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There are currently 62 member reviews
for A Place for Us
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Daryl B. (Poolesville, MD)
APlace For Us
First of all I want to say I loved this book. I am amazed that such a young writer has such emotional depth. Having watched one of my son's closest friends grow up in an almost identical family, I have always empathized with the children. This book gives good insight to the parent's lives as well as the children, how hard it is to raise your children in a different culture than their peers. A real heartbreaking story, I found myself crying for their very real pain. The story does jump around from one time period to another. I will definitely be recommending this book to my book club.
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Virginia M. (San Antonio, TX)
Outstanding!!
I was literally blown away by the experience of reading A PLACE FOR US by Fatima Farheed Mirza.
The book was quite different from what I expected. First, I need to explain that I am a senior adult who is looking as you say "in my rear view mirror" at my life and the life of my family. I am a Christian and my faith is quite important to me. Second, I knew the book was going to be about an American Muslim family and I had anticipated that it would primarily center on the prejudices they would face since our country is so judgmentally divided and full of hate today. So I anticipated I would need to be understanding as I read about a culture that was quite different from mine.
The book does have a few elements of prejudice but this is not front and center.
The thing that impressed me most about the book is that it is the story about a family facing the problems that many of us have faced as our children form beliefs of their own which sometimes are at odds with the values and traditions that we, their parents, hold very close to our hearts. The author wrote this book about a Muslim family, but the truth is the book could have been a Christian, Jew, Buddhist or Mormon family. The hurt would be the same – the guilt would be the same- the yearning of the parents for them to be "family" again would be the same.
I found the book to be a deeply moving account of those times when mistakes are made and for me the story rang with an authenticity that reached the core of my being.
I received this book as part of the First Impressions program at Book Browse.com and this is my honest review of the book.
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Beth B. (New Wilmington, PA)
A Place for Us --- a jewel of a book
Clearly one of the best books I've ever read for a wide spectrum of reasons. Fatima Farheen Mirza has given us a bird's eye view inside family dynamics that demonstrates sibling and parental relationships, gender, birth order, secrets revealed and withheld, guilt, and adherence to religious restrictions. In four parts, the author explores topics such as secrets, blame, shame, regret, anger, pride, prejudice, habit, and the way a family and its members tiptoe around issues that should be addressed. This book, for me, was not a page turner, but one that I savored and didn't want to end. It will win awards.
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Cheryl S. (Redmond, WA)
A Place For Us
First of all I would like to thank BookBrowse for the advance copy of A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. I loved this book, a beautifully written story of a Muslim Indian American family living before and in the aftermath of 9/11. As an American I don't think we fully realize the courage it takes to leave your native country and family, and travel hundreds of miles to a new and strange place. Trying to assimilate, yet hold on to your traditions, customs and religion. Then staring your own family, hoping your children will be comfortable in this country, but also honor their native heritage. I felt such empathy for these characters, they were so fully realized and fleshed out. I am so grateful this book came into my hands, it was a wonderful reading experience and I highly recommend it to all readers.
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RebeccaR (Western USA)
The Kindred Souls of All Humanity
I wavered between a 4 and a 5 for this book because I enjoyed reading it and felt the author did an excellent job of portraying the coming-of-age emotions of Hadia and her brother Amar, heightened by being part of a minority race and religion at a time when belonging and feeling the thrill of growing up with your peers is so important. Yet at the same time, as a reader, I was a little frustrated with the alternating flashback-present tense format. Sometimes the flashbacks went back to a younger age than the previous flashback, and I found myself underlining ages or grades in school to try and keep it straight. One of the strengths of this book is the honest insight it presents into a culture and family.I hope that readers who may not be accepting of a religion other than their own can read this book and come away appreciating the common threads of goodness and morality which bind many faiths as well as the shared religious stories.
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Mal
Breathtaking
Absolutely stunning book. I was absorbed in the characters and plot, I simply couldn't put the book down. The characters truly stick with you long after the turn of the last page. Mirza takes the reader on a detailed journey by showing different views of faith, love and family. This book will stake its claim emotionally, a perfect story dissecting family life, old and new ways, expectations and disappointments, most of all love.
Wonderful book, Mirza is a force to reckon. Must read with all certitude.
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Monica P. (Cleves, OH)
A Place For Us
This is a moving and very well written book about a family with two daughters and a troubled younger son who feels like he doesn't fit in. The dynamics and the dysfunction of the family, along with the religious culture and their love for each other, will stay in my memory for a long time.
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