2.5 stars
This YA fiction read was disappointing for me. I had enjoyed a previous book by this author and when I read the synopsis for this one I thought it sounded interesting. While the potential for a good story was here, the execution was a misfire in my opinion. At 250+ pages there still managed to be a lack of proper development with the character and plot and it ended up feeling like I read a novella or even a short story. Just not a satisfying read.
Amir Azadi is a senior in high school and hasn't told his family he is gay. A fellow student threatens to out Amir unless he hands over a sizable amount of cash. Amir freaks out and decides not only to skip town, but the country as well, and books a flight to Italy. The book opens up with Amir having spent a month in Rome and now he is in an interrogation room after getting into a fight with his family on an airplane. The story alternates between the questioning of Amir and his family members by the authorities and everything that happened while Amir was in Italy.
It's obvious there were good intentions here but I feel like I was only allowed glimpses into what the author was hoping to accomplish with the story rather than the full scope. It would have helped a great deal if there was more plot and character development before Amir left for Italy. Amir should have been a character I felt emotionally invested in but he fell flat. Actually, he kinda irritated me in regards to how he treated another character. Very surprised the author chose not to wrap up what I considered a big loose end.
I did like hearing the perspectives of Amir's parents and sister during the interrogation scenes. But their scenes were pretty short and even though the book is over 250 pages it's a quick read even with the longer Italy chapters. By the time I finished I was left thinking there was so much untapped potential. The core of a good story was here, but it needed some fine tuning.
This YA fiction read was disappointing for me. I had enjoyed a previous book by this author and when I read the synopsis for this one I thought it sounded interesting. While the potential for a good story was here, the execution was a misfire in my opinion. At 250+ pages there still managed to be a lack of proper development with the character and plot and it ended up feeling like I read a novella or even a short story. Just not a satisfying read.
Amir Azadi is a senior in high school and hasn't told his family he is gay. A fellow student threatens to out Amir unless he hands over a sizable amount of cash. Amir freaks out and decides not only to skip town, but the country as well, and books a flight to Italy. The book opens up with Amir having spent a month in Rome and now he is in an interrogation room after getting into a fight with his family on an airplane. The story alternates between the questioning of Amir and his family members by the authorities and everything that happened while Amir was in Italy.
It's obvious there were good intentions here but I feel like I was only allowed glimpses into what the author was hoping to accomplish with the story rather than the full scope. It would have helped a great deal if there was more plot and character development before Amir left for Italy. Amir should have been a character I felt emotionally invested in but he fell flat. Actually, he kinda irritated me in regards to how he treated another character. Very surprised the author chose not to wrap up what I considered a big loose end.
I did like hearing the perspectives of Amir's parents and sister during the interrogation scenes. But their scenes were pretty short and even though the book is over 250 pages it's a quick read even with the longer Italy chapters. By the time I finished I was left thinking there was so much untapped potential. The core of a good story was here, but it needed some fine tuning.