This is a non-spoiler review. Thank you to Penguin Teen for an early copy of this book (honest opinions only).
Trigger warnings for AMR: drug and alcohol addiction, mentions of repressed sexual assault, physical abuse, Islamophobia, racism, death, law enforcement
If you are a fan of Sabaa Tahir, if you are a child of immigrants (or an immigrant to America yourself), if you are Pakistani, if you are Muslim, if you liked any of Khaled Hosseini’s books if you trust my opinion — you need to read this book. Whether or not you like contemporaries, I fiercely recommend All My Rage.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to capture how this book makes me feel. All My Rage is a deep dive into grief, betrayal and forgiveness, loss, and of course, rage. It’s an assessment of hope — but not in the way the Ember series was. It’s a story with true roots of broken American dreams and hiding so deeply within yourself to protect your heart because you look different from your peers.
It’s a YA story with adult themes and yet I think it should be taught in every high school in this country.
I am not Pakistani but I understand Punjabi and Urdu and the visceral experience of having true South Asian representation is a gratifying feeling I will never, ever get used to. Though the Muslim experiences in this book are not ones I relate to, we are not a monolith and the way Sabaa tells these characters’ stories and struggles with faith is deeply respectful and not dismissive in any way. I already know many Muslims may not like the Muslim rep in this book but I ask that you all read AMR with an open mind and knowing that every Muslim is different. I am recommending it because it is not dismissive or disrespectful as many other Muslim rep books are of hijabis or those who follow the faith more closely.
I am a deeply emotional person and that is why I connect with Sabaa’s writing so vehemently. She captures grief in a way that I’ve never been able to express or understand verbally and I cried my EYES out reading this book. It was heart-wrenching and soul-shattering through more than just sadness and heartbreak; I felt seen and vulnerable and that was more than enough to open the floodgates.
If you’ve read any of Sabaa’s books, you’ll know that she knows how to tell a story and how to do revelations. AMR is no different. I would go even as far as to say that All My Rage is her best work — and this is coming from someone who has over 20 copies of the Ember series (and counting). Salahudin, Noor, and Misbah are characters that will live with me for a long, long time to come and to probably no one’s surprise, my favorite was Salahudin. Sabaa truly knows how to write men 😭
All My Rage is a love letter to family, Pakistan, music, and to the ties that bind us together. I highly recommend 💗
Trigger warnings for AMR: drug and alcohol addiction, mentions of repressed sexual assault, physical abuse, Islamophobia, racism, death, law enforcement
If you are a fan of Sabaa Tahir, if you are a child of immigrants (or an immigrant to America yourself), if you are Pakistani, if you are Muslim, if you liked any of Khaled Hosseini’s books if you trust my opinion — you need to read this book. Whether or not you like contemporaries, I fiercely recommend All My Rage.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to capture how this book makes me feel. All My Rage is a deep dive into grief, betrayal and forgiveness, loss, and of course, rage. It’s an assessment of hope — but not in the way the Ember series was. It’s a story with true roots of broken American dreams and hiding so deeply within yourself to protect your heart because you look different from your peers.
It’s a YA story with adult themes and yet I think it should be taught in every high school in this country.
I am not Pakistani but I understand Punjabi and Urdu and the visceral experience of having true South Asian representation is a gratifying feeling I will never, ever get used to. Though the Muslim experiences in this book are not ones I relate to, we are not a monolith and the way Sabaa tells these characters’ stories and struggles with faith is deeply respectful and not dismissive in any way. I already know many Muslims may not like the Muslim rep in this book but I ask that you all read AMR with an open mind and knowing that every Muslim is different. I am recommending it because it is not dismissive or disrespectful as many other Muslim rep books are of hijabis or those who follow the faith more closely.
I am a deeply emotional person and that is why I connect with Sabaa’s writing so vehemently. She captures grief in a way that I’ve never been able to express or understand verbally and I cried my EYES out reading this book. It was heart-wrenching and soul-shattering through more than just sadness and heartbreak; I felt seen and vulnerable and that was more than enough to open the floodgates.
If you’ve read any of Sabaa’s books, you’ll know that she knows how to tell a story and how to do revelations. AMR is no different. I would go even as far as to say that All My Rage is her best work — and this is coming from someone who has over 20 copies of the Ember series (and counting). Salahudin, Noor, and Misbah are characters that will live with me for a long, long time to come and to probably no one’s surprise, my favorite was Salahudin. Sabaa truly knows how to write men 😭
All My Rage is a love letter to family, Pakistan, music, and to the ties that bind us together. I highly recommend 💗