Book Review: House of Glass Hearts // Leila Siddiqui
House of Glass Hearts
Stand alone
Genre: Magical Realism | Young Adult
Pub Date: 30th September 2021
Synopsis:
Maera and her ammi never talk about the Past, a place where they've banished their family's heartache and grief forever. They especially never mention the night Maera's older brother Asad disappeared from her naana's house in Karachi ten years ago. But when her grandfather dies and his derelict greenhouse appears in her backyard from thousands of miles away, Maera is forced to confront the horrors of her grandfather's past. To find out what happened to her brother, she must face the keepers of her family's secrets-the monsters that live inside her grandfather's mysterious house of glass.
Seamlessly blending history with myth, HOUSE OF GLASS HEARTS follows a Pakistani-American teen's ruthless quest to find her missing sibling, even if the truth would reveal her grandfather's devastating secret and tear her family apart. In a narrative that switches between colonial India and present-day America, this ambitious debut explores how the horrors of the past continue to shape the lives of South Asians around the world.
TW: trauma, intergenerational trauma CW: mentions of violence, blood, grief
Rate: 3.5 / 5 ⭐
"The country I thought I knew was a grownup's plaything, a toy that they passed back and forth until it crumbled into pieces in their rough palms."
Review:
I love stories with magical realism. I have realized that the books that I have read under this genre always pairs up with grief. This book also deals with grief.
I loved the magical realism element of this book, which was Maera's grandfather's green house from Pakistan. Which shows up in her backyard in the US. I wouldn't have guessed how it all came together, but I loved how it did.
This story is told in two point of views, present day Maera and 1940s Haroon (the grandfather). I personally liked the grandfather's point of view, you learn so much about what happened before and after the Partition. This is what happened during the world war, how India and Pakistan came to be. I honestly didnt know much of the history of most countries, only the British, during the world wars. This book made it a point to show that the wars may have been victorious to the whites, but it had left a deep scar to a lot of the colonized countries. (Please read the author's note at the end of the book, she has also provided some resources to check out, which I will be doing soon hopefully).
I also loved how the characters dealt with their grief. They basically avoided talking about the Past until this greenhouse shows up and the way the characters dealt with the whole situation and coming to terms with what happened in the Past and their grief felt very real.
I also loved the author's writing style. She conveyed the story really well. But I did not like certain aspects of the book. I didn't understand why the author had to mention Maera's little crush on Rob. It felt weird, specially because Maera sees Rob after ten years. And this sudden love at first sight doesn't even have anything to do with the plot.
And this may be subjective but I didn't know Maera was a muslim until a few chapters in where she is reading a Quran on behalf of her grandfather's passing. This didn't sit well with me because I feel like mixing magic/fantasy with our religion blurs way too many lines but then again the reason this book came to be was to talk about the war and how the muslims and hindus and sikhs divisions came to be. Another reason I didn't really like it was the way the muslims were portrayed. Specifically there is a part in the story where the Haroon mentions that he had given up on praying, it went against everything I have ever known as a muslim. I do understand that there are varying degrees in which people live according to the religion so just a note that this isn't a great rep for muslims. I know the religion is perfect and the people are not so we have to separate that as well but am just saying my thoughts.
apart from that I loved the story and wish to own a physical copy of this book (when I have saved enough lol 😂😭). So if you think you might enjoy this story do pre order now or grab a copy when it releases in September!
PRE ORDER ON BOOK DEPOSITORY OR YALIBOOKS
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
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