All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir | Audiobook Review

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An INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
An INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER!

All My Rage is a love story, a tragedy and an infectious teenage fever dream about what home means when you feel you don't fit in. -- New York Times Book Review

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.

Lahore, Pakistan. Then.
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.

Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.

Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah's health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle's liquor store while hiding the fact that she's applying to college so she can escape him--and Juniper--forever.

When Sal's attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth--and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.

From one of today's most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness--one that's both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity.

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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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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