Why Did I Listen To All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir?
Way back in the day, I read Sabaa Tahir’s debut, An Ember In The Ashes and really enjoyed it. I had wanted to continue on with the series, unfortunately time got away from me and I haven’t yet read the other three books. After seeing the concept for All My Rage, I was excited. I love when authors write in multiple genres and don’t pidgeon hole themselves. Knowing this was a contemporary book really had my attention. What cemented me picking up the audiobook was the recommendation of the audio from a Booktoker who does such an excellent job highlighting books by authors with marginalized backgrounds – Aubrei at earlgreypls.
What’s The Story Here?
All My Rage is a story with a dual storyline. We have present day Juniper, California where Noor and Salahudin live. They are not just best friends, but might as well be family — only they aren’t related. Noor came to California when she was very little after a disaster in her native Pakistan. She lives with her uncle who treats her with cruelty. Every day Noor dreams of escaping Juniper and going away to college and moving on with her life. Meanwhile, Salahudin is coping with having a very sick mother and his father is hitting the bottle pretty hard. Turns out, Salahudin’s family is drowning in debt and may lose the Cloud’s Rest Motel, which they own.
The other storyline is that of Misbah, Salahudin’s mother. Set in the past in Lahore, Pakistan, we learn how Misbah’s life came to be the way it is now. Misbah’s story has tragedy and of course, her move from Pakistan to California. We see her follow a dream and open up the Cloud’s Rest Motel where she will do her best to support her family, but also comes to believe she will also fail them.
How Did I Like All My Rage?
Honestly, All My Rage is definitely at the top of the list of books I’ve read this year. I went through so many emotions reading this. Noor, Salahudin, and Misbah were all characters who I felt a deep empathy for. Much of the book was spent rooting for them to overcome their various life circumstances. I did have a very soft spot for Noor though. Thinking about the level of trauma she experienced and just how it didn’t end with the earthquake in Pakistan but translated into facing Islamophobia in California as well as abuse from her uncle. She deserved the world is what I thought while reading. And Salahudin! Sal! He made not so many great choices, but he’s a kid dealt a crap hand, so, no blame, just empathy. And friends, there’s no way I couldn’t love Misbah. Just, this book is so good and heavy and emotional. Pick it up if you want a book that you’ll feel down to your bones.
How’s The Narration?
@aprilbooksandwine Missed my turn because I was so into the audiobook of All My Rage by @Sabaa Tahir @Penguin Teen @Libro.fm #GameTok #over30booktok
♬ Say So (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Doja Cat] – Elliot Van Coup
The audiobook of Sabaa Tahir’s All My Rage has three narrators. The narrators are Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan, and Kausar Muhammad. I am not sure which narrator was which character, however, the three basically are Salahudin, Misbah, and Noor. It was ideal to have different narrators for the different character chapters — it made it so the voices were distinct. Honestly, the audiobook was a really excellent experience. I am so glad I experienced this story via audio. Personally, I got so into this book that I missed a turn while driving home from an area I am not familiar with. It is 10 hours 24 minutes long and I listened to this at 1x speed and STILL loved it.
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