Book Review – A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad

 

A Killer in the Family by Amin Ahmad is about a man, Ali Azeem, who thinks he has hit the jackpot when he marries the timid daughter of a wealthy man, only to discover he has gotten far more than he bargained for.

Ali is a naïve Muslim bachelor from Mumbai. He grew up in a wealthy family, but over the years, time has not been kind to them, and they have lost much of their wealth. He believes his luck has finally changed when he agrees to a traditional arranged marriage with the pretty and reserved Maryam Khan. Maryam is the daughter of Abbas Khan, a self-made real estate tycoon and one of the richest men in New York City.

Shortly after the wedding, the couple moves to America, where Ali becomes enchanted with the city and everything it has to offer. He enjoys the freedom and privilege that come with his wife's family's wealth and is excited about his new life.

However, as Ali settles into his new marriage, he receives a troubling warning from Maryam's older sister, Farhan. Considered the black sheep of the family because she is divorced and unmarried, Farhan claims that their father is a monster hiding a terrible secret that could destroy them all.

Ali isn't sure whether he can trust Farhan. She has a rebellious, free-spirited personality, while Maryam insists that Farhan is an unstable liar. Unsure whom to believe, Ali begins investigating the Khan family himself and discovers a connection between them and a serial killer. As the newest member of the family, Ali is welcomed into the family empire, but he must decide whether he is willing to do what it takes to remain at the top.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, but it definitely left me wanting more as I did enjoy some bits. The story had plenty of unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing. At times, the pacing was a bit slow, and the plot felt somewhat scattered. I also didn't particularly like any of the characters, but I was still invested enough to want to see how everything played out. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would be interested in reading more by the author.

 

Book Review – Mo Farah, the Boy Who Ran to Be Free by Seema Yasmin

 

Mo Farah, the Boy Who Ran to Be Free by Seema Yasmin is a biography about Olympic champion runner Mo Farah.

The illustrated book is the second book in the Muslim Mavericks series. Like the other book, Maysoon Zayid, the Girl Who Can Can, the books mostly focus on the person instead of their religion. We don’t get to see how they practice their faith or how their faith guides them. The author also doesn’t interview her subjects and does use her imagination to fill in some of the gaps from the source material. For some readers, this might give them pause, but like the other book, I found this book to be an informative and interesting read.

I have heard of Mo Farah, but I never really followed the Olympics. I was a bit skeptical about what the book was going to be about, but I was pleasantly surprised. Mo’s story is filled with dark moments and uncertainty, but it was inspiring to see him cope with life by finding something he was passionate about. The book does have some dark subject matter, but it is presented in a way that is more appropriate for young readers. I would be interested in reading more books in the series.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and were not influenced by the publisher or author.

Book Review - Have You Seen Axel? by Adam Jay Epstein

 

  

Axel the axolotl wants her turn to be in the spotlight at being found. However, it turns out that she is really good at hiding, and she is nearly impossible to find. The narrator decides to help find Axel in this seek-and-find story, but Axel is done playing. Instead, she takes control and lets the narrator know what is okay and what isn’t.

The book was an okay read. I thought it was going to be like Finding Waldo, but it was not the same. The book is beautifully illustrated and has tons of fun little details. The book does have an important message, but it took me a minute or two to figure it out because I was still trying to get over my disappointment that this was not actually a hide-and-seek book.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and were not influenced by the publisher or author. 

Book Review – Eat Bitter: A Story About Guts, and Food by Lydia Pang

 

Eat Bitter: A Story About Guts, and Food by Lydia Pang is a memoir in which Lydia Pang chronicles her burnout while navigating the difficulties of life.

I wasn't familiar with the author before picking up this book. I was mainly drawn in by the title.  I expected a novel with a darker, almost gory tone. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed and wasn't a fan of the memoir.

The book is divided into eight chapters, with each one beginning with a recipe. However, I struggled to understand what the overall purpose of the book was. At times, it seemed like it was trying to offer self-help advice, but those moments felt buried beneath everything else and were rarely presented clearly or straightforwardly. Instead, I felt like there was a lot of anger and bitterness throughout the memoir, while the sweeter, more hopeful moments never really materialized.

The memoir is also filled with graphic and unpleasant descriptions that I felt were overused. For a book centered around food, some of the recipes seemed incomplete, and several had unnecessarily unappetizing names. Ironically, nothing in this book made me want to eat less than the descriptions and language used throughout it.

Overall, the memoir felt very surface-level. The author touched on several interesting topics but never explored them in much depth. For example, the book mentions the history of Hakka culture, but aside from a few brief references, I didn't feel like I learned much about it or about the author's personal connection to her heritage. In the end, I felt like the book was trying too hard to be profound, but it ultimately fell flat for me.

Book Review –Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee

 

Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee is about three people who are connected by love, war, and the things they have lost.

June Han was only eight years old when the Korean War left her an orphan. Hector Brennan enlisted to escape his small town and serve his country. After the war ends, the two meet at a Korean orphanage, where they both find themselves drawn to Sylvie Tanner. Sylvie is the beautiful wife of a missionary, but she harbors dark secrets from her past. Despite her own burdens, her kindness and compassion seem to transform the lives of everyone around her. Thirty years later, in America, June and Hector are brought together once again and are forced to confront their shared past and the secrets that have bound them together for decades.

The novel follows three main characters and alternates between the past and present. I really wanted to read this book because the premise sounded very interesting. Unfortunately, I found it incredibly boring, and the plot moved at an extremely slow pace. Just as I would start settling into one character's story or a particular time period, the narrative would switch to someone else. The constant back-and-forth made it difficult for me to stay invested in either the story or the characters.

I ended up reading more than half of this hefty novel before realizing that it didn't seem to be building toward anything meaningful. At that point, I felt comfortable putting it down because I wasn't invested enough to care how the characters' stories ended. I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if it had been shorter, tighter, and focused more on moving the plot forward.