3.5 stars

In its entirety, I really enjoyed this novel, especially the themes around family, culture, and identity. What I didn't love was the speech writing, (much of which was so outdated and stereotypical that it made me cringe) and the length which I felt dragged the story out and could have easily been trimmed in places.

I really enjoyed the first part of the book that detailed Saahil and Ehsan's childhood and loved seeing the bond between the boys and their families strengthen throughout the years. The years were skipped over but we were given enough insight without this feeling like the author was leaving out too much information between timelines. The second part still focused on Saahil and Ehsan but this time they were at university. This was the part I connected to least and just couldn't cope with the use of slang which hasn't dated well at all (and never did sound right in writing despite its authenticity). I skimmed all conversations, hoping we'd leave the uni days behind as quickly as they arrived. I thought the event that occurred (trying not to spoil) was handled really well and was a true reflection of

alcohol-fuelled violence

.

My favourite part was definitely

Saahil's story. Having worked as a PCSO in the UK, I'm very familiar with homelessness and the addiction to spice. Legal highs were such a huge problem when they were so easily accessible, and I remember a police officer telling me that the addiction was as bad as, if not worse than the likes of heroin due to how easy it was to get hold of and how people didn't realise how easily dependent they would become if they used regularly. I thought the author researched this topic really well and didn't sugarcoat the effects it had on young people from all backgrounds

.

I also enjoyed the final part

with the reunion

but it felt a little rushed after all the character-building and scene-setting in the previous chapters.

I didn't see the point of Kamran's involvement in Ehsan/Saahil's attack - it felt very unrealistic all because of a petty jealousy when he was part of the same friendship group

.

Overall, I thought this was a good family saga with some excellent theme and cultural exploration but there were a few too many areas that needed refinement for this to be a 4/5 star for me.

Rating breakdown