If you just pay attention to the story, this book hasn't much different from dystopian books. It has the elements. Injusticed by the government or people in charge, revolution, people dying, sadness, despair, but there are also hope and love. Then, what makes this book special? The answer is, this is real (please read the Author's Note). The incidents are real. Syria is in the time of darkness. The people truly is dying. There are people like Salama and Layla out there who fight for their life. And it breaks my heart.

The other thing that makes this book a piece of art is after it breaks your heart, it mends it. It puts your heart back together. It teaches you to have hope and find happiness in simple things. Be grateful that the sun is still rising the next day, the stars still give their light in the night, and the trees are still growing.

I highly recommend this book to read. I never wanted to reread sad books, but for this one, I would go through many heart breaks just to read it again. It is so good!

I’ve had my eye on this beautiful book for quite a while now, and I was actually fortunate enough to win an annotated ARC in a giveaway from Zoulfa on her Instagram! I’ve been meaning to pick it up since I received it, but the timing never felt right since I was so busy with assessments and I really wanted to be able to give this book my entire attention. I’m so glad I decided to pick it up when I did, because it was such a beautiful, important story!

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a beautiful, poignant and thought-provoking story of 18-year-old Salama, who lives in Syria. Salama was just a normal pharmacy student before beautiful Syria became the beautirul, broken and war-torn Syria. Salama now spends her days volunteering at a hospital, tending to the sick and wounded, whilst secretely convincing herself to leave before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. However, everything changes when she meets Kenan and has to think even harder about whether to stay in her beloved country to help, or to go and seek refuge to survive.

The characters were all so well-written here, each character had plenty of depth and emotion, and it was hauntingly beautiful seeing everything from Salama’s point of view. You can really tell how much she had to grow in such a short period of time, and my heart constantly ached for her and for those she loved. I don’t have much experience with PTSD, but I thought it was really well-portrayed here, and effects it can have on a person really broke my heart. I was rooting for her from the very beginning, and I just wanted her to be happy!! Kenan was such a BEAUTIFUL character and I love him to pieces omg, he was the brightness Salama needed, and the light at the end of the tunnel and he made me SO HAPPY when things were looking grim.

This is of course, a story written in times of war and I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy, light and fun read – which is fine! We had the seriousness of war, fear and the surrounding circumstances, but we also got to see the light in the dark in the form of young romance. At times, it was really, really hard to keep reading due to the nature of the content within, but it was such an important story and I’m really glad Zoulfa wrote it – I also mentioned that I was fortunate enough to win an annotated arc from Zoulfa, and it was really interesting getting a little peek into Zoulfa’s brain and writing process, so I’m super thankful!

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone that’s even the SLIGHTEST bit interested, because it’ll draw you in and will make a lasting impression on you, although please check the content warnings below first! I really loved this book, and I know for a fact that it, the characters, and Syria will live rent-free in my brain for a long, long time to come.

I don’t think I have enough words to express what a masterpiece of a book As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is. Within the first few chapters, I found myself sobbing. There are many books I have read in the past few years that have been very impactful for me and As Long as the Lemon Tree takes the top spot. I can’t promise that this will be a very coherent review; like I said, I don’t have enough words to express just how incredible this book is.

Words have power and Zoulfa Katouh’s words are strong and extremely impactful. Every single emotion any of the characters, even the secondary cast, feel, you feel it too. The prose hits you hard and it settles within you. I felt so drawn to the story. Stories make you feel, but never has a story made me feel this much. I picked this up and started reading and when I looked up, nearly two hours had passed and only the last hundred pages were left. I had not even realised how much time had passed because I was so engrossed in what was happening. And I didn’t want to stop either. Sometimes, I curse myself for being such a fast reader because the urge to continue reading often takes away my ability to let the book last a little longer.

With this one, I wanted it to last as long as it could. I wasn’t ready to let go of Salama, Layla, Kenan, Yusuf, Lama…I was not ready to let go of any of them. I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could. Stories like As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow are few and far between and I thank Zoulfa for writing this. It’s a story that is needed and that must be told.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is an unforgettable, masterpiece of a book with truly heartwrenching writing. This book is going to stay close to my heart for a very, very long time.

I firmly believe that Zoulfa Katouh was born to be a writer. Her writing is impeccable and the emotion is felt through EVERY WORD. The characters (yes, even Khawf) are written beautifully. There's a connection with every single person on the page. And not only is there this gorgeous story of love (for your home and for your family), but also a tragic story based on truth of loss and destruction and pain.

I'll never forget the moment in the book where I screamed and threw my kindle. My soul fled from my body actually and I, like the author, live for the reactions to people getting to that one specific scene.

Anyway, my heart is simultaneously full and completely destroyed by this phenomenal story. I don't even have proper words to describe what it means to read this when I'm not even Syrian. You can just see the story unfold in your head. You can feel the heartbreak and the healing all at once. It's a book I'll never forget.

The blurb and cover didn't hook me and I have never been happier to be proven so, so wrong. About two chapters in I said, "oh I love this" and from there it only grew. It's perfect and painful and raw and real and never, ever without hope. I literally cried from chapter 1 through the acknowledgements - and not just because of the horrors.

Everything comes together to make As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow immaculate. The characters? A main character I actually loved? The Muslimness of them all? The plot? The setting? The palpable love that the characters (and the author) have for Syria? That plot twist? The prose? The ending?? The Studio Ghibli references to my favorite movie!!! Not to mention the centering of an ongoing tragedy that's largely out of focus for much (most) of the world? I loved every word of it.

This was a showstopping debut and an instant favorite.

(Five stars to the best Sheeta and Pazu in the universe.)

It’s now been exactly one month since I’ve finished this book and I’m still struggling to verbalize my thoughts on it. Is it enough of a review to say that I want to push this book into the hands of everyone that can read it and stand over them until they’ve finished, until they get it?

Lemon trees is everything. It’s grief and anguish, but it’s also hope and love. It’s a story about survival, about stealing these moments of joy when the world threatens to bury you. As an Arab, I was already aware of the crisis in Syria. This book still shook me to my core, to be reading about the horrors that the Syrian people have experienced. To read this book with no prior knowledge? This is exactly the kind of book that shatters our bubbles of safety and comfort when there are others suffering in the world.

Zoulfa does an incredible job at showing us the struggle of the Syrian people in our two beautiful main characters Salama and Kenan(who I love so so much). But she does an even better job at showing us the perseverance of human kind. Whether it’s through relying on religion or our country or each other, the moments of happiness in this book made me smile despite the tears streaming down my face (I cried at least 12 times during this book).

I read this book over the span of what was quite literally the worst month of my life. I didn’t expect the comfort this book would bring- after all, it had darker themes and TW. But the JOY- I can’t emphasize enough the amount of tabs for joy I marked- eased my aching soul. This book broke me apart and then then put me back together again.

If you also want to never look at lemons or daisies the same way ever again, this book releases in September, go preorder 💙

TWs: sexual assault (on page), parental deaths (on page), murder, war and torture, child abuse and torture, starvation, PTSD, grief

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The beauty of this book transcends words. That is all I can come up with till now. As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is a book that is sure to leave a mark on even the most forgetful of people because this is it's beauty, brimming with hope, anger and sadness this is the next "The Book Thief" but even better. I love love love this book so much.

I sobbed like a baby as soon as I finished this. The story was beautifully written and drew so much light to everything happening in Syria, and I can't form coherent thoughts any more because this book surpassed all the expectations I had laid out for it and more. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

TWs: sexual assault (on page), parental deaths (on page), murder, war and torture, child abuse and torture, starvation, PTSD, grief


a story of heartbreak, hope, resilience, and a story that reveals a hard truth to an unforgiving world. a world that has turned a blind eye to Syria and her people. the last time i read something like this was All the Light We Cannot See. Zoulfa doesn’t hold back at all and as she shouldn’t. it makes this book incredibly difficult to read at times but it’s raw and real and it’s the story that Syrians deserve. a story we’ve all been waiting for without knowing it.

Oh. Oh man. This book is going to break your heart in every way possible and you will crawl to Zoulfa's feet and happily thank her for it. Beautifully written, and with so much love and hope tucked between some incredibly real and dark events. The power this book wields -- no one is ready for it.

Okay so this was the first book that I have read about the Syrian Revolution and I hadn't done a tremendous amount of research going into this book. I wanted to say that just for transparency.

And now to talk about the actual book. The way the story was told was phenomal and I could never accurately predict how the book would end. Salama was a well-written unreliable narrator and I loved learning about how she viewed the war. The real power of this book comes from Ms. Katouh showing that each Syrian impacted by the revolution is an actual person. She makes people reckon with the fact that actual people are being impacted, instead of just viewing numbers on a screen.

That was the most powerful part of the book to me and it really stuck with me. The setting in Homs, where the threat of the government marching in and killing everyone loomed over the characters every day added to the desperation of the characters and was a large reason they were conflicted on leaving Syria in the first place. Having to choose between leaving the only place you have grown up and staying in your home and helping your countrymen, but essentially condemning yourself to torture and death sounds terrible.

I can't say I *enjoyed* this story, because it was not fluffy or a feel-good tale. It was meant to share the horrors of the war, and it did that perfectly. It was also meant to share how people carried on living and fell in love and that was no less impactful or important because of the war, and I was rooting for the characters that were falling in love every second of the way. But this book was not a feel-good fluffy tale, even though it had very nice, sweet, parts. It was supposed to show English-speakers about the revolution and take us there in ways that the news and statistics do not. And As Long As The Lemon Tree Grows did that perfectly.

It will stick with me for a very long time and I cannot wait to buy it when it comes out in physical copy. I will be recommending this to every person I meet for a long time.

Anything I write about this YA book will fail miserably in conveying how powerful, beautiful, lingering, moving, emotional, and overall masterfully written every one of the 432 pages are; it just might be my favorite book of the year.  I do know that this will be my new standard for Muslim OWN voice stories, as the authenticity was absolutely engulfing, I'm not Syrian and I could feel it and naturally, I also verified it.  There is no pandering to a western gaze, the story and characters pull you in and show you Syria from the ground, there is no telling, there is no lecturing, it is mesmerizing storytelling at its finest.  The book has mental health issues, war, and a sweet "halal" romance, that I think upper YA, 16 plus, can handle and appreciate.  I hope every adult will spend time with this book, it truly is incredibly well done, alhumdulillah.

SYNOPSIS:

Homs is under the protection of the Free Syrian Army, but that isn't enough to keep pharmacy student Salama and her family safe.  Her mother is killed, her father and brother taken, and so she moves in with her best friend Layla, her pregnant sister-in-law, her only family left.  Working as a doctor in the hospital where anyone remaining is given responsibilities far above their skill level, education, and experience- every day is a struggle to survive. 

Haunted by the physical manifestation of her fear, "Khawf," who urges her to fulfill her promise to her brother of keeping Layla safe and getting them out of the country, Salama at eighteen years old has to find a way.  

Before all the pieces come together to escape, a boy enters the picture, Kenan, who gives Salama hope, who distracts her from the death and destruction that has consumed their lives.  A boy unwilling to leave his beloved homeland.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I'm a crier, but this book brought out ugly angry tears, shocked tears, heartbroken tears, sentimental tears, you get the point, this book held me in its grasps and never let go. I.COULDN'T. PUT. IT. DOWN. If this is the author's debut novel I can't even fathom what is yet to come.  

I love that the characters are Muslim, and that they pray together, that they plead with Allah (swt) and meet at the mosque.  It is who they are, it is not up for debate or in need of explanation, it is what it is and it is not anything to discuss.  The parts where a character pleads with Allah for death over being taken, absolutely wrecked me.  Just as efforts to keep everything halal between Salama and Kenan made me beam.  (If I'm completely honesty, I did on occasion get frustrated, I mean come on they are being shot at, bombed, nearly sexually assaulted, scoop her up in your arms and console, her, I know haram, but it is fiction and I was invested, and there is a war.  Thankfully, I am not an author and she kept it all clean and her characters much stronger and mindful of the shortness of this world.)

I love that there are political voices, but that it isn't a political book trying to give back story to the conflict.  In so many ways the news has failed to keep a light shining on Syria and books such as this, remind those of us outside Syria without strong connections to the land, that the conflict is still raging.  If this was a journalistic article it would be a human interest piece, it is character driven.  Readers see themselves in the characters that live lives that most of us of privilege could never imagine, yet here we are spellbound by the characters, their choices, their dreams, and their safety.  This book shows the power of fiction in opening our eyes to the horrors that are happening in our time, by giving us a face and a character to care so deeply about, that we are spurred to action and determined to not remain apathetic.

FLAGS:

Death, torture, physical abuse, sexual assault, fear, loss, coercion, war, murder, torture, child abuse, crimes against humanity, starvation, mental health, PTSD.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I would love to use this book in a high school book club.  The story and themes of the book would open themselves up to discussion so effortlessly and the beauty of the writing would be a gift to share with students.

I would love to interview Zoulfah for pop-culturalist.com. This is a must read book that takes place during the Syrian Revolution!