I really enjoyed this coming of age story written in verse. The emotions were beautiful and it was a good glimpse into a culture that is different than my own.

Bright Red Fruit is a beautiful story about Samira, a teenage girl on a journey to find herself, while exploring the sometimes tumultuous relationships with her mother and aunts. It explores the challenges of blending into a new culture while preserving one's own customs and the tension this can create between generations. The novel, told through poems, emails, and texts, gives a very personal view of Samira's world and the struggles of a teen trying to fit in. The parallels to the Persephone myth add an interesting twist while keeping the focus on Samira's relationships with her mother, family, and friends, making the book even more compelling.

Stunning!
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Bright Red Fruit was a beautiful story, full of poems that tells the journey of a teenage girl, Samira, who is trying to navigate her own journey while under the watchful eyes of her mother and aunts. Samira felt that her mother was overprotective and strict. I love the title, it’s almost like touching the forbidden fruit and getting burned, as she found herself in a series of unfortunate circumstances.

I truly appreciated the message throughout. It talks about the possible dangers of online dating and signs of intimate partner violence. The importance of communication with your child and the cultural differences in dating as a teen and what is acceptable. I sympathized a lot with Samira. I don’t think she was being rebellious but she was influenced and taken advantage of and that really was difficult for her. I think anyone could read this and experience an aha-moment because these things can happen to anyone engaging online. The poetry site was a positive outlet for Samira, and luckily she had a village to support her throughout a difficult time. I enjoyed this one so much! The author just gets it right, every time!!

Wow just wow! This book had me in freaking tears that I had to read something uplifting after. This book pulls your emotions in a way book never has. Great storytelling, the way it was written in verse is also amazing as well. Another hit on the author's hands!

Book Stats
Stars: 4.5 Stars
Start Date : 01/21/24
Ending Date: 02/02/24
Genre: YA Contemporary Poetry In-Verse Coming of Age
Form: Digital E-Arc
Page Count: 384
Publishing Date: 02/06/24
Point of View: 1st Person In Verse
Setting: Washington DC

Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange for a review.

Bright Red Fruit is a story about a Mother and Daughter who are trying to understand the other in the backdrop of a country where one is trying to blend into the culture and the other is trying to uphold the customs of the culture of the country they come from. Samira aka "Sam" is a 16 year Sundanese inspiring Poet who is living in Washington DC from Sudan. Her mom thinks she is " fast" because she is at the age where boys want to talk to her and she keeps hearing " rumors" about her from family members but never asks Sam herself about it or just trusts Sam. Sam also just wants to hang out with her friends, wear the same make up and wear cute clothes that are appropriate for her age. Her mother is so strict with her that she doesn't even want her to go to the movies with her friends. When she gets grounded for going to a party with her friends behind her mom's back, she starts posting her poetry on an online forum which gathers the attention of Horus. A poet who performs in local shops and national tours, who is getting national recognition but has a shady reputation and is also nine years her senior. Once she starts to share her poems with him, feelings she never had before start to develop.

This story is written in verse as you drive into the thoughts and Poems of Sam as she gets deeper in her lies she keeps from her mom and her friends about her new " friendship" with Horus. The author uses the myth of Hades and Persephone as imagery to explore and paint a tale between a mother's love for a daughter, a daughter who just wants to be understood, trusted, loved and found a first love, and the danger that first love happened to be.

I really wanted to give this book five stars since I loved it for the most part but for some reason I felt that Sam's character growth and the Mama as well was kind of underdeveloped. I felt like the conflict was too neatly resolved at the end which I felt Sam's character didn't fully learn a lesson. Especially the fact she wanted her mother to trust her and let up on her strictness and at the first big test that her mom did to show that she trusts her she failed big time. Granted, I know she's 16 and I am trying to give her the benefit of the doubt since she's still growing and she was also manipulated as well , but when they had such a good scene beforehand when both mother and daughter talked about their feelings and both feeling like being misunderstood from the other and the first step towards that was the mom showing trust towards you and you break it? Then I feel like you still didn't learn from it until you found out the guy was completely using you and manipulating you to get what he wanted.

I love the Hades and Persephone as imagery that is woven throughout the story with the different Poem from different poets to the parallels that Sam, her Mama and Horus are to Persephone, Demeter, and Hades. Also the play of the pomegranate with the name of the book . All and All I really enjoyed this one since I am a big fan of in verse books which this one is no expectation because it was written beautifully but I just wanted more character growth from our main character.

This book offered an interesting perspective into the minds of teens who are struggling to find their place while also navigating the challenges of life.

Samira was living a somewhat double life, caught between the expectations of her home life and the life she desired to live: to be young and free to make mistakes and experience things. While trying to find her place in the world and explore her poetry, she meets an older guy who makes her feel respected as a young woman and takes an interest in her work. We get to watch their relationship grow through Samira's words while her interactions with her family and close friends become fewer.

This book is good for everyone and can nitiate great conversation between adults and teens to help bridge the ever present divide between generations.

I thought this novel in verse was very well done. Samira's world came through the spare language of poems, emails and texts very clearly. Limiting the text to these forms emphasizes her limited contact with the world during her grounding. The loose framework of the Persephone story helps the reader know what to expect. For me at least, I knew to be suspicious of Horus as soon as he appeared. But the novel is much more about Samira's relationship with her mother, other family and friends, which I think makes the book more important.

This was a fascinating way of telling a story of a young poet trying to find her voice and identity in America. Samira as a character was very vulnerable and naive as a teenager and it was breathtaking of how poems were bringing her character alive as well as the other characters! I absolutely enjoyed the reading. Safia Elhillo is an automatic buy for me!

Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Heartwarming. Moving. Impactful. Intense. Unforgettable. Eye opening.

I read this book in a matter of hours. I simply could not put it down. I think that this being written in verse absolutely elevated this story. This is a book not to be missed or glossed over.

honest and unflinching is right for this book! I loved these poems and I love the way Safia portrays her YA characters in all their messiness and naivety. this was another hit for me for sure.

I asked someone what makes good poetry and they responded the ability to portray a story in a concise way that flows like music. Based on this definition, I thought Bright Red Fruit was amazing. Elhillo told a coming of age story in a such a beautiful, relatable way.

I truly have a soft spot for books written in verse. There’s something very powerful and beautiful about books written in verse, and Bright Red Fruit is THEE perfect example of this.

Samira was a great character. I sympathized and empathized with her character wholeheartedly. Being a young girl who is yearning for love, and once given an inkling of such latches on for better or worse. Shutting out those who are her backbone thinking she is mature enough to understand the complexity of being manipulated, and used by a man much older than her. I felt those moments where the desperation for the attention, to be seen, and to placed as special superseded her rationality.

We also get to read Samira’s poetry, my favorite one that I keep going back to is ‘What I’ve Learned’ it’s a heart wrenching piece that we see Samira truly reflect on her position on love as it pertains to her experience. Ugh it was amazing.

My absolute favorite part of reading was the parallels of Samira’s story being told with bits and pieces of the story of Persephone (bright red fruit! Get it? It’s a pomegranate!!).

YES! It was so beautifully done. The comparisons of how both are seen and how their actions are scrutinized , the relationships between both of their mothers, and the men they fell for.

I’m going to also read Safia Elhillo’s other books Home is Not A Country, and Girls That Never Die. I have high hopes for them since this was so good.

This was powerful and a message to young women to not let corrupt men take what belongs to you. And if they do, reclaim what’s yours.

I loved Samira our main character because she was such a sweet relatable character. She was like every teenage girl that is being fooled.

Her relationship blossomed with her mother after being in such a strict household due to rumors.

And last we got a chance to see character development. Samira went from shy and unsure of how great her poetry is to confident, and knowing who she was! Loved it

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC.

4.75 out of 5 stars

This book surprised the heck out of me with how good it is. Not that I was expecting it to be bad, I just wasn't expecting it to shine.

Despite my love of poetry, this is my first novel-in-poetry-form I've read. I absolutely adored it. It reveals the story of a girl on the cusp of womanhood who is struggling to shed the image her mom demands of her, then also the image that the world has created of rumors of her. It's wicked how adults gossip more than children, ruining lives in the process. When the rumors get to be too much for Samira's mom, she is grounded. But while grounded, she finds solace in online poetry forums, where she meets Horus - an older poet who praises her poetry and calls her beautiful.

Even the pariah of the Sudanese community - Samira's friend, Lina's sister - Farrah, warns Samira about Horus, who is 25. She warns her about his reputation, too. But Samira scoffs at Farrah. Who is she to talk about reputation? So she continues to call Horus, to meet up with him, to talk to him online, giving him her poems and drinking up the attention. But then, against his advice, she posts a poem online, and he immediately does an about face.

The possessiveness is familiar, and the naivete is gut-wrenching, because the story is all too familiar. The poet who has travelled the world and knows more and knows better – I know him. The one who moves from place to place and girl to girl with a wish and a promise, luring her along with the melancholy and the pretty words – I know him. I’ve met him in passing as he travelled from New Jersey to California. We met at a library. I was stupid enough to meet him, but not stupid enough to go farther than that. But still, it hurt when he disappeared, then told me later that if he had stayed to say goodbye, that he never would have left and blah blah blah. Rolando. With the tattooed eyes.

Enough about past stupid crap. Back to the crap Horus pulls, then blame-shifts it back to Samira. Oooo I was so mad and seething reading parts of this book. But enough about jerk poets. This is also a story about a mother and a daughter. There are times Samira misses the closeness she once had with her mother, and wonders how they got so distant, and it broke my heart. It is also about mending broken relationships before it's too late. It's about friendship. It's about having someone believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself.

There were times I choked up reading this, particularly towards the end. One of the characters' eventual presence and influence is pleasantly surprising.

The author spared no expense with character building, despite the form. I felt I knew each person through the eyes of Samira. Incredible book. I read probably 75% of it in one day because I was hooked, despite having work and homework and kids and reading other books. I am 100% going to read Home is Not a Country, which I believe I have, I just haven't read yet.

There are references to mythology, particularly and heavily the Persephone myth. The way the author weaved it into the story - that alone was part of the brilliance, but not all. Not all by a long shot.

I am very happy to have been able to read this. Thanks again to NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this eARC!

I'm a fan of Safia Elhillo's writing, and was excited to see her second novel-in-verse coming out this year. I gobbled this one up quickly, and, as awlays, amazed at the way she knows how to place poetry into motion. This coming-of-age story spoke a lot to me as a BIPOC, especially in regards to how to navigate a different cultures I teeter between. Safia did a wonderful job of writing this story.

Samira is a Sudanese-American living in DC, trying to navigate being 16 in a country so different from her culture, with a mom who doesn’t seem to understand what being a teenage girl in the US means. Her mom tries to hold her close, sometimes too tightly, to keep her safe from the unknown. Samira relies on writing poetry and her two best friends until one night while posting on a poetry website, an older man, Horus (25), reaches out to her, impressed by her poems and making her feel seen. Bright red fruit is a coming of age novel written in verse that explores cultural identity, exploitation of minors by predatory adults and freedom of expression.

Safia Elhillo captivates readers with her latest work, "Bright Red Fruit," a stunning exploration of the life of Samira, a sheltered yet curious Sudanese teen. The narrative unfolds as Samira, a budding poet, encounters an older man in an online poetry forum, leading to a a series of questionable choices and behaviors. Elhillo weaves a powerful story as Samira grapples with the challenges of growing up in a culture her mother fears, finding her poetic voice, and seeking validation from a man.

The narrative touches on essential themes of self-discovery and empowerment, portraying Samira's journey as she stands up for herself in various aspects of her life. "Bright Red Fruit" also cleverly incorporates nods to mythology, particularly the Persephone myth.. With Elhillo's skillful writing, poetry enthusiasts will revel in the prose, while a diverse range of teen readers will likely connect with Samira's story. I'm eager to preorder a copy for my classroom library.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

This is my second Safia Elhillo novel and I am absolutely obsessed with her ability to weave prose into a story that holds so much value and meaning. Safia has the ability to put coming of age stories into words with such grace, feeling, and beauty when its such a hard, ugly, and difficult experience. This is a coming of age story that I feel needs to be on every high school reading list as it spoke right to my teen soul and healed it. I was saying "oh no" throughout this whole novel (and in the best way) because I was able to put my self back into the shoes of a teenager trying to grow up and become independent and recall feeling that desire to do just that. Much older now, watching Samira going about it all the wrong way, had me all kinds of stressed out. But growing up isn't easy, finding your voice, and your self worth isn't either. The push and pull of the relationship Samira had with her mother was so realistic and raw. There is a delicate balance that parents and teen must experience in coming to the realization that they are both on the same team and not alone. Great novel! Thank you again, for the opportunity to read one of your novels. They've been a delight!

In a word, I think I'd call this enchanting. As always, Elhillo's poetic voice is perfect. The Persephone and Hades theme and retelling are immaculate. The positive character relationships are complex and interesting, between mother and daughter, friends, and fellow outcasts. I loved the main character, Samira's poetry, and how it was improved on and critiqued throughout the book. The setting, mostly one room during a DC summer was palpably - and fittingly - stifling. I know some would be bothered by the Muslim representation, but I felt like the level of practice worked for the characters and there was no badmouthing of Islam in general.
I think my only gripe is the plot, a sickening but typical tale of internet grooming. Like in Elhillo's previous novel, the actual events always feel like they get a lot less complexity.

Bright Red Fruit is poetry in motion and it reveals an incredibly vulnerable and encompassing exploration of culture, temptation, and redemption.

The novel in verse format amplifies the character’s storylines but more importantly, the stanzas allow the reader to feel the character’s emotions, judge their actions, and grow along side them.