This stunningly written book follows Razia, a Muslim-American girl coming of age in 1980s New York City. I found this whole story to be incredibly gorgeous and captivating. Told in what felt like little vignettes, I really got to know and love Razia, as well as know all of the people around her and in her community.

Warning: this book is not for you if you don't like books without plot. Instead of having a harrowing plot, this book is more of a character study in which nothing (and yet everything) happens - we watch Razia grow up, grow into herself, fall in love, and everything in between. But the characters were so rich and the community so interesting to read about that I didn't feel like it was lacking in the plot department.

Overall, a stunning book that I will be thinking about for a long time after finishing.

This book feels incredibly timely, as it brings together so many of the issues that are currently at the forefront of societal conversation.

We are introduced to Razia, a first generation American daughter of Pakistani immigrants. This book is comprised of a collection of experiences of Razia, her friends and family as they grow up in 1980s era Queens. Razia's evolution in particular is fascinating- in some ways I think most women would be able to relate to many of the experiences of being a teen and trying to find your individual identity outside of the family unit. However, her experiences as the child of immigrants in her specific community are quite unique and eye opening,

Bushra Rehman's writing is gorgeous. There is so much nuance, poignancy and feeling in these pages. As readers we are taken through the gamut of emotions, a journey that made me feel much more connected to the characters.

3 stars- I had high hopes but I finished, wanting a bit more. The pacing felt a bit off for me. Thank you netgalley + the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

This book has some great pieces to it as well as some pieces that fell a little flat for me. I loved the inclusion of all the aspects of Pakistani culture, as well as the inclusion of aspects of the Islam religion. It was really interesting to hear stories and characters rom this culture, which are voices that we don't get to hear as much in American literature. I also thought the author had a beautiful way with words - the descriptions of the setting were rich and placed the reader in the scene.
The one thing I struggled with a bit was the actual story. I liked the premise of it, but the execution fell a little flat for me. There was a huge cast of characters which sometimes made it difficult to follow, since the characters were often similar to each other.
Overall a good read!

I enjoyed it but it at times felt like more of a collection of unrelated short stories than a linear novel, and I wanted more from it as I did feel like I kept waiting for more to happen, and the pacing was slower than expected. The writing was well done and the descriptions of neighborhoods and people and such were vivid and interesting.

Rehman's writing is done with ease and has an ability to make you feel like you are in the room with the characters, and turns a phrase that makes you stop to repeat it to yourself.

3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Roses in the Mouth of a Lion follows the story of Razia Mirza, a young Pakistani girl growing up in Queens discovering who she is and how she fits into the world - both her world in Queens surrounded by her family and the world outside of her borough.

I loved thew New York references! Corona is a place I spent a lot of time growing up in so seeing places like Junction being mentioned in a story was really really captivating to me!

I believe this book is incorrectly classified as General Fiction. I think it was more of a new adult/YA novel as it followed Razia only throughout her youth. I also wasn’t super fond of the pace of the writing, with it going slow slow slow until the end. The description of the book markets the plot point of Razia choosing between her family and who she is & wants to be is only carried out through the last few pages of the book. I did like the ambiguous ending (reminded me of Triple Dog Dare by Lucy Dacus [nothing worse could happen now …]). It was interesting to leave it to the reader to decide how Razia’s life would play out with the decision she seemed to make at the end - did it work? Is she happy? How has her life developed? I’m going to choose the optimistic route…

Queer stories are all too often painted with so much grief and that’s what turned me off from this one. I do think the story is all too real and I (unfortunately) did see so much truth behind what happened in it. However, I think painting Islam as this backwards religion that is harmful can ultimately be more damaging than good. I also just did not like that there was another white love interest. Razia telling Angela she doesn’t get it because she’s white and Angela unironically saying she is not white she is “Italian and Greek”, AND razia ending up feeling bad for her … !!!!! Razia was right, the experience of queer POC will never EVER be the same as that of white people. I feel like it might’ve been so much more interesting to have Razia with another POC to explore the complexities of those relationships.

Overall, this story was a decent coming of age-type novel. I had my issues with it, but it was a good read and I did really enjoy the ambiguous ending.

This book started with some of the most artistic and compelling structure I have read in a while. The book seemed to deepen and grow heavier as the main character moved from girlhood into adolescence. The pace didn't always maintain the speed I wanted it to, the plot grew dark in places where I found it hard to keep going. The abrupt ending took my breath away and I wonder if there will be a sequel.

The blend of culture, society, religion, sexuality and tradition clash and interact in catastrophically beautiful ways.

I found this to be a pretty good book that deals with the intersections of class, race, and immigration. Learning about the experiences of other people of color growing up in various cities is something that I've always been interested in because as a Black woman, I find it imperative to read about different experiences than mind. I found the prose to be so moving and strong as well. This book will definitely stay with me for a while.

A stunning coming-of-age novel set in the 1980's bustle of New York. Just because a largely populated area is the setting doesn't mean the communities within it aren't their own tight-knit communities. Here there are different religions, nationalities, various ethnicities, and drastically different expectations for their children.
In her community in Queens, Razia's life is upturned. She loses her best friend, her family changes her path, and it backfires on them terribly.
Now heading into Manhattan for her education, Razia's eyes are open to new things and new people. One person will change her life in unimaginable ways. How will her family handle it?
If you love classic friendships such as Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, Hermonie and Ron-- Or classic coming of age choices as time goes by in "A Tree Grows in Brookly" or "Little Women" then you will add Pakistani-American, Razia to your list of loved literary characters.
I believe we will look back in the coming years and recognize this as a classroom and book club classic to discuss.

This book was interesting because it was About a Muslim community in queens New York. This whole neighborhood is from Pakistan. RAZIA I wasn't girl who was growing up in this community and she felt somewhat alienated but you tried to please her mother all the time. She had some friends and her good friend SARIC Think happened and she could not play with her anymore. Then she met a girl named TAS LMA Her daughter to be outgoing and seeing the world as it actually was... TAS LMA And a older sister call Ali ZA. They would go to this girl's house and listen to music especially George Michael. They would do fun things together like Western ideas they're looking nagazines. Her mother kept a very strict Muslim house and I had to draw these things and then a auntie came in and she was very mean to them. Then RA Zia was I was accepted to a very precious high school This is when all the trouble began. She met a girl called ANG E LA.. They fell in love together and it was very hard to keep this from her parents. The The title of the book explained it all as I read it. It has a really good ending and you'll like it because it shows how strong people have to be sometimes.

Roses, in the mouth of the Lion is a beautiful piece about Muslim immigrants in Queens, New York. It was a touching story with impactful metaphors following Razia, a Pakistani American and her community. This is a coming of age story starting from childhood with pure innocence about the world around her. She makes these deep observations about the world and how the world views her. You get to watch her change from the rule following child she was to a rebel who realizes how different she is from her family.

This story was beautifully written with almost a poetic feel. It had beautiful metaphors and short impactful life stories that weave a thread of the development of Razia and her friends.

I loved this story and read it slowly just to catch the deep impactful meaning behind each section. The elegant writing style took me on a journey of laughing, smiling, and crying for Razia. This story is immersive fiction in its finest.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel as an ARC reader.

The premise of this extremely appealing but the execution left much to be desired. The pacing REALLY affected the story and my overall enjoyment. The story follows Razia, a Pakistani Muslim girl, growing up in Queens in the 80s through the trials and tribulations of friendships, family, love, and loss.

Loved:
🌹 Pakistan rep
🌹 Muslim American rep
🌹 immigrant experience
🌹 accurate family relationships
🌹 memories are short segues into Razia’s mind/memory at that age

Disliked:
🥀 PACING
🥀 queer rep
🥀 unresolved storylines
🥀rushed ending
🥀 another white partner
🥀 lack of depth and exploration of the complex relationships

I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a very slow paced read, but otherwise I was left very disappointed. Thanks to Flatiron books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was eager to read this title, but stopped after only a few chapters because it was clear that great violence was about to be done to a kitten. I can handle all kinds of dark reading, but I can't handle reading animal abuse used as a plot device. This is my own issue. I hope the novel does well and finds its readership. I just couldn't continue with it.

I'm giving this a score of three to sort of balance out how much I was looking forward to this title and how early on I had to stop reading it.

I think this was more of a 2.5 but I rounded up. I enjoyed the beginning of the book and then I became a little bored. I thought about dnfing it. I wanted more from the ending. Her running away won’t solve anything. Yes it’ll get her away from her parents but she should stand up for herself and for who she is and not just run away.

I had such high hopes for this one. The first three books in the novel were incredible: they were powerful, pulsating with emotion, and a very good capturing of the immigrant experience. I loved the characters and I was so invested in their lives. Razia reflected the age she was and there was such thought in every idea. The last two books weren't as good, and especially in the exploration of queer love and it's intersection with immigrant families, I felt it missed it's mark. This book is fun if you want a Pakistani take on The House On Mango Street, or if you're looking to better orient yourself with aspects of the immigrant experience. The writing is definitely important and powerful but it's anthological structure fails it at points.

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A wonderful coming-of-age story about a young Pakistani girl, Razia, trying to navigate her family, friends and love life, while also trying to live by her religion. I loved being a part of Razia "growing up" and couldn't help but root for her to find her way and the freedom she so desperately wanted. The ending felt too abrupt and left me wanting more, so hopefully there will be a sequel! Would recommend.

What a delight it was to read the ARC for "Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion" by Bushra Rehman. I am so thankful to have received a copy!

A coming of age, self discovery story about Razia Mirza, who we get to watch grow, and grow up through a childhood in Corona, Queens, told through episodic vignettes that felt like I was in an audience watching a great series on TV. 

The book was at times a fun time capsule of 80's memories for me. It also was a great read about a close-knit community of Pakistani-Americans and how they really were more like family to one another rather than just neighbors, and how the parent's also have to adapt and grow. I feel like that's lost on a lot of our own experiences, but it's also not always a good thing to be so close, as we find out. When a secret is revealed, do you follow your expected path for your family's sake, or do you create your own future?

@writerbushra writing is done with ease and has an ability to make you feel like you are in the room with the characters, and turns a phrase that makes you stop to repeat it to yourself. Joyous and full of universal growing pains and self discovery, I am hopeful that we all get a chance to read more about where life takes Razia in the future. 

The book comes out in December of this year from @flatiron_books and I think you should add it to your TBR list! Thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy

I think this is a very important coming of age story and the topics that this book touches on are very crucial to even our modern day society. The story itself was intriguing and I liked Razia’s developing character. There were a few instances where I felt very detached from the story because of how it flowed. The writing is great but the blending of one scene into another was a little choppy.

I would have loved even more of this story too. It felt very rushed near the end and I think if the author evened it out with a bit of length, I would have given this book 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story was such an emotional and enlightening one! It touches on some tough topics but they are important.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.