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Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion
Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion | Bushra Rehman
5 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 5 to read
In the vein of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, an unforgettable story about female friendship and queer love in a Muslim-American community Razia Mirza grows up amid the wild grape vines and backyard sunflowers of Corona, Queens, with her best friend, Saima, by her side. But when a family rift drives the girls apart, Razias idyllic childhood is shattered forever. In middle school, Razia befriends a new girl, Taslima, and they begin to chafe at the restrictions imposed on them in their tight-knit Pakistani Muslim community. Together, they embark on a series of small rebellions: listening to scandalous American music, wearing mini skirts, and cutting school to explore the city. Then Razia is accepted to a prestigious high school in Manhattan and the gulf between the person she wants to be and the daughter her parents expect widens. There, she meets beautiful, free-spirited Angela, Razia is attracted to her in a way that first confuses her and then blossoms into new understanding. But when their relationship is discovered by an Aunty in the community, Razia must choose between her family and her own future. Punctuated by both joy and loss, full 80s music and beloved novels, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a new classic: a fiercely compassionate coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to reconcile her own heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself.
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review
kissmehardy
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Mehso-so

I loved the character work in this book, but the storyline wasn't the best, imo. I get that it's a bildungsroman, but the plot threads seemed random at times, and the ending was way more heightened than the rest of the story. I'd say it's worth reading, but it's not my new favorite book. #comingofage #historicalfiction #lgbtqfiction

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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

This is a novel, but it‘s almost told in vignettes. Razia is a first generation Pakistani American. The book follows her from her young childhood through her teen years, slices of her life throughout. An overriding feeling of menace from men- in her community, in NYC as a whole, pervades much of the book. Her culture is important to her, but so is being true to herself.

I really liked Razia and thought this was a great book.

58 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
gossamerchild
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Mehso-so

4 stars for writing, 2 stars for my personal enjoyment. So 3 stars on average and so-so for me.

Rehman is a beautiful writer, and I get why she wrote this book. It's a necessary story. I just did NOT enjoy it, AT ALL. The older I get the more I want to be entertained by my fiction, and I didn't find this entertaining. I found it beautiful and depressing AF. @soubhiville you asked me to tag you in my review and I remembered!

gossamerchild This was my #doublespin book for February. Made it just under the wire! @thearomaofbooks 14mo
Soubhiville Thanks for the tag! I‘ve just started the audio and liking it so far, though it‘s just about to take a dark turn- the kitten, the “night-time spider…” 14mo
gossamerchild @Soubhiville Gotta admit, I almost stopped reading after the kitten bit 😬 14mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! I agree, I read for entertainment and relaxation, so while I can appreciate the importance of books with messages being out there... they aren't usually for me, even if the writing is beautiful. 14mo
32 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
Graciouswarriorprincess
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Book 15/100 of the year.

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theokiereader
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Pickpick

“Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is the quintessential coming-of-age story, but one that explores the dichotomy of growing up in a religious community while the broader American values of freedom and independence tug at your existence.“

Full Review and Chai Recipe Match: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2022/12/23/the-search-for-virtue/