Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed


Over the course of the year I have made a conscious effort to introduce my children to more diverse reads. Encouraging them to read books from different genres, authors and countries has definitely had a strong impact on their thinking. If you’d like to see what middle grade reads we’ve devoured this year, check out the books about differing abilities and rebel women that we’ve read.

More recently I came across Amal Unbound authored by Aisha Saeed. First of all, can we just take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous cover designed by Shehzil Malik! It has henna adorned hands with rose stems held together in prayer for hope. It’s absolutely beautiful!
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A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza


I first saw ‘A Place For Us‘ pop up on Bookstagram – which has become such a wealth of information on books! The author, the story and the imprint intrigued me instantly, and I pre-ordered this novel! I am so glad I did, because I wouldn’t have wanted to wait too long to read this one! Plus I always feel that if a book starts getting a buzz (which this one is getting), and I read it later, I am often left feeling underwhelmed. So this time I wanted to be one of the first to read it!
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Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult


*No Spoilers

I started reading ‘Small Great Things’  by Jodi Picoult over New Years’ eve! Yes, the introvert in me admits that I wasn’t out partying that night! I started this book outside on our patio that evening while we had a family BBQ going on, and I could not put this book down! #pageturner

Read the synopsis below and my thoughts, to see if this is a book that would pique your interest as well.
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Book Review: Torn Pages by Lara Zuberi

Torn Pages by Lara Zuberi Image credit: Good Reads

**No Spoilers*


‘Torn Pages’
is a story that depicts the struggles in the face poverty and hunger. It explores the desire to learn and grow. It touches on the sacrifices that play a role in life altering decisions. Moreover, it is a story where the strength of relationships is tested. It is a story where you witness the passion of the characters shine through.

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A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman: Book, Screen & Looking Ahead


A man called Ove. How did you just pronounce ‘Ove’ in your head? Was it like ‘stove’? Or more like  ‘Ooo – veh’, where the ‘Ooo’ is the long syllable and ‘veh’ is said pretty quickly. Try it. Or perhaps as the audio book version on Amazon pronounces it – like ‘Ooo- vah’ ?

I started off mispronouncing Ove in my head, and at about 60 pages in, I realized, I couldn’t go on saying it incorrectly. It is a Swedish name and I remember how hard those names can be from what I had read in the ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo! Remember those names?

Since Ove is a Swedish name, apparently it can have different pronunciations, depending on where in Sweden you are from! Now that we are done with the lessons in Orthoepy, let’s talk more about the book itself.
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Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

**No Spoilers**

I saw this book displayed at Barnes & Nobles over the summer, yet I hesitated picking it up mainly because it’s classified as a YA novel (and I’m hardly young, and adult is debatable too!). It didn’t help, that I had already picked up over 20 books to haul back to Qatar in my suitcases.
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Before The Fall – Noah Hawley

**No Spoilers**

Before The Fall – Noah Hawley

As I read the blurb, my heart started racing. A book about a plane crash?! Should I really pick a book that has a plane crash as the center of its story . If you don’t already know, I suffer from aviophobia (fear of flying) which you can read about here. However, the thought of an intriguing thriller got the better of me, and I did end up reading it, with some Xanax by my bedside!
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