind, Holly Jackson, and was without a doubt 5 starts

All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven

★★★★★

This book is told from two perspectives: one from a teenage girl named Violet who lost her sister in a car accident and is struggling with grief, and another from a boy named Finch who is a bit of an oddball, but behind his mask of humour, struggles with depression. Together, they take on high school and grow a deeply intimate bond.

I loved this story, but I do deviate from the popular opinion. So lets cut this review into three parts: Finch, Violet, and their relationship.

Firstly, we have the anomaly of a character that is Finch. We all read about depression in our LO books, but with him, Niven cut into the core of what life looks like with the illness. Finch was a joyous character from Violet's perspective. He was adventurous and funny, and he kept her from that dark place. Even seeing glimpses of Finch's own thoughts, we thought of him as a joking philosopher. That was until we saw him counting days since he felt happy. Or pasted sticky notes around his room with fun facts and reasons to live. It served a meaningful perspective. As people, we see suicides as people giving up. This book changed that ideology completely. Every day that Finch woke up, he fought the dark corners in his minds, he kept himself occupied, and he tried everything to stay alive. In the end, even Violet was not enough to save Finch. He drowned, and in those last gulps of water, he found peace.

Secondly, Violet is a paler character who is struggling with grief. She had her strong relationship with her sister that bloomed out of a place of love, understanding, and sisterhood. It's why her death changed Violent from a popular party girl to a grief strucken loner. Whereas Violet and Finch's relationship started in shared pain. Violet was happy before her sister's death, she hadn't known sadness. So afterwards, she didn't believe that she could possibly live or be happy again. But Finch showed that there's light at the end of the tunnel. He made her feel joy when she couldn't dream about feeling anything other than sadness. So after Finch died, she didn't carry the hopelessness about never feeling happy again. He showed her that death is painful, but it can cultivate beautiful things. During their Wanderings, she realised that she did not want to be defined by the bad things that happened to her. Now she will live for her sister and for Finch.

They met on the ledge, he talked her off, yet still decided to take the jump. Their dynamic was raw, beautiful, and hopeful. Although a life was lost, for a time, there was a glimpse of a future with easy thoughts and a white picket fence built on love and understanding.

Although this book is not without flaws, it has a very powerful message and had me closing the book so I could dry my tears. Niven almost encourages the reader to try and understand minds, to see depth, and to save the lives of all the Finches out there. No matter how fine anyone looks, you don't know the demons they are fighting. Always remember to be kind.

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