Welcome to Litsy!

#StorySettings Day 28: The #Island is one of the most disturbing picturebooks for young people that I often recommend. At the very core of this book is an overwhelming fear of those who are different. The storytelling straightforward, the plot crystal clear with a continual build-up that puts a growing lump in the reader‘s throat as one witnesses the extent of the many atrocities people tend to commit in the name of fear. https://wp.me/pDlzr-40F

Lil dense at the beginning when he's going into tales revolving around strangers in Greek mythology/literature. Definitely skipped over that but enjoyed the stories of the beginnings of the word xenophobia. Delved a bit too deep into mid-20th century philosophy for me as well, but powered through nonetheless. Not quite the pop non fiction I was hoping for but still had some cool parts.

A Muslim teen gains notoriety for bringing a “bomb” to school (it‘s a jet pack for his Halloween costume), then goes missing. Safiyeh is at a different school, but experiences prejudice escalating and wants to focus attention on Jawad‘s disappearance. Inspired by a historic real story, but configured for our era, this is terrific.

Oof. This book was good but so heavy. Everything that happened to Safiya and Jawad just made me ill. Basing it off the Leopold and Loeb murder was super clever, tho. #yalit

I know this is supposed to be satire, but it was gratuitous and, quite frankly, kinda gross. And while the writing style was certainly unique, it quickly became distracting. I think I might not be quite smart enough for this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️
That said, there were some funny parts (the running joke about the missing batteries is hilarious, albeit a little vulgar), and I think I liked the ending. (CONT‘D ⬇️)…

Lil dense at the beginning when he's going into tales revolving around strangers in Greek mythology/literature. Definitely skipped over that but enjoyed the stories of the beginnings of the word xenophobia. Delved a bit too deep into mid-20th century philosophy for me as well, but powered through nonetheless. Not quite the pop non fiction I was hoping for but still had some cool parts.

Palahniuk is always darkly funny, twisted, disturbing and this particular work of satire is no different. It‘s told through dispatch reports of a teenage operative from a totalitarian state, who uses staccato broken English, yet has an expansive military/medical vocabulary. The goal? Infiltrate the US to complete an act of terrorism called Operation Havoc - all while making hilarious commentary on American life. Caution: Very adult and offensive

#readaroundtheworld #SouthAfrica

She had me from the first few pages (TMI in comments) - so much going on in such a short novel. Life as a student doctor in South Africa, trying to work out the path to take against the xenophobia aimed at your flatmate, and Just So Tired. (I thought she wrote tiredness so well!) And that‘s before the horrific event takes place. It‘s written as journal entries- I found it powerful and affecting. Trigger Warnings.

This book.

I really wouldn‘t call it a page-turner, but I don‘t want to put it down.

I encourage you all to pick this up! It's written in journal form from the point of view of a young South African doctor who finds herself amidst a broken, xenophobic and corrupt Post-Apartheid society. The body and the nation are blended into one another to represent the journey of a whole generation. Short but intense!

⭐⭐⭐⭐