Welcome to Litsy!

A typical coming-of-age story with an atypical narrator. A bisexual Palestinian-American, she is unable to please her mother. An outsider both in America and during summers spent in the Middle East, she sabotages mundane relationships by pursuing idealistic, impossible ones. A breakup sends her into treatment, which doesn‘t solve her “love-addition” but interrupts her behavior enough to (eventually) make choices rather than following compulsions.

It‘s an exploration of the protagonist‘s traumas and desires, and the relationship between them. I found it to be quite sad — perhaps more than was intended — but was moved by both its raw honesty and surprising optimism.

Interesting concept, I‘ve never heard of a book like this before. New topic of love addiction discussed. Sweet ending

I really enjoyed this meandering novel. Very interesting! And my #bookspinbingo board!

Sexy in an unconventional way with a very wandering story telling narrator. The relationships, and the narrator‘s relationship to romantic relationships, are both full of compelling drama and frustration as the reader.

I love the premise (& cover): a Palestinian American gay woman navigating her relationships & past trauma in Brooklyn & the Middle East. Honest & authentic sense of family & place. But the narrator was self-absorbed & her mother so unlikeable that I struggled to care about them. The story seemed to revolve around her ‘love addiction‘ which lost me completely & scenes at her rehab seemed pointless. She‘s mixed up but the bratty tone put me off.

I have not read a single page in weeks and thank goodness there was no one waiting for this book from the library. I renewed it for another three weeks and we‘ll see what the future holds. I‘m optimistic.

The main character is an unnamed young Palestinian American woman and we see her life in present day in the States and in flashbacks on holiday in the Middle East. She falls for unattainable men and women, and decides to go for help at a centre for love addiction. She has relationship problems with her mother. It was an interesting read! #books

This book is about a relatable woman dealing openly with her self made pitfalls and complications...I like her...she brings the reader through her ups and downs, her travels between her two homelands (the Middle-east and US), her loves (real and imagined) her gorgeous, hard to handle mother, rehab, and finally, her direction moves towards her normalcy. This book is different and cool.

“Yet that is the realm, the realm of my mother, in which I consistently forget how to survive”

“The notion that everyone will eventually cease to exist brings me great comfort and temporary courage. Often I try to visualize the coming apocalypse: barren tree branches, scrap metal, tumbleweed. As the images appear in my head, a wave begins to curl in my stomach. Together they propel me forward, and I act.
Right then, it wasn‘t working.”
Omg I love this writer!

I hovered over pan for awhile bc the protagonist makes the same mistakes over and over and never seems to learn from them. The saving grace was the interesting cultural juxtaposition with her Palestinian immigrant mother. But overall, not my fave.

I lasted exactly 4 minutes and 27 seconds before I deleted the audiobook. The narrator is British/Indian/Australian... and it‘s horribly jarring to hear her butcher Arabic as she‘s supposed to be narrating a Palestinian American character. I still want to read the book seeing as I identify as a queer woman and have lived in Palestine and walked the very streets this book opened in, but I couldn‘t palate this narration a second longer.

You know that old adage, write what you know....well, I‘m willing to bet all my savings that this fiction debut is 💯 autobiographical. The writing was very simplistic & the author‘s newbie roots & age were obvious. I dislike when authors drop brand names onto the pages (which add zero value to the narrative) & this book was full of “branding”. It was interesting to read about the Arab culture and to hear another perspective👇🏽

#Hoopla rocks 🙌🏻💕SO MANY new titles and lots of #OwnVoices #LGBTQ

This book is so hard to describe because it's about someone reckoning with toxic relationship patterns which I confess, is not a thing I particularly seek in fiction. But the prose is amazing and there are moments of such incredible insight.
Content note: abusive relationships, and some discussion of disordered eating.

I‘d recommend this book. This book is a book about a mother and daughter relationship. It‘s a book about culture. It‘s a book about mental health and love. Each character has depth and their own personal story and history. #youexisttoomuch #zainaarafat check it out. It‘s a book that you probably won‘t finish in one sitting; as the story drags. It‘s worth reading.

A day late for Pride Month but any month is a good month to start this one. I‘ve heard really good things about it so it‘s my next read.

Read this in two days. While it's not really my genre. What does a straight, white, middle-aged male have in common with a young gay Palestinian woman? But in her effort to deal with childhood trauma, cultural baggage, and inner self-doubt. There was something in her pain and deep insecurities that resonated with me. So flawed and human. Yelling at her by the end of the book! I just want you to be happy! I can't bear to see her have anymore pain.

The background of the novel is a woman born to Palestinian parents, who were forced to relocate in 1967. They have family in Lebanon, West Bank, and Jordans, but live in America. Her parents had a volatile relationship and her mother has often treated her like competition or an inconvenience, telling her "You exist too much" when she responds emotionally, especially when she starts trying to come out to her.⤵️