stevie's reviews
356 reviews

a fast-paced, funny novel about an un-funny topic, which is my favorite kind of humor. Fundamentally is about a woman, Nadia, who accepts a position with the UN to deradicalize ISIS brides in Iraq, which unsurprisingly proves to be an impossible task mired in bureaucratic technicalities and complicated, conflicting goals. Nadia was as frustrating as she was endearing, though I respect her tenacity that I sure as hell don’t have. The pacing and structure felt off to me at times and that took me out of the story and away from the message, but hearing that the author comes from an academic and policy background makes those elements make a lot more sense. I still had fun with it and thought this was such a creative subject for a novel! 

thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

a really stunning debut! it’s doing a lot with its plot and the connections between characters in a way that doesn’t feel particularly realistic at times, but that didn’t bother me too much because it was so engrossing. I will never say no to multigenerational family drama feat. women!

ty to the publisher for the galley!!

simply cannot handle a 500 page nonfic hardcover rn