Sabaa Tahir: All My Rage

This was another book club choice, and as I'd read An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir already, I was eager to dive into this one. I'd heard it's drastically different than An Ember in the Ashes and isn't even in the same genre, so I was curious to read it.

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir follows the story of Salahudin Malik. Salahudin grew up in Juniper, California with his mother who is almost his whole world, and his father who cannot even stop drinking enough to ensure that his mother gets to dialysis. The Maliks are Pakistani, and own the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel in Juniper. The novel also follows Noor Riaz, also Pakistani, who lives with her uncle and works in his liquor store. Chachu saved Noor from the wreckage of her earthquake-destroyed village when she was six and brought her to the United States. He gave up everything to take her in, and put his entire life on pause to raise her, a fact that he is not afraid to remind Noor about. Noor and Salahudin have been friends since first grade, and Ama, Salahudin's mother, loves Noor as if she's her own. A fight leads to a falling out between Noor and Salahudin, but once Noor discovers Ama's illness, they put those feelings aside and bond together. Ama's death further forces them to make up and depend on one another. Desperate to keep the motel, and unable to ask his drunk father for help, Salahudin turns to selling drugs to make enough money to pay their bills. This decision threatens everything he's worked so hard to build, and Noor's future as well.

I loved this book. This is one of the most powerful books I've read so far this year. I loved the character development and the careful dispensation of hints and insights throughout the novel. It took a long time to realize that Noor was being physically abused by Chachu, though if you read carefully there are hints throughout the novel. There are also hints of a sexual assault that Salahudin was a victim of throughout the novel, but it isn't until more than halfway through that we finally discover what truly happened. I loved the pacing of this novel and the powerful ownership that Salahudin takes of his actions. I loved the maturity of the characters

I literally have nothing to nitpick in this book. I thought Tahir wrote it so beautifully and its message is powerful and clear.

I rate All My Rage ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PG-13 - for drugs, physical and sexual abuse, and violence, as well as some adult themes.

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