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As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction (2022)Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.
But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.
But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.
417 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2022
About the author
Zoulfa Katouh
1 book4,204 followersAll Zoulfa wanted was to lay in her bed and eat sliced mango all day long with no single thought in her mind, but now she has two jobs, scientist and author. She has girlbossed so close to the sun, that she's burning. She lost the original plot.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 12,197 reviews
June 14, 2024
➳
5/5 stars
✶࿐
“Every lemon will bring forth a child and the lemons will never die out.”
Well, i have seen alot of people rave about this book since months but honestly i have been pretty conflicted about reading this. Why?? Bc every booktok rec have disappointed me soo far and i was afraid it would do the same but guess what it didn't. It is literally one of best literary pieces i have read till date. Every aspect of this was pure perfection—the storyline, the characters, the writing, even the quotes. I adored every single detail. Honestly, I wish I could erase it from my memory just so I could experience it all over again, feeling every emotion as if for the first time.
This book didn't just touch me; it shattered my heart, crushed my soul, and left an imprint on my very being. It's the kind of story that lingers long after you've closed the pages, like a gentle whisper in the back of your mind. Each word felt like a warm cup of coffee on a cold winter day—comforting yet profoundly stirring. Even after I turned the final page, I found myself unable to shake its grip on my thoughts, contemplating the struggles of countless children who may be facing similar challenges at this very moment.
After reading this, I couldn't help but realize how privileged we truly are. We take for granted the simple things like breathing without worry, enjoying a warm meal without fear of scarcity, or having clean water and a roof over our heads without a second thought. It's heartbreaking to think about the innocence stolen from these children because we, as humans, have lost touch with our own humanity.
Imagine for a moment the gut-wrenching reality of living with the constant fear of death. It's exhausting to worry about where your next meal will come from, if you'll have a roof over your head, or even if you'll take your next breath. It's unfathomable to me how anyone could subject innocent children to such suffering—they don't deserve to contemplate their own mortality or wish for an end to their pain by disappearing. Children should be free to live their lives, playing, dancing, and experiencing the joys of childhood, not burdened with adult worries. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder: is it truly so difficult to hold onto our humanity, or have we become emotionless monsters who thrive on the suffering of others?
Hope is the lifeline for so many, the beacon guiding them through the darkest of times. It's the belief that someday they'll find freedom, that someday this suffering will cease, and that someday happiness will be within reach. Hope is what sustains them, keeping their spirits alive and their dreams alive. They long for the day when they can live without the burden of worries that we often take for granted as basic necessities.
This book mirrors the current state of our world in many ways. It follows the journey of Salama, an eighteen-year-old surgeon who saves lives every day, yet grapples with overwhelming guilt when she can't save someone dear to her. Forced to grow up too soon due to circumstances beyond her control, she faces the dilemma of leaving her homeland or staying behind. Enter Kenan, who challenges her resolve to stay having lost everyone else in the war. It's a poignant tale of love, loss, and the struggles of navigating life in the midst of chaos.
Its set in Syria during the country’s civil war, 'As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow' follows 18-year-old Salama Kassab as she navigates life under a cruel dictatorship. It's a story of unwavering love for one's country and the resilience that sustains people even in the darkest of times. Though fiction, it echoes the real-life struggles of countless Syrians who lost everything yet found the strength to persevere. It reminds us that amidst pain and hardship, happiness can still be found, and goodness prevails even in a world filled with evil. It's a gentle reminder that even when hope seems lost, a flicker of light remains to guide the way forward."
I'm truly happy that Kenan and Salama found each other. They've endured so much and deserve all the happiness in the world. While the book may not focus solely on romance, their love story is everything to me. They deserve all the happiness in the world. While nothing can replace the time or the people they've lost, I wish them everything. I want to believe that they never experienced another bad day, only happiness, after all they've been through.
The way the author crafted this book is absolutely gut-wrenching. It's as if every word was carefully chosen to evoke the deepest emotions in the reader. I've never come across a story that resonated with me so profoundly. It's the kind of book that lingers in your thoughts long after you've finished reading, leaving an indelible mark on your soul. I've never encountered a story that stayed with me quite like this one. It's the kind of book I'll never tire of recommending to others.
°˖➴ Overall, if you're on the lookout for a book that will not only send shivers down your spine but also bring tears to your eyes, even in the darkest hours of the night, then look no further then this book might just be the perfect catch for you! 💌
౨ৎ QUOTES ⊹ ࣪ ˖
⚘ “Auntie—don’t cry—when I go to Heaven—I’ll tell God—everything,”
won't lie this quote right here literally gave me chills😭✋🏻
⚘ “It doesn’t hurt for you to think about your future. We don’t have to stop living because we might die. Anyone might die at any given moment, anywhere in the world. We’re not an exception. We just see death more regularly than they do"
⚘ "Freedom was never an easy price; it’s paid with— Blood. More than we ever thought possible"
⚘ “Know that even in death, you’re my life.”
⚘ "Fate has his strings, but we’re the ones who twist them together with our actions"
⚘ "It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die."
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
꒰🌷⊹ ࣪ pre-read review —
Diving in because everyone is sobbing after reading this book and also bc im just a bloody masochist 😙🤌🏻
“Every lemon will bring forth a child and the lemons will never die out.”
Well, i have seen alot of people rave about this book since months but honestly i have been pretty conflicted about reading this. Why?? Bc every booktok rec have disappointed me soo far and i was afraid it would do the same but guess what it didn't. It is literally one of best literary pieces i have read till date. Every aspect of this was pure perfection—the storyline, the characters, the writing, even the quotes. I adored every single detail. Honestly, I wish I could erase it from my memory just so I could experience it all over again, feeling every emotion as if for the first time.
This book didn't just touch me; it shattered my heart, crushed my soul, and left an imprint on my very being. It's the kind of story that lingers long after you've closed the pages, like a gentle whisper in the back of your mind. Each word felt like a warm cup of coffee on a cold winter day—comforting yet profoundly stirring. Even after I turned the final page, I found myself unable to shake its grip on my thoughts, contemplating the struggles of countless children who may be facing similar challenges at this very moment.
After reading this, I couldn't help but realize how privileged we truly are. We take for granted the simple things like breathing without worry, enjoying a warm meal without fear of scarcity, or having clean water and a roof over our heads without a second thought. It's heartbreaking to think about the innocence stolen from these children because we, as humans, have lost touch with our own humanity.
Imagine for a moment the gut-wrenching reality of living with the constant fear of death. It's exhausting to worry about where your next meal will come from, if you'll have a roof over your head, or even if you'll take your next breath. It's unfathomable to me how anyone could subject innocent children to such suffering—they don't deserve to contemplate their own mortality or wish for an end to their pain by disappearing. Children should be free to live their lives, playing, dancing, and experiencing the joys of childhood, not burdened with adult worries. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder: is it truly so difficult to hold onto our humanity, or have we become emotionless monsters who thrive on the suffering of others?
Hope is the lifeline for so many, the beacon guiding them through the darkest of times. It's the belief that someday they'll find freedom, that someday this suffering will cease, and that someday happiness will be within reach. Hope is what sustains them, keeping their spirits alive and their dreams alive. They long for the day when they can live without the burden of worries that we often take for granted as basic necessities.
This book mirrors the current state of our world in many ways. It follows the journey of Salama, an eighteen-year-old surgeon who saves lives every day, yet grapples with overwhelming guilt when she can't save someone dear to her. Forced to grow up too soon due to circumstances beyond her control, she faces the dilemma of leaving her homeland or staying behind. Enter Kenan, who challenges her resolve to stay having lost everyone else in the war. It's a poignant tale of love, loss, and the struggles of navigating life in the midst of chaos.
Its set in Syria during the country’s civil war, 'As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow' follows 18-year-old Salama Kassab as she navigates life under a cruel dictatorship. It's a story of unwavering love for one's country and the resilience that sustains people even in the darkest of times. Though fiction, it echoes the real-life struggles of countless Syrians who lost everything yet found the strength to persevere. It reminds us that amidst pain and hardship, happiness can still be found, and goodness prevails even in a world filled with evil. It's a gentle reminder that even when hope seems lost, a flicker of light remains to guide the way forward."
I'm truly happy that Kenan and Salama found each other. They've endured so much and deserve all the happiness in the world. While the book may not focus solely on romance, their love story is everything to me. They deserve all the happiness in the world. While nothing can replace the time or the people they've lost, I wish them everything. I want to believe that they never experienced another bad day, only happiness, after all they've been through.
The way the author crafted this book is absolutely gut-wrenching. It's as if every word was carefully chosen to evoke the deepest emotions in the reader. I've never come across a story that resonated with me so profoundly. It's the kind of book that lingers in your thoughts long after you've finished reading, leaving an indelible mark on your soul. I've never encountered a story that stayed with me quite like this one. It's the kind of book I'll never tire of recommending to others.
°˖➴ Overall, if you're on the lookout for a book that will not only send shivers down your spine but also bring tears to your eyes, even in the darkest hours of the night, then look no further then this book might just be the perfect catch for you! 💌
౨ৎ QUOTES ⊹ ࣪ ˖
⚘ “Auntie—don’t cry—when I go to Heaven—I’ll tell God—everything,”
won't lie this quote right here literally gave me chills😭✋🏻
⚘ “It doesn’t hurt for you to think about your future. We don’t have to stop living because we might die. Anyone might die at any given moment, anywhere in the world. We’re not an exception. We just see death more regularly than they do"
⚘ "Freedom was never an easy price; it’s paid with— Blood. More than we ever thought possible"
⚘ “Know that even in death, you’re my life.”
⚘ "Fate has his strings, but we’re the ones who twist them together with our actions"
⚘ "It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die."
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
꒰🌷⊹ ࣪ pre-read review —
Diving in because everyone is sobbing after reading this book and also bc im just a bloody masochist 😙🤌🏻
October 13, 2022
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the Lemon Trees family.
It's quite strange giving my own book five stars but if there's one thing I gave 110% of myself in, it's Lemon Trees. And BTS taught me to speak myself. So here I am, speaking myself.
This book comes from my pain, my guilt, my love, my sorrows, my dreams, and my hopes. In short, this book comes from the raw parts of my heart.
Even though everything written in the book has been documented and reported on the news and the internet for more than ten years, not a lot of people know what's going on. Which is why I wanted to make it into a story. In the end, that's what human life is; stories.
It's going to be a difficult book to read. Hopefully, you'll cry, but at times you will laugh, you will awww and if I'm really lucky, you'll throw it against the wall. If you do do that, drop me a message and tell me because then I would know I have done good. That I wrote a good book that gave you strong feelings.
But in the end, ultimately, I hope you close this book with a newfound sense of hope. With a fire burning in your heart that 'yes, I will change the world' because this world is waiting for you. Salama, Layla, Kenan, and all the characters in this story may be fictional, but they exist in every single Syrian out there. These stories happened-- are still happening. We have once said we wouldn't allow for another Holocaust to happen, and yet, we are living through genocide every single day. Knowing their stories, their names is the first step. The second is to tell those who don't know. That's what this book is. An answer to those who are looking for one. Because no one takes to the sea, risking drowning and sharks in the water, sailing to an unknown future, if what they're leaving behind isn't something much more horrific.
And despite it all, I hope you see my Lemon Babies as more than the sadness. We are so much more than that. We are not what the media has written us to be. We are proud, resilient, kind, ambitious, generous. We changed the world. We were the cradle of civilisation-- inventions happened because of us. Our history is golden. We are strong hijabi girls who live life to the fullest, and soft, kind Muslim boys who reject the toxic masculinity ideology. We are not what they wrote us to be. We are not a stereotype. We are so much more than you can imagine. Salama, Layla, and Kenan are more than their pain and loss.
They are hope.
This story has been a whisper for far too long. Thank you for making it a shout to be heard all over the world.
🍋
Z
Welcome to the Lemon Trees family.
It's quite strange giving my own book five stars but if there's one thing I gave 110% of myself in, it's Lemon Trees. And BTS taught me to speak myself. So here I am, speaking myself.
This book comes from my pain, my guilt, my love, my sorrows, my dreams, and my hopes. In short, this book comes from the raw parts of my heart.
Even though everything written in the book has been documented and reported on the news and the internet for more than ten years, not a lot of people know what's going on. Which is why I wanted to make it into a story. In the end, that's what human life is; stories.
It's going to be a difficult book to read. Hopefully, you'll cry, but at times you will laugh, you will awww and if I'm really lucky, you'll throw it against the wall. If you do do that, drop me a message and tell me because then I would know I have done good. That I wrote a good book that gave you strong feelings.
But in the end, ultimately, I hope you close this book with a newfound sense of hope. With a fire burning in your heart that 'yes, I will change the world' because this world is waiting for you. Salama, Layla, Kenan, and all the characters in this story may be fictional, but they exist in every single Syrian out there. These stories happened-- are still happening. We have once said we wouldn't allow for another Holocaust to happen, and yet, we are living through genocide every single day. Knowing their stories, their names is the first step. The second is to tell those who don't know. That's what this book is. An answer to those who are looking for one. Because no one takes to the sea, risking drowning and sharks in the water, sailing to an unknown future, if what they're leaving behind isn't something much more horrific.
And despite it all, I hope you see my Lemon Babies as more than the sadness. We are so much more than that. We are not what the media has written us to be. We are proud, resilient, kind, ambitious, generous. We changed the world. We were the cradle of civilisation-- inventions happened because of us. Our history is golden. We are strong hijabi girls who live life to the fullest, and soft, kind Muslim boys who reject the toxic masculinity ideology. We are not what they wrote us to be. We are not a stereotype. We are so much more than you can imagine. Salama, Layla, and Kenan are more than their pain and loss.
They are hope.
This story has been a whisper for far too long. Thank you for making it a shout to be heard all over the world.
🍋
Z
November 14, 2022
every time i think of syria, i cant help but think of
this
photo.
the syrian civil war has been ongoing for the past 11 years, with nearly 7 million syrians forced to leave their home and country during that time.
and while salamas story does provide the much needed hope and love that the present day situation is currently lacking, this is still not an easy book to read. although tenderly told, this story showcases just how brutal revolutions are and how, when faced with nothing to lose, sacrifice becomes the only answer when fighting for freedom.
although aimed at younger readers, this is definitely an eye-opening and educational book everyone should pick up, regardless of age.
↠ 4.5 stars
the syrian civil war has been ongoing for the past 11 years, with nearly 7 million syrians forced to leave their home and country during that time.
and while salamas story does provide the much needed hope and love that the present day situation is currently lacking, this is still not an easy book to read. although tenderly told, this story showcases just how brutal revolutions are and how, when faced with nothing to lose, sacrifice becomes the only answer when fighting for freedom.
although aimed at younger readers, this is definitely an eye-opening and educational book everyone should pick up, regardless of age.
↠ 4.5 stars
January 1, 2023
Sad as fuck but earnest as fuck. A love letter for Syria that more young adults should read instead of, like, ACOTAR or something
July 16, 2024
5 stars!
“كلُّ ليمونة ستنجب طفلاً ومحال أن ينتهي الليمون
Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out”
I have read this book thrice and I have not been able to write as review for this book because I knew no matter how hard I tried, whatever words I used, nothing could ever describe how extra ordinary this book was, how well written it was and how it was filled with so much passion and raw emotions and I still do not think I could ever do this book justice with my words but I have to let out how this book made me feel and even that feeling is indescribable 😭 Keep in mind, I have read books that are considered to be the saddest books of all time and sure I felt sad, depressed? maybe but I have ever shed a tear on a book no matter how sad it was, don't get me wrong the feeling I felt were equivalent to crying but I just couldn't find tears to shed however this book had me crying through out and with each reread I cried harder and I didn't think it was possible to do that because you would be expecting the things that happen but I am not joking when I say this the way it was written, it can bring anyone to tears.
Zoulfa Katouh crafted a masterpiece, a literary masterpiece that deserves all the recognition it can get. The way she wrote about Syrians and their cause and what they went through with such clear vivid intensity that I was feeling what they were feeling, and it made it so much harder for me to read it whenever I read this book because there are millions of Syrians among them my Muslim brothers and sisters who go through this everyday and I would think about them and I just would not be able to go through with this book for hours because I felt so helpless reading this book knowing that there was nothing that I could do for them except for the awareness that I can spread for them. I love this book for its unapologetic, unfiltered honesty about how brutal war can be and how innocent people suffer for the actions of others, how people lose their loved ones as consequences for a conflict that they didn't even start.
I read this book the first time exactly a year before, and then again before October and then again in March and the third reread hit me the hardest because this book was about how the Syrians were resisting and that reminded me of what was going on in Palestine right now and whenever I would read scenes of them protesting and standing up I would see how well written and true they were because when I went to Instagram and saw the journalists reporting and how they were risking their lives staying their and recording what was going on there because they knew that if they did not do this no one would and the world would not be able to see the atrocities that they are facing or how they are being forced out of their own land. Zoulfah absolutely aced pointing out the harsh realities of this world.
I also love how Syrians are associated with Lemon trees and Palestinians are with Olive trees because they have been here for centuries since the time of their ancestors and no matter who tries to displace, kill or terrorize them, they all will live until the trees grow.
"But I'm Syrian. This is my land, and just like lemon trees that have been growing for centuries, spilt blood won't stop us. I have faith in God. He'll protect me. I've been force-fed oppression, but I will not longer swallow it's bitter taste. No matter what."
Salama was such a well thought character who was divided by so many different responsibilities and was burdened by having to make s0 many harsh decisions. Her working as a doctor but also having to leave because of Layla and her child. How she would choose Layla in a heartbeat but the guilt of leaving her people would never leave her not when she knows that there is so much that she can do for them but she could also not live with herself if Layla and her kid died if they stayed because her last promise to her brother was to keep his wife safe. I also love how fear played such a vital role in the decisions that Salama made, the hallucinations that she had of Khawf were because of her fear of having to choose between her people and the word Khawf literally means fear in Arabic. I think it made her character so much more real because having lost everything and still managing to find the will and power to fight for her people, to go everyday and look after them, put their lives above them and I love Salama so much because I understood her so well because I knew she would have stayed no for her people if Layla wasn't there and despite Layla saying that she would stay where Salama would, I knew Salama could never stay knowing that Layla was in danger and because of that Khawf being born and having a more heavy influence on her was very well written.
"“This is the land of your father, and his father before him. Your history is embedded in this soil. No country in the world will love you as yours does.”
I loved Kenan so much. He was the most respectful man that I have read about, he was so caring and the so observant and like Salama I loved how he would do anything for his country. The love that they had for their home was so pure and the thing things that they were willing to do for their country was so moving, I loved how Kenan would record riots, protests and their lives because he knew that people out there needed to know what was going on with them and how they deserved justice. I also loved how Kenan and his relationship with his siblings, the love that they had for each other even under these circumstances was so strong. I also was in love with how as soon as Salama and Kenan entered each others life, the decisions that they had to make were so harsh and it changed everything. They knew that they wanted to live there because it was there home and they deserved to see it be free but they knew that they couldn't put the ones that they love through this, not when there was a chance to leave. Ahh even writing this review is giving me flashbacks and I am trying my best not to cry.
“He and I are owed a love story that doesn't end in tragedy.”
I feel like Salama and Kenan's story was more than just two people falling in love. It was about hope and how even in the darkest times where you would think that you are alone and have nothing left, when you are fighting for the things that could be taken away in minutes, there is still hope of finding people to love and Kenan and Salama are a proof of that. I cried for them so many times that I have honestly lost count because what they had was so pure, how they acted around each other, always looked out for each other and cared for their family as their own. It was everything to me. I just love how even in this book that captures such a raw, brutal details, we were shown not to give up, that there will always be things that you'll find worth fighting for.
I am not even going to discuss anything regarding chapter 28-29 because it was absolutely brutal and and a part of me died with it right there. I can not relive it by talking about it again.
"“And to all the Syrians who loved, lost, lived, and died for Syria. We will come back home one day.”😭💔
Quotes that I love with every fiber of my being:
“We don't have to stop living because we might die.”
.
“It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”
.
“Bury me before I bury you" I did.”
.
“Just on the other side, safety- not freedom. I'm leaving freedom behind, and I can feel the earth's grief when I get out of the car. The tired weeds try to encircle my ankles. begging me to stay. They murmur stories about my ancestors. The ones who stood right where I stand. The ones whose discoveries and civilization encompassed the whole world. The one whose blood runs through my veins. My footprints sink deep into the soil where theirs have long since been washed away. They plead with me: It's your country. This earth belongs to me and my children.”
.
“I want my mama. I want her to soothe away my sadness and kiss me while calling me ya omri and te’eburenee. My life and bury me.”
.
“She grins and links her hand through mine. "That right there,' she whispers. "I want you to hold on to that. No matter what happens, you remember that this world is more than the agony it contains. We can have happiness, Salama. Maybe it doesn't come in a cookie-cutter format, but we will take the fragments and we will rebuild it.”
.
“You asked me if you could see colours again, Salama. If we deserve to see them. I think we do. I think you can. There's too little of it in death. In pain. But that's not the only thing in the world. That's not all that Syria has. Syria was once the center of the world. Inventions and discoveries were made here; they built the world. Our history is in the Al-Zahrawi Palace, in our mosques, in our earth”
.
“Empires have collapsed throughout history. They rise, they build, and they fall. Nothing lasts forever. Not even our pain.”
.
“When I die, I'm going to tell God everything.”
.
“You see the military beating people up in the streets, dragging them away and murdering them, and you see your kid siblings trying to warm themselves at night, and you think it can't get any worse. But this, Salama, this is where hope dies. The fact they don't know what's going on because how could they? They're babies. They're just babies.”💔
.
“We weave distractions between the bouts of agony.”
.
“I feel the baby kicking against her stomach. Only fabric, layers of skin, and placental fluid separate it from the terrors of this world.
.
“When I leave, it won’t be easy. It’s going to shred my heart to ribbons and all the pieces will be scattered along Syria’s shore, with the cries of my people haunting me till the day I die.”
.
“Know that even in death, youʼre my life.”
I love this book so much and I would recommend it to everyone in a heartbeat. Know that despite reading for the third time I couldn't write the a review months apart because that how much it affected me.
___
Guess who's reading this for the third time?!
What I do know:
•I am gonna be in bed all day
•Depressed
•Will be sobbing by chapter 2
•Will feel single everytime I see our two lovely MCs
What I don't know:
•If I'll survive this for the third time.
Buddy reading this with the amazing Roxy I need her to be broken by this book as well and no that is not toxic or selfish of me...
“كلُّ ليمونة ستنجب طفلاً ومحال أن ينتهي الليمون
Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out”
I have read this book thrice and I have not been able to write as review for this book because I knew no matter how hard I tried, whatever words I used, nothing could ever describe how extra ordinary this book was, how well written it was and how it was filled with so much passion and raw emotions and I still do not think I could ever do this book justice with my words but I have to let out how this book made me feel and even that feeling is indescribable 😭 Keep in mind, I have read books that are considered to be the saddest books of all time and sure I felt sad, depressed? maybe but I have ever shed a tear on a book no matter how sad it was, don't get me wrong the feeling I felt were equivalent to crying but I just couldn't find tears to shed however this book had me crying through out and with each reread I cried harder and I didn't think it was possible to do that because you would be expecting the things that happen but I am not joking when I say this the way it was written, it can bring anyone to tears.
Zoulfa Katouh crafted a masterpiece, a literary masterpiece that deserves all the recognition it can get. The way she wrote about Syrians and their cause and what they went through with such clear vivid intensity that I was feeling what they were feeling, and it made it so much harder for me to read it whenever I read this book because there are millions of Syrians among them my Muslim brothers and sisters who go through this everyday and I would think about them and I just would not be able to go through with this book for hours because I felt so helpless reading this book knowing that there was nothing that I could do for them except for the awareness that I can spread for them. I love this book for its unapologetic, unfiltered honesty about how brutal war can be and how innocent people suffer for the actions of others, how people lose their loved ones as consequences for a conflict that they didn't even start.
I read this book the first time exactly a year before, and then again before October and then again in March and the third reread hit me the hardest because this book was about how the Syrians were resisting and that reminded me of what was going on in Palestine right now and whenever I would read scenes of them protesting and standing up I would see how well written and true they were because when I went to Instagram and saw the journalists reporting and how they were risking their lives staying their and recording what was going on there because they knew that if they did not do this no one would and the world would not be able to see the atrocities that they are facing or how they are being forced out of their own land. Zoulfah absolutely aced pointing out the harsh realities of this world.
I also love how Syrians are associated with Lemon trees and Palestinians are with Olive trees because they have been here for centuries since the time of their ancestors and no matter who tries to displace, kill or terrorize them, they all will live until the trees grow.
"But I'm Syrian. This is my land, and just like lemon trees that have been growing for centuries, spilt blood won't stop us. I have faith in God. He'll protect me. I've been force-fed oppression, but I will not longer swallow it's bitter taste. No matter what."
Salama was such a well thought character who was divided by so many different responsibilities and was burdened by having to make s0 many harsh decisions. Her working as a doctor but also having to leave because of Layla and her child. How she would choose Layla in a heartbeat but the guilt of leaving her people would never leave her not when she knows that there is so much that she can do for them but she could also not live with herself if Layla and her kid died if they stayed because her last promise to her brother was to keep his wife safe. I also love how fear played such a vital role in the decisions that Salama made, the hallucinations that she had of Khawf were because of her fear of having to choose between her people and the word Khawf literally means fear in Arabic. I think it made her character so much more real because having lost everything and still managing to find the will and power to fight for her people, to go everyday and look after them, put their lives above them and I love Salama so much because I understood her so well because I knew she would have stayed no for her people if Layla wasn't there and despite Layla saying that she would stay where Salama would, I knew Salama could never stay knowing that Layla was in danger and because of that Khawf being born and having a more heavy influence on her was very well written.
"“This is the land of your father, and his father before him. Your history is embedded in this soil. No country in the world will love you as yours does.”
I loved Kenan so much. He was the most respectful man that I have read about, he was so caring and the so observant and like Salama I loved how he would do anything for his country. The love that they had for their home was so pure and the thing things that they were willing to do for their country was so moving, I loved how Kenan would record riots, protests and their lives because he knew that people out there needed to know what was going on with them and how they deserved justice. I also loved how Kenan and his relationship with his siblings, the love that they had for each other even under these circumstances was so strong. I also was in love with how as soon as Salama and Kenan entered each others life, the decisions that they had to make were so harsh and it changed everything. They knew that they wanted to live there because it was there home and they deserved to see it be free but they knew that they couldn't put the ones that they love through this, not when there was a chance to leave. Ahh even writing this review is giving me flashbacks and I am trying my best not to cry.
“He and I are owed a love story that doesn't end in tragedy.”
I feel like Salama and Kenan's story was more than just two people falling in love. It was about hope and how even in the darkest times where you would think that you are alone and have nothing left, when you are fighting for the things that could be taken away in minutes, there is still hope of finding people to love and Kenan and Salama are a proof of that. I cried for them so many times that I have honestly lost count because what they had was so pure, how they acted around each other, always looked out for each other and cared for their family as their own. It was everything to me. I just love how even in this book that captures such a raw, brutal details, we were shown not to give up, that there will always be things that you'll find worth fighting for.
I am not even going to discuss anything regarding chapter 28-29 because it was absolutely brutal and and a part of me died with it right there. I can not relive it by talking about it again.
"“And to all the Syrians who loved, lost, lived, and died for Syria. We will come back home one day.”😭💔
Quotes that I love with every fiber of my being:
“We don't have to stop living because we might die.”
.
“It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”
.
“Bury me before I bury you" I did.”
.
“Just on the other side, safety- not freedom. I'm leaving freedom behind, and I can feel the earth's grief when I get out of the car. The tired weeds try to encircle my ankles. begging me to stay. They murmur stories about my ancestors. The ones who stood right where I stand. The ones whose discoveries and civilization encompassed the whole world. The one whose blood runs through my veins. My footprints sink deep into the soil where theirs have long since been washed away. They plead with me: It's your country. This earth belongs to me and my children.”
.
“I want my mama. I want her to soothe away my sadness and kiss me while calling me ya omri and te’eburenee. My life and bury me.”
.
“She grins and links her hand through mine. "That right there,' she whispers. "I want you to hold on to that. No matter what happens, you remember that this world is more than the agony it contains. We can have happiness, Salama. Maybe it doesn't come in a cookie-cutter format, but we will take the fragments and we will rebuild it.”
.
“You asked me if you could see colours again, Salama. If we deserve to see them. I think we do. I think you can. There's too little of it in death. In pain. But that's not the only thing in the world. That's not all that Syria has. Syria was once the center of the world. Inventions and discoveries were made here; they built the world. Our history is in the Al-Zahrawi Palace, in our mosques, in our earth”
.
“Empires have collapsed throughout history. They rise, they build, and they fall. Nothing lasts forever. Not even our pain.”
.
“When I die, I'm going to tell God everything.”
.
“You see the military beating people up in the streets, dragging them away and murdering them, and you see your kid siblings trying to warm themselves at night, and you think it can't get any worse. But this, Salama, this is where hope dies. The fact they don't know what's going on because how could they? They're babies. They're just babies.”💔
.
“We weave distractions between the bouts of agony.”
.
“I feel the baby kicking against her stomach. Only fabric, layers of skin, and placental fluid separate it from the terrors of this world.
.
“When I leave, it won’t be easy. It’s going to shred my heart to ribbons and all the pieces will be scattered along Syria’s shore, with the cries of my people haunting me till the day I die.”
.
“Know that even in death, youʼre my life.”
I love this book so much and I would recommend it to everyone in a heartbeat. Know that despite reading for the third time I couldn't write the a review months apart because that how much it affected me.
___
Guess who's reading this for the third time?!
What I do know:
•I am gonna be in bed all day
•Depressed
•Will be sobbing by chapter 2
•Will feel single everytime I see our two lovely MCs
What I don't know:
•If I'll survive this for the third time.
Buddy reading this with the amazing Roxy I need her to be broken by this book as well and no that is not toxic or selfish of me...
April 29, 2022
we need to talk about ch 29. zoulfa HOW DARE YOU
April 17, 2024
ೃ⁀➷・❥・“𝓐𝓼 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓷 𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓼 𝓰𝓻𝓸𝔀, 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓭𝓲𝓮”・❥・ೃ⁀➷
💌03/22/24
➸infinite stars, spoiler-free review, shelved as 'invisible-heart-strings'💞
This review is gonna be the longest review I've ever written. I think everyone should read this book at least once in their life. You may ask why. No worries, that's why ✨I'M HERE✨ to convince you because that's my job😌✋🏻 TWs mentioned at the end of the review⚠
This book deserves every star of this universe💫. I don't know where I should start with, there are no words to describe how this book is to me. I feel hollow inside yet soo full of emotions at the same time. This book can painfully and beautifully break something inside you that you never thought existed before🥺❤️🩹. I thought when rereading this, I would never cry because I already know what happens in each chapter, but boy, I was wrong. This is the only book that made me cry till now and touched my soul deeply💓
This might be a fictional imagination, an ink sprawled on pages, but what's written here is happening in real time, in real life as many people's reality while I'm writing this review. When I picked up this book at the mark of two months to Gaza's genocide, I knew very well there's gonna be all sorts of emotions, and that's what I was looking for as well- I needed to experience everything in a single book. I'm glad this book surpassed all my expectations- I giggled, cried, sobbed, became sad, and then happy on repeat while reading this book🥹🫶🏻.
There is always this constant feeling inside us, i.e., fear of dying. It might sound cliché, but it's present inside every one of us. The people we see today might not be there tomorrow and vice versa. Without fear, emotions can't exist. And you might ask why am I suddenly speaking of the word 'fear'? Because this is one of the overarching themes of this book.
Let's take a moment to imagine what would be life like to live in constant fear, in a country, where bombs are dropped from everywhere, and there is no safe place to go. It's like living in a dystopian world right? Everywhere you see is blood, limbs scattered, people screaming under the rubble to be saved, children orphaned and shivering. You don't want to die. You just want to live a normal life like anyone. You fear you might not live to see the next sunrise/sunset. You fear for your loved ones' lives. You don't want to be separated from them. If you die, you want to die together, so nobody is left alone to face this cruelty anymore. This is what fear is, it gears our emotions, and it drives us to make sometimes irrational decisions.
The characters in this book have all touched me in so many ways. Each one of them gives you something to walk away with❤️🩹. Salama Kassab taught me how to live with fear; Kenan Aljendi taught me how to fight for what I believe in through his faith, caring nature, kindness, hopefulness, and gentleness toward Salama, making her see the colors she once thought she could never see in Syria again; Layla was the most precious, she taught me how to see light even in the darkness of this world🥺; Hamza taught me the importance of resilience and Dr. Ziad taught me to keep faith in God and move forward, to never give up.
Kenan was Pazu to Salama, and Salama was his Sheeta🥹I swooned over their banters Their chemistry was out of the world😩❤️🔥. We all deserve a Kenan in our life too and I hope we all get one, Insha Allah🥰🤍
Me the whole time when Kenan appears, breathes, and speaks:
Love, hope, and dreams are what we hold onto when things get difficult. Zoulfa Katouh did an amazing job showcasing every aspect in this book👏🏻. There was so much love between Kenan and Salama. Despite going through turmoils- physically and mentally, they still held on to each other. The love they had for their country, their families, and in the hope they had for their future & their land Syria is soo very beautiful.
Throughout this whole book, it made me see a whole lot more- I can't put it into words. Whether Syrians or Palestinians, seeing their unshakable faith in the Almighty has shaken my faith. If they are God's chosen people for heaven- where do we stand then? A question I ask myself every day.
If you've read till here, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience, love, and support. I hope you will give this book a chance and fall in love with Salama & Kenan🥰💐💗
Special thank you to my besties irl Shaana & Fiza for reading this with me the first time around, giggling, flirting like Kenan, and crying over it in messages. I love you both so much. I'm so glad I convinced you both to read this and had you both with me on this journey🤭💝
Salama&Kenan, Layla&Hamza, Lama, Yusuf, Dr. Ziad, Ahmad, and Nour- these characters are forever etched in my heart and I'll carry them with me wherever I go🥺💘 Believe me when I say I will be rereading this book many times more and recommending this to everyone I interact with non-stop as long as I live😌
TRIGGER WARNINGS: war and violence, parental deaths (on page), sexual assault (on page), murder, child abuse, torture, starvation, ptsd, grief, hallucinations, and a lot of giggling + crying, so be ready with your tissue box, you'll need it!💕
⚠🚨SPOILERS AHEAD🚨⚠
❥𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓯𝓪𝓿 𝓶𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓢𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓶𝓪 & 𝓚𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓷💞:
ೃ⁀➷・❥・𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀・❥・ೃ⁀➷
💌03/21/24
My emotions are in a never-ending rollercoaster🎢, I'm happy with the ending and at the same time, I'm sad that this book is over once AGAIN. RTC soon cuz I need to rewrite my previous review😭✋🏻
P.S. Don't be surprised with the rating- this book deserves all the stars of this universe and beyond💫
💌03/12/24
Starting this Ramadan by rereading my all time fav book, it's been a while since I met my fav couple Salama & Kenan🥺💘 I'm readynot ready for the pain all over again🤧
1st read on 12/25/23: 6 stars💫
💌03/22/24
➸infinite stars, spoiler-free review, shelved as 'invisible-heart-strings'💞
This review is gonna be the longest review I've ever written. I think everyone should read this book at least once in their life. You may ask why. No worries, that's why ✨I'M HERE✨ to convince you because that's my job😌✋🏻 TWs mentioned at the end of the review⚠
This book deserves every star of this universe💫. I don't know where I should start with, there are no words to describe how this book is to me. I feel hollow inside yet soo full of emotions at the same time. This book can painfully and beautifully break something inside you that you never thought existed before🥺❤️🩹. I thought when rereading this, I would never cry because I already know what happens in each chapter, but boy, I was wrong. This is the only book that made me cry till now and touched my soul deeply💓
~🍋“No one will remember our names. No one will know our story.”🍋~
This might be a fictional imagination, an ink sprawled on pages, but what's written here is happening in real time, in real life as many people's reality while I'm writing this review. When I picked up this book at the mark of two months to Gaza's genocide, I knew very well there's gonna be all sorts of emotions, and that's what I was looking for as well- I needed to experience everything in a single book. I'm glad this book surpassed all my expectations- I giggled, cried, sobbed, became sad, and then happy on repeat while reading this book🥹🫶🏻.
There is always this constant feeling inside us, i.e., fear of dying. It might sound cliché, but it's present inside every one of us. The people we see today might not be there tomorrow and vice versa. Without fear, emotions can't exist. And you might ask why am I suddenly speaking of the word 'fear'? Because this is one of the overarching themes of this book.
~🍋“But no matter how many times I see it, no amount of warning can prepare me for the sight of a human struggling for breath. This is not normal, and it never will be.”🍋~
Let's take a moment to imagine what would be life like to live in constant fear, in a country, where bombs are dropped from everywhere, and there is no safe place to go. It's like living in a dystopian world right? Everywhere you see is blood, limbs scattered, people screaming under the rubble to be saved, children orphaned and shivering. You don't want to die. You just want to live a normal life like anyone. You fear you might not live to see the next sunrise/sunset. You fear for your loved ones' lives. You don't want to be separated from them. If you die, you want to die together, so nobody is left alone to face this cruelty anymore. This is what fear is, it gears our emotions, and it drives us to make sometimes irrational decisions.
~🍋“For every life I can’t save during my shift, one more drop of blood becomes a part of me.”🍋~
The characters in this book have all touched me in so many ways. Each one of them gives you something to walk away with❤️🩹. Salama Kassab taught me how to live with fear; Kenan Aljendi taught me how to fight for what I believe in through his faith, caring nature, kindness, hopefulness, and gentleness toward Salama, making her see the colors she once thought she could never see in Syria again; Layla was the most precious, she taught me how to see light even in the darkness of this world🥺; Hamza taught me the importance of resilience and Dr. Ziad taught me to keep faith in God and move forward, to never give up.
Kenan was Pazu to Salama, and Salama was his Sheeta🥹
Me the whole time when Kenan appears, breathes, and speaks:
~🍋“Insh’Allah, we will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We’ll rebuild our cities, and we will be free.”🍋~
Love, hope, and dreams are what we hold onto when things get difficult. Zoulfa Katouh did an amazing job showcasing every aspect in this book👏🏻. There was so much love between Kenan and Salama. Despite going through turmoils- physically and mentally, they still held on to each other. The love they had for their country, their families, and in the hope they had for their future & their land Syria is soo very beautiful.
~🍋“This is my land, and just like the lemon trees that have been growing here for centuries, spilled blood won’t stop us. I have my faith in God. He’ll protect me. I’ve been force-fed oppression, but I will no longer swallow its bitter taste. No matter what.”🍋~
Throughout this whole book, it made me see a whole lot more- I can't put it into words. Whether Syrians or Palestinians, seeing their unshakable faith in the Almighty has shaken my faith. If they are God's chosen people for heaven- where do we stand then? A question I ask myself every day.
If you've read till here, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience, love, and support. I hope you will give this book a chance and fall in love with Salama & Kenan🥰💐💗
Special thank you to my besties irl Shaana & Fiza for reading this with me the first time around, giggling, flirting like Kenan, and crying over it in messages. I love you both so much. I'm so glad I convinced you both to read this and had you both with me on this journey🤭💝
Salama&Kenan, Layla&Hamza, Lama, Yusuf, Dr. Ziad, Ahmad, and Nour- these characters are forever etched in my heart and I'll carry them with me wherever I go🥺💘 Believe me when I say I will be rereading this book many times more and recommending this to everyone I interact with non-stop as long as I live😌
౨🍋ৎ“Every lemon will bring forth a child and the lemons will never die out.”౨🍋ৎ
TRIGGER WARNINGS: war and violence, parental deaths (on page), sexual assault (on page), murder, child abuse, torture, starvation, ptsd, grief, hallucinations, and a lot of giggling + crying, so be ready with your tissue box, you'll need it!💕
⚠🚨SPOILERS AHEAD🚨⚠
❥𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓯𝓪𝓿 𝓶𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓢𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓶𝓪 & 𝓚𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓷💞:
“I’m pretty sure my parents’ souls are glaring at me from Heaven right now for accepting. But I was outwitted.”
“We were supposed to meet for coffee about a year ago.”
“The marriage proposal. The one our mothers set up!”
“When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound very romantic.”
“I know we met yesterday. But I’d like to believe in an alternate universe, where this”—he gestures between us—“would have worked out spectacularly.”
“It’s… it’s a shame, Kenan.”
“What is?”
“That we never had the chance to find out if we’re each other’s Pazu and Sheeta.”
“Is it okay if I skip walking you home today?” I nod.
“But may I tomorrow?”
“Yes,”
��How do your eyes always shine so brightly?”
“What?”
“When I first met you, I thought it was a trick of the light. But that isn’t it. This stockroom has horrible lighting, and they still look like melted honey.”
“Because I might be arrested?”
“Because you made me fall in love with you!”
“You’re my Sheeta.”
“You’re my Pazu.”
“Proposing on the revolution’s anniversary? I’ve been planning this for a week.”
“You’re impossible,”
“Are you staring at me?”
“Maybe.”
“I have to tell you, I’m a married man now. My wife won’t like it if random girls ogle me. But if you insist on doing so, how about you do it up close?”
“Aren’t you sleepy?”
“I can’t sleep while my wife works.”
“You’re a flirt, aren’t you?”
“You’re just realizing this now? Salama, I’ve been flirting with you ever since we met, I guess it was a bit too subtle.”
“But meeting you, loving you… you made me realize how life can be salvaged. That we deserve to have happiness in this long night. Thank you for being my light.”
“I feel like I’ve known you all my life, Salama.”
“My wife has a battle scar. She’s a badass.”
“Know that even in death, you’re my life.”
“Another collaboration?”
“It would be my honor to work with the genius herself again.”
“Praise me some more and you have a deal.”
“Salama, love of my life. My sky, my sun, my moon, and my stars, would you grant this mortal wish of mine?”
“I can’t believe you’re with me.”
“How did I score someone so out of my league?”
“You seduced me with all your Studio Ghibli facts.”
ೃ⁀➷・❥・𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀・❥・ೃ⁀➷
💌03/21/24
My emotions are in a never-ending rollercoaster🎢, I'm happy with the ending and at the same time, I'm sad that this book is over once AGAIN. RTC soon cuz I need to rewrite my previous review😭✋🏻
P.S. Don't be surprised with the rating- this book deserves all the stars of this universe and beyond💫
💌03/12/24
Starting this Ramadan by rereading my all time fav book, it's been a while since I met my fav couple Salama & Kenan🥺💘 I'm ready
1st read on 12/25/23: 6 stars💫
July 5, 2024
infinity of ✨
there are some literary masterpieces that linger in the mind, refusing to be extinguished by the closure of the cover. certain poignant novels and stories remain embedded in one’s psyche, traversing the most mundane aspects of daily life, as if they had taken up permanent residence in the recesses of our subconscious. ‘As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow’ is a testament to the power of realism, an elegiac reminder that there exists a profound dichotomy between those who possess the means to shape their own destiny and those who are powerless to do so.
🍋Salama taught me that even in the most desolate of circumstances, hope can germinate and flourish with unbridled beauty.
🍋Layla taught me in the notion that the passing of a loved one is not a definitive severing of ties, for their essence lingers in the recesses of our minds, preserved through fleeting yet indelible fragments of memory.
🍋Khawf (خوف) has taught me that the most pernicious enemy can often be found within ourselves, manifesting as an insidious, self-doubting fear.
🍋Kenan has shown me that flexibility in one’s convictions can be a testament to the enduring power of love, requiring the courage to adapt and evolve in the pursuit of harmony.
————
they deserve a beautiful review. so rtc whenever i get time to write something decent
————
✨IT’S TIME ✨ to wreck my soul
“bury me before i bury you, please.”
there are some literary masterpieces that linger in the mind, refusing to be extinguished by the closure of the cover. certain poignant novels and stories remain embedded in one’s psyche, traversing the most mundane aspects of daily life, as if they had taken up permanent residence in the recesses of our subconscious. ‘As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow’ is a testament to the power of realism, an elegiac reminder that there exists a profound dichotomy between those who possess the means to shape their own destiny and those who are powerless to do so.
“no one will remember our names no one will know our story”
🍋Salama taught me that even in the most desolate of circumstances, hope can germinate and flourish with unbridled beauty.
“every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out.”
🍋Layla taught me in the notion that the passing of a loved one is not a definitive severing of ties, for their essence lingers in the recesses of our minds, preserved through fleeting yet indelible fragments of memory.
“ promise me you’ll look for the joy, the memories are sweeter that way.”
🍋Khawf (خوف) has taught me that the most pernicious enemy can often be found within ourselves, manifesting as an insidious, self-doubting fear.
“fear is a cruel thing. the way it distorts thoughts, transforming them from molehills into mountains.”
🍋Kenan has shown me that flexibility in one’s convictions can be a testament to the enduring power of love, requiring the courage to adapt and evolve in the pursuit of harmony.
“this world is more than the agony it contains.”
————
they deserve a beautiful review. so rtc whenever i get time to write something decent
————
✨IT’S TIME ✨ to wreck my soul
September 18, 2023
“Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out.”
I literally have chills after finishing this book.
There are no words I can say that will do this book justice. I feel so empty yet I feel so much.
“No one will remember our names. No one will know our story.”
This may be a fictional story, but it is the reality of so many people out there. It is so powerful and incredibly heartbreaking but it’s important that this story exists.
“Fear is a cruel thing. The way it distorts thoughts, transforming them from molehills into mountains.”
Fear is one of the overarching themes in this book. It lives in every one of us. And when we’re backed into a corner, it drives our thoughts and actions. Fear takes over and we do things we never thought we could see ourselves doing. If you lived in a country where people all over you were dying, you didn’t know where the explosions would take place that day, you didn’t know if you would have enough water that day, and you had to live everyday not knowing whether you would come home and still see your family, just imagine how that fear would manifest itself. How are you meant to not let your fear take over?
“Don’t focus on the darkness and sadness. If you do, you won’t see the light even if it’s staring you in the face.”
Hope, love, light, dreams. This is what you hold onto. With all the death and sadness going on in this book, there was still so much beauty in the love between the characters and their families, the love they had for their country, and in the hope they had for their future and for Syria.
“We will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We will rebuild our cities. And we will be free.”
This quote is one that will stay with me for a long time. I love the power behind the words and you can feel the conviction it was spoken in.
“Promise me you’ll look for the joy. The memories are sweeter that way.”
I love these characters. They’ve all touched me in so many ways. Each one of them will give you something to walk away with. Salama taught me how to live with my fear, Kenan taught me how to fight for what I believe in, and Layla, my precious Layla taught me how to see the light and beauty in this world even when it seems so bleak.
More beautiful quotes:
“Your history is embedded in this soil. No country in the world will love you as yours does.”
“The exterior I’ve put up is nothing more than brittle twigs against a strong wind.”
“This world is more than the agony it contains.”
“A smile lights up his face. It’s as if I’m gazing at the sun.”
“A war rages inside me and it seems I’m the only casualty.”
“There are enough people hurting you. Don’t be one of them.”
“This blanket of darkness isn’t our forever. Their evil isn’t forever. Not as long as we have our faith and Syria’s history running through our veins.”
“With all the destruction happening down there, it’s so easy to forget the beauty thats up here. The sky is so beautiful after rainfall.”
"Might. What a word. It holds infinite possibilities of a life that could have been. So many options stacked one on top of the other, like cards waiting for a player to pick and choose."
“This is my land, and just like the lemon trees that have been growing here for centuries, spilled blood won’t stop us.”
“In the midst of all the death, he made me want to live.”
"We don't have to stop living because we might die."
“Bury me before I bury you. Please.”
“Know that even in death, you are my life.”
“I’m sure our souls met way before they found their way into our bodies.”
“Grief isn’t constant. It wavers, tugging and letting go like the waves on the sea.”
“You’re human. No matter what, you have a heart so soft, it easily bruises.”
“As long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”
—
i saw this fanart and fell in love <3
—
“To all the Syrians who loved, lost, lived, and died for Syria. We will come back home one day.”
August 26, 2023
Nie wiem czy byłabym tak bardzo przekonana do szybkiego sięgnięcia po tę książkę gdyby nie studentka farmacji… chyba byłyśmy sobie pisane.
September 3, 2024
“𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝓁𝒶𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝑒𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝓂𝒷𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓀𝓎, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝑜𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈. 𝐼𝓃 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓉’𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒹, 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝓇𝓅𝓈𝑒𝓈 𝓈𝓌𝒶𝒹𝒹𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝒾𝓁 𝓌𝑒 𝓋𝑜𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒𝒸𝓉.”
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ೃ⁀➷ ₊˚✧[ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂 ]✧˚₊‧
Salama Kassub, at the tender age of just eighteen was a pharmacy student, she had a mother and father who loved her dearly, a brother and sister in law who thought the world of her. She was just an ordinary teenager on the cusp of a prosperous future. Then the waves of war and revolution washed over her homeland, Syria, and in its wake left her entire life in ruins.
Now Salama is thrust into the role of a doctor, for there are so few left. Everyday she sees blood, disease and death as the wounded never cease to arrive. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, a sea of desolate faces fill her vision on a daily basis as the bombs and bullets rip through them all. Salama is pushed to her absolute limit and the only comfort she finds is in her last remaining family member, her pregnant sister in law, Laya.
Fearing the military may attack her home in Homs next, Salama knows she and Laya must leave, they must find sanctuary in a foreign country. Though for someone so young this isn’t an easy decision by far. Amidst this is Khawf, a figure who only Salama can see, a figure who manifests her worst fears. Then there’s Kenan, a boy she should have been destined to have another life with.
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ೃ⁀➷ ₊˚✧[ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 ]✧˚₊‧
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is powerful, heartbreaking and utterly beautiful. Zoulfa Katouh tells a story that needed to be told, through voices who needed to be heard.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ಇ. At the core of everything that happens to Salama in this novel, LOVE is at the core. Her love for her beautiful Syria, for her family, for herself, for her people, and for Kenan.
She is a character that I was immediately drawn to for her spirit of survival, her smarts, her caring of others, and her passion. Through Salama we witness both the brutality and hope in Syria, the desire to stay and protect and the need to leave, and the thousands of other ideas and experiences that pull Syrians in multiple directions.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ಇ. Lastly, the novel explores the impact of trauma/PTSD on the psyche in a VERY unique way. The embodiment of Khwaf was fascinating to read.
CW:
War, Violence, Sexual Assault/Attempted Rape (on page), Death of a Parent, Mental Health
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ೃ⁀➷ ₊˚✧[ 𝓠𝓾𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓼 ]✧˚₊‧
“𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝑜𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓊𝓂𝒶, 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓃, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁𝓈. 𝐼𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉. 𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹.”
“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝑒𝓁𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒. 𝒮𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓎𝓂𝒷𝑜𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒, 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓃-𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒮𝓎𝓇𝒾𝒶. 𝐿𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝐻𝑜𝓂𝓈. 𝑀𝒾𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓇𝑒𝒾𝑔𝓃𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹, 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝓎 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝓊𝒷𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒’𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈.”
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ೃ⁀➷ ₊˚✧[ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂 ]✧˚₊‧
Salama Kassub, at the tender age of just eighteen was a pharmacy student, she had a mother and father who loved her dearly, a brother and sister in law who thought the world of her. She was just an ordinary teenager on the cusp of a prosperous future. Then the waves of war and revolution washed over her homeland, Syria, and in its wake left her entire life in ruins.
Now Salama is thrust into the role of a doctor, for there are so few left. Everyday she sees blood, disease and death as the wounded never cease to arrive. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, a sea of desolate faces fill her vision on a daily basis as the bombs and bullets rip through them all. Salama is pushed to her absolute limit and the only comfort she finds is in her last remaining family member, her pregnant sister in law, Laya.
Fearing the military may attack her home in Homs next, Salama knows she and Laya must leave, they must find sanctuary in a foreign country. Though for someone so young this isn’t an easy decision by far. Amidst this is Khawf, a figure who only Salama can see, a figure who manifests her worst fears. Then there’s Kenan, a boy she should have been destined to have another life with.
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ೃ⁀➷ ₊˚✧[ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 ]✧˚₊‧
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is powerful, heartbreaking and utterly beautiful. Zoulfa Katouh tells a story that needed to be told, through voices who needed to be heard.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ಇ. At the core of everything that happens to Salama in this novel, LOVE is at the core. Her love for her beautiful Syria, for her family, for herself, for her people, and for Kenan.
She is a character that I was immediately drawn to for her spirit of survival, her smarts, her caring of others, and her passion. Through Salama we witness both the brutality and hope in Syria, the desire to stay and protect and the need to leave, and the thousands of other ideas and experiences that pull Syrians in multiple directions.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ಇ. Lastly, the novel explores the impact of trauma/PTSD on the psyche in a VERY unique way. The embodiment of Khwaf was fascinating to read.
CW:
War, Violence, Sexual Assault/Attempted Rape (on page), Death of a Parent, Mental Health
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
ೃ⁀➷ ₊˚✧[ 𝓠𝓾𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓼 ]✧˚₊‧
“𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝑜𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓊𝓂𝒶, 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑒𝓎𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓃, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁𝓈. 𝐼𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉. 𝒯𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹.”
“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝑒𝓁𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒. 𝒮𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓎𝓂𝒷𝑜𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒, 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝑒𝓍𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓃-𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒮𝓎𝓇𝒾𝒶. 𝐿𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝐻𝑜𝓂𝓈. 𝑀𝒾𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓇𝑒𝒾𝑔𝓃𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹, 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝓎 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝓊𝒷𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒’𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈.”
June 4, 2024
4/5 ⭐
IT FINALLY HAPPENED: I cried because of a book. Which I haven't done in a veeeeery long while, so long I thought I became immune to tear-jerkers.
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a beautiful and aesthetic book starting from the melodicity of the title to the visual impact of that stunning cover to the love stories happening inside the book. Yes, stories. Plural. Because there isn't only a boy and a girl falling in love. But I will get to that later.
Right now, I want to focus on the plotline, setting, time, and main characters.
In this story, we find ourselves in a real place, Homs, Syria. This city has been shattered by the Civil War that started in Syria as a revolution in 2011. And that is also the time when the action of the book happens - at the dawn of said revolution. That's when Salama, an eighteen-year-old pharmacy student finds herself in the position of a war nurse, trying to help the victims of terrorism still have a chance to live in sordid times and hazards.
The story is brute, cruel and extremely sad, from the very first pages you can see that the atmosphere is going to be charged and heavy. And this is because the author intentionally placed everything in such a vulnerable part of the Syrian modern history.
The main purpose of this book is to raise awareness. Awareness of a reality that happens at the same time as our reality but it's completely different, like a world apart.
At the same time, the author tries to destroy the stereotypes that seem to constantly be associated with the Muslim culture: her heroines are free and brave and unafraid to express themselves and dream big while also, yes, they wear hijabs. Because guess what? Wearing a hijab doesn't stop them from being free to express themselves.
And also, another beautiful thing that the author created: Kenan and his martyr spirit, his loving heart and lucid mind. The way Kenan loves his family is pure and beautiful and he chooses to turn his back on the toxic masculinity that can so easily be avoided but so many choose not to do it.
Kenan is an example of a humanitarian heart.
Now let me explain the thing with the love stories:
1) Girl meets boy or boy meets girl, either way, they both meet and fall in love, slowly.
The love story between Salama and Kenan seems star-crossed but destined to happen. Even though the circumstances look fatidical, you know they are soulmates through and through and following their sweet and slow falling for each other you will end up rooting for them with everything you have.
2) The family bond between the characters is so strong that it looks like a love story.
And it is one! All the characters in this book love their given and chosen families fearlessly and this is a powerful aspect of this book.
3) There is a real love story between the characters (the people) and the ancient land of Syria.
And I would like to state that, out of all this story, the conclusion goes like this: you may take the Syrians out of Syria, but you will never take Syria out of the Syrians' hearts.
This book is soul-crashing and heart-shattering and it's so beautiful in its unique sadness that will grip you and make you live with the characters, taking breaths with them and rooting for their happiness while suffering their drama with each of your heartbeats.
Maybe to some, this book seems childish at first, but to me, it is not. It is powerful and sensible and it also brings together the beauty of Jane Austen romances with an Arab twist and the little magical realism you will probably find in Bulgakov's Master and Margarita when your subconsciousness is so powerful that it materialises into your own reality.
IT FINALLY HAPPENED: I cried because of a book. Which I haven't done in a veeeeery long while, so long I thought I became immune to tear-jerkers.
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a beautiful and aesthetic book starting from the melodicity of the title to the visual impact of that stunning cover to the love stories happening inside the book. Yes, stories. Plural. Because there isn't only a boy and a girl falling in love. But I will get to that later.
Right now, I want to focus on the plotline, setting, time, and main characters.
In this story, we find ourselves in a real place, Homs, Syria. This city has been shattered by the Civil War that started in Syria as a revolution in 2011. And that is also the time when the action of the book happens - at the dawn of said revolution. That's when Salama, an eighteen-year-old pharmacy student finds herself in the position of a war nurse, trying to help the victims of terrorism still have a chance to live in sordid times and hazards.
The story is brute, cruel and extremely sad, from the very first pages you can see that the atmosphere is going to be charged and heavy. And this is because the author intentionally placed everything in such a vulnerable part of the Syrian modern history.
The main purpose of this book is to raise awareness. Awareness of a reality that happens at the same time as our reality but it's completely different, like a world apart.
At the same time, the author tries to destroy the stereotypes that seem to constantly be associated with the Muslim culture: her heroines are free and brave and unafraid to express themselves and dream big while also, yes, they wear hijabs. Because guess what? Wearing a hijab doesn't stop them from being free to express themselves.
And also, another beautiful thing that the author created: Kenan and his martyr spirit, his loving heart and lucid mind. The way Kenan loves his family is pure and beautiful and he chooses to turn his back on the toxic masculinity that can so easily be avoided but so many choose not to do it.
Kenan is an example of a humanitarian heart.
Now let me explain the thing with the love stories:
1) Girl meets boy or boy meets girl, either way, they both meet and fall in love, slowly.
The love story between Salama and Kenan seems star-crossed but destined to happen. Even though the circumstances look fatidical, you know they are soulmates through and through and following their sweet and slow falling for each other you will end up rooting for them with everything you have.
2) The family bond between the characters is so strong that it looks like a love story.
And it is one! All the characters in this book love their given and chosen families fearlessly and this is a powerful aspect of this book.
3) There is a real love story between the characters (the people) and the ancient land of Syria.
And I would like to state that, out of all this story, the conclusion goes like this: you may take the Syrians out of Syria, but you will never take Syria out of the Syrians' hearts.
This book is soul-crashing and heart-shattering and it's so beautiful in its unique sadness that will grip you and make you live with the characters, taking breaths with them and rooting for their happiness while suffering their drama with each of your heartbeats.
Maybe to some, this book seems childish at first, but to me, it is not. It is powerful and sensible and it also brings together the beauty of Jane Austen romances with an Arab twist and the little magical realism you will probably find in Bulgakov's Master and Margarita when your subconsciousness is so powerful that it materialises into your own reality.
September 4, 2024
it’s the way I have ptsd from reading this- yet I still reread <3
December 29, 2023
"to all the Syrians who loved, lost, lived, and died for Syria. we will come back home one day."
salama and kenan are precious and simply everything to me. THAT PLOT TWIST. my heart was completely shattered and then that epilogue healed me 🍋
rtc if and when i can stop sobbing <3
August 31, 2023
I thought my fake scenarios were concerning but then BOOM I met Salama 😭😭😭
This is, of course, a little joke, as harmless as possible given the fact that this book is extremely sad and it carries a beautiful and important message.
I've been wanting to read this book for the longest time. C'mon, the cover is beautiful, the title is interesting, it's a romance book set in Syria during the war (I'm often in a mood for a good cry if you can't tell). I've searched local bookstores and finally I purchased it.... and the reviews were right!
This is one of the most unique and creative stories I've ever read (it'll STICK in my mind).
Props to the author for giving us something so moving and emotional on so many levels, but at the same time, extremely HOPEFUL. Hope was the driving force of this story and the one ingredient that kept the characters moving, trying, living. Maybe that's why I didn't cry while reading this (which kind of surprised me because I cry all the time... yes, if the plot twist is good, I'll need tissues!!!).
I was introduced to an amazing cast of characters, I loved Salama and Kenan individually and as a couple. Salama was an interesting and well-rounded protagonist, her (damaged) mind was a PERFECT choice for telling this story. Studio Ghibli mentions melted my heart!!! I'm a huge fan of those movies and them as a bonding point for Salama and Kenan was right about the sweetest thing I've ever seen! However, Salama reminding me that she loves Studio Ghibli on EVERY SINGLE PAGE (I kid you not) did get a bit annoying after some time.
The reason why I didn't rate this book 5 stars was the writing. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty decent, but lacking when it comes to telling a story as deep and sad as this one. At times, the writing style seemed way too simple to provoke an emotional reaction.
Another thing that irked me was the medical stuff. I'm pretty sure the author is a pharmacist (just like Salama in this book), but, as a medical student, I've seen some concerning "doctor oopsies" that were hard for me to overlook. I'm not a fan of self-inserts in books usually, and this book was no exception. I feel like Salama's work and profession could've worked much better and been more realistic if her role was toned down slightly.
I'm glad I've read this book! It educated me on many things and reminded me once again of the things in life we take for granted! Even though this book is a work of fiction, it isn't very hard to imagine women around the world currently, under different names and circumstances, going through similar traumatic events as the characters. Peace is the only answer!💖
This is, of course, a little joke, as harmless as possible given the fact that this book is extremely sad and it carries a beautiful and important message.
I've been wanting to read this book for the longest time. C'mon, the cover is beautiful, the title is interesting, it's a romance book set in Syria during the war (I'm often in a mood for a good cry if you can't tell). I've searched local bookstores and finally I purchased it.... and the reviews were right!
This is one of the most unique and creative stories I've ever read (it'll STICK in my mind).
Props to the author for giving us something so moving and emotional on so many levels, but at the same time, extremely HOPEFUL. Hope was the driving force of this story and the one ingredient that kept the characters moving, trying, living. Maybe that's why I didn't cry while reading this (which kind of surprised me because I cry all the time... yes, if the plot twist is good, I'll need tissues!!!).
I was introduced to an amazing cast of characters, I loved Salama and Kenan individually and as a couple. Salama was an interesting and well-rounded protagonist, her (damaged) mind was a PERFECT choice for telling this story. Studio Ghibli mentions melted my heart!!! I'm a huge fan of those movies and them as a bonding point for Salama and Kenan was right about the sweetest thing I've ever seen! However, Salama reminding me that she loves Studio Ghibli on EVERY SINGLE PAGE (I kid you not) did get a bit annoying after some time.
The reason why I didn't rate this book 5 stars was the writing. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty decent, but lacking when it comes to telling a story as deep and sad as this one. At times, the writing style seemed way too simple to provoke an emotional reaction.
Another thing that irked me was the medical stuff. I'm pretty sure the author is a pharmacist (just like Salama in this book), but, as a medical student, I've seen some concerning "doctor oopsies" that were hard for me to overlook. I'm not a fan of self-inserts in books usually, and this book was no exception. I feel like Salama's work and profession could've worked much better and been more realistic if her role was toned down slightly.
I'm glad I've read this book! It educated me on many things and reminded me once again of the things in life we take for granted! Even though this book is a work of fiction, it isn't very hard to imagine women around the world currently, under different names and circumstances, going through similar traumatic events as the characters. Peace is the only answer!💖
November 20, 2023
5/5
I’m speechless. It was absolutely amazing. I finally found a book that I could proudly recommend to everyone if they asked me for a book recommendation. This is this type of story which will stay with you for a long time, and I simply think that everyone should read it.
The main character Salma which deserves the whole world and more, Kenan and his siblings, the powerful message this story carries, the astronomical amount of tears I shed while reading it. Seriously, I cried at almost every chapter, but it was so worth it at the end. A very satisfying end.
I don’t even know what else to say, it was just beautiful. I can't wait for this book to get the more recognition it deserves.
I’m speechless. It was absolutely amazing. I finally found a book that I could proudly recommend to everyone if they asked me for a book recommendation. This is this type of story which will stay with you for a long time, and I simply think that everyone should read it.
The main character Salma which deserves the whole world and more, Kenan and his siblings, the powerful message this story carries, the astronomical amount of tears I shed while reading it. Seriously, I cried at almost every chapter, but it was so worth it at the end. A very satisfying end.
“Whatever happens tomorrow, we’ll be okay. Even if…” He takes in a deep breath and presses his forehead against mine. “Know that even in death, you’re my life.”
“It doesn’t hurt for you to think about your future. We don’t have to stop living because we might die. Anyone might die at any given moment, anywhere in the world. We’re not an exception. We just see death more regularly than they do.”
I don’t even know what else to say, it was just beautiful. I can't wait for this book to get the more recognition it deserves.
December 6, 2023
“as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”
heartbreaking, gut wrenching, soul crushing. but undoubtedly one of the best books i have ever read.
set in syria during the country’s civil war and following 18 year old salama kassab as she navigates life under a cruel and unforgiving dictatorship, as long as the lemon trees grow is a story about people’s undying love for their country and the hope they hold in their hearts that gives them reason to go on even when life seems utterly bleak. this book, though fiction, documents the lives of so many syrians who lost everything they had and somehow found it in themselves to keep fighting, to keep surviving. it is a reminder that happiness can be found even in times of pain and agony and hardship. it is a reminder that good still exists in a world of evil. it is a reminder that even when you think all hope is gone, there’s still a little flicker to light the way.
“nothing lasts forever. not even our pain.”
“this blanket of darkness isn’t our forever. their evil isn’t forever. not as long as we have our faith and syria’s history running in our veins.”
“i’ve been force-fed oppression, but i will no longer swallow its bitter taste. no matter what.”
salama’s story is one i will carry with me for the rest of my life. she is so incredibly brave, so selfless, so loving. she made some decisions that she came to regret deeply, but i don’t blame her for anything. she’s human, and her choices prove that. desperate situations call for desperate measures. i loved everything about salama, from her commitment to her family and faith to her determination to help the injured despite the danger it put her in.
i’m so glad kenan and salama found each other. they’ve been through so so so much and they deserve all the happiness in the world and i’m so glad they’re finally getting that 🥹❤️🩹 i know this book isn’t really about the romance but their love story is everything i love them so much.
“he and i are owed a love story that doesn’t end in tragedy.”
“salama, love of my life. my sky, my sun, my moon, and my stars, would you grant this mortal wish of mine?”
“know that even in death, you’re my life.”
this is one of those books that i think everyone should read and i will recommend it until the end of time. it is painful, but it is worth it. i promise you.
heartbreaking, gut wrenching, soul crushing. but undoubtedly one of the best books i have ever read.
set in syria during the country’s civil war and following 18 year old salama kassab as she navigates life under a cruel and unforgiving dictatorship, as long as the lemon trees grow is a story about people’s undying love for their country and the hope they hold in their hearts that gives them reason to go on even when life seems utterly bleak. this book, though fiction, documents the lives of so many syrians who lost everything they had and somehow found it in themselves to keep fighting, to keep surviving. it is a reminder that happiness can be found even in times of pain and agony and hardship. it is a reminder that good still exists in a world of evil. it is a reminder that even when you think all hope is gone, there’s still a little flicker to light the way.
“nothing lasts forever. not even our pain.”
“this blanket of darkness isn’t our forever. their evil isn’t forever. not as long as we have our faith and syria’s history running in our veins.”
“i’ve been force-fed oppression, but i will no longer swallow its bitter taste. no matter what.”
salama’s story is one i will carry with me for the rest of my life. she is so incredibly brave, so selfless, so loving. she made some decisions that she came to regret deeply, but i don’t blame her for anything. she’s human, and her choices prove that. desperate situations call for desperate measures. i loved everything about salama, from her commitment to her family and faith to her determination to help the injured despite the danger it put her in.
i’m so glad kenan and salama found each other. they’ve been through so so so much and they deserve all the happiness in the world and i’m so glad they’re finally getting that 🥹❤️🩹 i know this book isn’t really about the romance but their love story is everything i love them so much.
“he and i are owed a love story that doesn’t end in tragedy.”
“salama, love of my life. my sky, my sun, my moon, and my stars, would you grant this mortal wish of mine?”
“know that even in death, you’re my life.”
this is one of those books that i think everyone should read and i will recommend it until the end of time. it is painful, but it is worth it. i promise you.
August 30, 2022
The Book Thief + Salt to the Sea ft. hijabi girls, halal romance, and a soft boi LI
ps : there's a screamed love confession !!!
I've been waiting for this book since the day it was announced, you can imagine how much my expectations have built up, so when I got an arc I was both excited and scared it won't live up to my extremely high expectations, but I was also like "I have never cried reading a book, so I don't think I'll cry" hihi she has no idea she's gonna be sobbing by chapter 5
1) The writing
From the very beginning the opening scene is one of my favourites, it's so nostalgic and in my opinion the most perfect way to start Lemon Trees
In the book Ghibli is a recurring theme and its influences show beautifully through Zoulfa's writing (romanticizing the small things etc)
Like just read this how magical ?
he'd be standing in front of me now, holding up two fresh halloumi mana'eesh, the melted cheese on the warm bread seeping through the paper wrapping, while supporting two cups of zhoorat tea, the mint leaves filling the air with their freshness.
There are so many other quotes but I don't want to spoil anything so you can experience it fully yourself,
absolutely loved the writing it was so stunning
(I can't believe I still didn't watch Castle in the Sky let me go fix that real quick)
2) The line that had me sobbing
"Auntie-don't cry-when I go to heaven-I'll tell God-everything," he chokes out.
Tell me you can read this scene without getting goosebumps.
I only cried once but I held back tears so many times. Everyone needs to read this book.
"These stories have happened. And are still happening as you read these words." (from the author's note)
3) The Muslim rep
Hijabi girls, halal romance, they pray, they read Quran, literal perfect depiction of Islam
It makes the book so much stronger in its impact, but also gives it peace in the losses (you'll know what I'm talking about when you read)
I really don't know if you get what I mean but I've never read historical fiction with Muslim rep before and it's just so powerful
"If you're meant to be in Munich, you will be, even if the whole military rips this place apart. And if you're not, not even a private plane landing in the middle of Freedom Square to whisk you away will do that."
Definitely need to reread when it comes out because apparently there are little things I missed (you wouldn't believe it, her mind !!)
Thank you so much to the author for sending me a digital arc
ps : there's a screamed love confession !!!
I've been waiting for this book since the day it was announced, you can imagine how much my expectations have built up, so when I got an arc I was both excited and scared it won't live up to my extremely high expectations, but I was also like "I have never cried reading a book, so I don't think I'll cry" hihi she has no idea she's gonna be sobbing by chapter 5
1) The writing
From the very beginning the opening scene is one of my favourites, it's so nostalgic and in my opinion the most perfect way to start Lemon Trees
In the book Ghibli is a recurring theme and its influences show beautifully through Zoulfa's writing (romanticizing the small things etc)
Like just read this how magical ?
he'd be standing in front of me now, holding up two fresh halloumi mana'eesh, the melted cheese on the warm bread seeping through the paper wrapping, while supporting two cups of zhoorat tea, the mint leaves filling the air with their freshness.
There are so many other quotes but I don't want to spoil anything so you can experience it fully yourself,
absolutely loved the writing it was so stunning
(I can't believe I still didn't watch Castle in the Sky let me go fix that real quick)
2) The line that had me sobbing
"Auntie-don't cry-when I go to heaven-I'll tell God-everything," he chokes out.
Tell me you can read this scene without getting goosebumps.
I only cried once but I held back tears so many times. Everyone needs to read this book.
"These stories have happened. And are still happening as you read these words." (from the author's note)
3) The Muslim rep
Hijabi girls, halal romance, they pray, they read Quran, literal perfect depiction of Islam
It makes the book so much stronger in its impact, but also gives it peace in the losses (you'll know what I'm talking about when you read)
I really don't know if you get what I mean but I've never read historical fiction with Muslim rep before and it's just so powerful
"If you're meant to be in Munich, you will be, even if the whole military rips this place apart. And if you're not, not even a private plane landing in the middle of Freedom Square to whisk you away will do that."
Definitely need to reread when it comes out because apparently there are little things I missed (you wouldn't believe it, her mind !!)
Thank you so much to the author for sending me a digital arc
April 5, 2024
This Book is Fiction, but believe me it is MORE THAN REAL
Excuse me if this review is a bit all over the place. My emotions are raw and through the roof and i just want to write freely how i feel.
As long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a compelling, soul crushing novel following 18 year old Salama who is a pharmacy student, but after losing her parents and brother when the Syrian Revolution breaks out, she is now volunteering at her local hospital performing as a doctor undertaking surgeries and trying to keep innocent wounded Syrians alive.
Salama is torn from wanting to leave her country to provide a better life for her pregnant Sister in Law Layla and wanting to stay in Syria and be loyal to her country while trying to survive.
I can admit and put my hands up that although i has somewhat of an awareness of the atrocities/ problems going on Syria, I didn't deeply deep think about the affects it was having to the people of Syria and truly how bad it was. We are told about tragedies going on all over the world just about all the time, that for me selfishly because of my mental health, I've become somewhat disassociated.
This book WOKE ME TF UP, that although my privilege allows me to do so. The people of Syria cant do this and have to live in fear every minute every single day.
Reading Salama journey put me in the forefront and really opened my eyes to the utter inhumane suffering happening in that country.
I cant properly articulate what this book has done to me, but i know i will never forget Salama's story. As far as i am concerned this is a non fiction for me as I'm sure this book is realistic and very much true to so many Syrians.
Salama is a warrior. Her determination, drive, strength, courageous, empathy, kindness in such a hopeless situation knocked me off my feet.
Khawf (in English means 'Fear') was such a perfect addition to the book and i love how author formatted the character of him as a physical embodiment of Salama's fear. Through blurry eyes, his wit and no nonsense attitude had me smiling. Only Khawf can make me Laugh-Cry so horribly.
Kenan was honestly a Godsend for Salama. Aside from being able to witness the beauty of their relationship (which i absolutely loved) his bravery for recording the war trying to show the rest of the world what is happening in Syria was remarkable. He really risked his life while also being a protector for Salama and his siblings. Speechless.
Thank you to the author for opening my eyes and showing me what's really happening in this country that the media probably wouldn't show. I would highly urge everyone to read this book at least once in their life. It is labelled as a YA but every reader of all ages should read this.
“It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”
♾️ININITY STARS♾️ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩PRE REVIEW ⋆｡°✩
EVERY REVIEW I have seen of this book, you have all collectively said, it made you SOB!!
I have my tissues and I think I'm ready for this book to alter my brain chemistry. 🤧💔💔
Excuse me if this review is a bit all over the place. My emotions are raw and through the roof and i just want to write freely how i feel.
As long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a compelling, soul crushing novel following 18 year old Salama who is a pharmacy student, but after losing her parents and brother when the Syrian Revolution breaks out, she is now volunteering at her local hospital performing as a doctor undertaking surgeries and trying to keep innocent wounded Syrians alive.
Salama is torn from wanting to leave her country to provide a better life for her pregnant Sister in Law Layla and wanting to stay in Syria and be loyal to her country while trying to survive.
I can admit and put my hands up that although i has somewhat of an awareness of the atrocities/ problems going on Syria, I didn't deeply deep think about the affects it was having to the people of Syria and truly how bad it was. We are told about tragedies going on all over the world just about all the time, that for me selfishly because of my mental health, I've become somewhat disassociated.
This book WOKE ME TF UP, that although my privilege allows me to do so. The people of Syria cant do this and have to live in fear every minute every single day.
Reading Salama journey put me in the forefront and really opened my eyes to the utter inhumane suffering happening in that country.
I cant properly articulate what this book has done to me, but i know i will never forget Salama's story. As far as i am concerned this is a non fiction for me as I'm sure this book is realistic and very much true to so many Syrians.
Salama is a warrior. Her determination, drive, strength, courageous, empathy, kindness in such a hopeless situation knocked me off my feet.
Khawf (in English means 'Fear') was such a perfect addition to the book and i love how author formatted the character of him as a physical embodiment of Salama's fear. Through blurry eyes, his wit and no nonsense attitude had me smiling. Only Khawf can make me Laugh-Cry so horribly.
Kenan was honestly a Godsend for Salama. Aside from being able to witness the beauty of their relationship (which i absolutely loved) his bravery for recording the war trying to show the rest of the world what is happening in Syria was remarkable. He really risked his life while also being a protector for Salama and his siblings. Speechless.
Thank you to the author for opening my eyes and showing me what's really happening in this country that the media probably wouldn't show. I would highly urge everyone to read this book at least once in their life. It is labelled as a YA but every reader of all ages should read this.
“It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”
♾️ININITY STARS♾️ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩PRE REVIEW ⋆｡°✩
EVERY REVIEW I have seen of this book, you have all collectively said, it made you SOB!!
I have my tissues and I think I'm ready for this book to alter my brain chemistry. 🤧💔💔
March 19, 2024
𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭.
i think i was eleven or twelve when the first syrians came to my country. that means for more than half of my life i’ve been living with them and i got used to it. the war become an afterthought, i stop thinking about how hard it must be to leave their homes, i thought it must be nice to live here. so i forgot that there was a war going on not so far from here, i forgot that leaving their country wasn’t a choice but a necessity, i forgot that they had hopes and dreams and plans, until they were taken from them. now i remember.
this book will stay with me. i will remember salama and kenan. layla and hamza. lama. yusuf. dr ziad. i will remember all.
𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊
🍋 “Insh’Allah, we will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We’ll rebuild our cities, and we will be free.”
my brave girl. i wish i had half of her courage. the things she saw, the things she had to do for survival…she was all alone for so long and yet she was always helping others, fighting on her own way.
i know there are many people like her in the world. i think about the things i would worry about when i was her age. i think about how small they were actually. i know Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear but how did she survived all of this💔
𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗
🍋 ”I’d be cutting out my heart by leaving. This land is me and I am her. My history, my ancestors, my family. We’re all here.”
my sunshine boy. in the middle of the war, in the middle of all this darkness he was still so bright. his love for his country, his siblings, his salama…all of it was burdening on his shoulders but he would still smile, he would still make silly jokes to make salama laugh🥹
his efforts made me think of the photographers in gaza. the way he tried to show the truth of protests to the people around to world.💔
𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗
🍋 We live a long life together, partners in crime, until our souls meet their Creator.
But that is not reality.
i love them so much. if i could pick only one couple to give happy ending, it would be them. they deserve every happiness in the world. nothing can make up for the time or the people they lost but i would give them everything. i will give them a life in Japan, i will give them their book, i will give them Studio Ghibli movies, i want to believe that they never had any bad day ever again, they only had happiness after everything they went through.
🍋 “Do you see the colors, Salama?” Kenan whispers.
“Yes,” I breathe. “Yes.”
𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚣𝚊
my thirteenth reason✋🏻 i don’t want to talk about them because i just stopped crying and i don’t want to start again. i just want to say that i love them so much.
🍋 ”Bury me before I bury you.”
please read this.
~~~~~~
reading first book from my ramadan tbr with simra 🤍 hope i won’t cry much because i’m already dehydrated 😔
(we cried but at least i had simra🤍)
i think i was eleven or twelve when the first syrians came to my country. that means for more than half of my life i’ve been living with them and i got used to it. the war become an afterthought, i stop thinking about how hard it must be to leave their homes, i thought it must be nice to live here. so i forgot that there was a war going on not so far from here, i forgot that leaving their country wasn’t a choice but a necessity, i forgot that they had hopes and dreams and plans, until they were taken from them. now i remember.
this book will stay with me. i will remember salama and kenan. layla and hamza. lama. yusuf. dr ziad. i will remember all.
𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊
🍋 “Insh’Allah, we will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We’ll rebuild our cities, and we will be free.”
my brave girl. i wish i had half of her courage. the things she saw, the things she had to do for survival…she was all alone for so long and yet she was always helping others, fighting on her own way.
i know there are many people like her in the world. i think about the things i would worry about when i was her age. i think about how small they were actually. i know Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear but how did she survived all of this💔
𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗
🍋 ”I’d be cutting out my heart by leaving. This land is me and I am her. My history, my ancestors, my family. We’re all here.”
my sunshine boy. in the middle of the war, in the middle of all this darkness he was still so bright. his love for his country, his siblings, his salama…all of it was burdening on his shoulders but he would still smile, he would still make silly jokes to make salama laugh🥹
his efforts made me think of the photographers in gaza. the way he tried to show the truth of protests to the people around to world.💔
𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚗
🍋 We live a long life together, partners in crime, until our souls meet their Creator.
But that is not reality.
i love them so much. if i could pick only one couple to give happy ending, it would be them. they deserve every happiness in the world. nothing can make up for the time or the people they lost but i would give them everything. i will give them a life in Japan, i will give them their book, i will give them Studio Ghibli movies, i want to believe that they never had any bad day ever again, they only had happiness after everything they went through.
🍋 “Do you see the colors, Salama?” Kenan whispers.
“Yes,” I breathe. “Yes.”
𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚣𝚊
my thirteenth reason✋🏻 i don’t want to talk about them because i just stopped crying and i don’t want to start again. i just want to say that i love them so much.
🍋 ”Bury me before I bury you.”
please read this.
~~~~~~
reading first book from my ramadan tbr with simra 🤍 hope i won’t cry much because i’m already dehydrated 😔
(we cried but at least i had simra🤍)
June 7, 2023
DNF at 75%, How I wish I loved this one as much as everybody else does!!
As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is no doubt a very important story; anything that sparks awareness in people (especially young people) when it comes to tragedies in our modern world is a net positive in my eyes, so my issues lie solely in how this was written and executed.
I know this is YA so I��ll try to cut it some slack, but I found the writing here to be quite juvenile and downright cringy at times. Of course there are going to be books in the genre that lean a bit younger / towards middle grade, but our protagonist is 18 so that doesn’t exactly add up for me.
As for the romance… I’m so sorry but you’d have to try HARD to write something more corny. From the cookie cutter perfect love interest who can’t make a mistake to save his life, to the many declarations of love without any actual chemistry, to the fact that it took up sooooooo much of the story, I was sick of it.
The rest of the plot (sans the romance) I found to be lacking as well. The same few conflicts repeated themselves over and over with hardly any variation, and while I get that it probably makes for a more realistic depiction of the real life events the novel is based on, it’s very annoying to read.
I will say the plot twist was well-written and did surprise me (though I didn’t feel enough attachment to the characters to actually… care, unfortunately), and Khawf as a character was definitely one of, if not the most, compelling part of the book as a whole. Another thing I really enjoyed was how important religion was to these characters, and how they never strayed from it even when things like a blossoming romance could’ve gotten in the way of their values. That’s something I think we’re seeing a lot less often in YA as time goes on, and it was really refreshing to read as a young person who wants to be more religious!
Overall I didn’t HATE this, but the writing style and execution ended up not being my cup of tea, and that’s okay!! Life is too short to finish books you aren’t enjoying.
As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is no doubt a very important story; anything that sparks awareness in people (especially young people) when it comes to tragedies in our modern world is a net positive in my eyes, so my issues lie solely in how this was written and executed.
I know this is YA so I��ll try to cut it some slack, but I found the writing here to be quite juvenile and downright cringy at times. Of course there are going to be books in the genre that lean a bit younger / towards middle grade, but our protagonist is 18 so that doesn’t exactly add up for me.
As for the romance… I’m so sorry but you’d have to try HARD to write something more corny. From the cookie cutter perfect love interest who can’t make a mistake to save his life, to the many declarations of love without any actual chemistry, to the fact that it took up sooooooo much of the story, I was sick of it.
The rest of the plot (sans the romance) I found to be lacking as well. The same few conflicts repeated themselves over and over with hardly any variation, and while I get that it probably makes for a more realistic depiction of the real life events the novel is based on, it’s very annoying to read.
I will say the plot twist was well-written and did surprise me (though I didn’t feel enough attachment to the characters to actually… care, unfortunately), and Khawf as a character was definitely one of, if not the most, compelling part of the book as a whole. Another thing I really enjoyed was how important religion was to these characters, and how they never strayed from it even when things like a blossoming romance could’ve gotten in the way of their values. That’s something I think we’re seeing a lot less often in YA as time goes on, and it was really refreshing to read as a young person who wants to be more religious!
Overall I didn’t HATE this, but the writing style and execution ended up not being my cup of tea, and that’s okay!! Life is too short to finish books you aren’t enjoying.
September 3, 2024
'every lemon will bring forth a child and the lemons will never die out.'
this was such a beautiful, heartfelt story.
i felt everything while reading this, i felt all the difficult decisions they had to make, all the pain they had to endure, and all the love they gave each other.
i think i highlighted the entire book. the writing was so poetic. the way she spoke of fear, hope, and faith. how she had to be brave and endure the pain in order to help others.
'even though the memories ache, it's the only way we get to see our loved ones – replaying their words to us, letting our imaginations magnify or soften their voices however we please.'
each character had a lesson to give and each lesson will be engraved in my heart. these characters were so real in every way. the difficult decisions they had to make and the consequences that come with each choice.
salama, 🌳
✦ as a pharmacy student with some medical knowledge, she had to volunteer at the hospital to heal and help injured people. she teaches you to fight your fears no matter how persistent and real they seem. she teaches you that you can eventually heal from the pain and trauma and if not, you can still find love and happiness.
'i was supposed to be a pharmacist. i wasn't supposed to cut into children's stomachs in their homes.'
i am a girl, severed from her home, broken into pieces and put back together.
kenan, 🍋
✦ the sweetest character. he made a million studio ghibli movies <3 he teaches you to fight for what you believe in, to fight for your country and your people. but he also teaches you that love for your family can overpower the love for your country and to not feel guilty about it because you can carry the love with you wherever you go.
he knows that a desolate future awaits him if he doesn't leave. he's not a fool. but his heart overflows with so much love for his country he's willing to let it drown him and his loved ones.
"salama, i love you so much it physically hurts. i look at you and i can't believe you're with me. that you're mine."
layla, 🖼
✦ love how she taught salama that there is more to life than fear. that hope and faith is enough to have happiness and love. love how she always reminded her that her life is also important and that she doesn't have to stop living and loving.
we don't have to stop living because we might die. anyone might die at any given moment, anywhere in the world. we're not an exception. we just see death more regularly than they do.
.·:*¨ ¨*:·.
kenan & salama <3 and their love for studio ghibli, their country, their people, and themselves. how they stayed so courageous during all the pain they endured is so admirable.
I don't care about whatever uncertainties lie in our future. All I know is that I love him and that even in the darkness surrounding us, he's been my joy. In the midst of all the death, he made me want to live.
gut wrenching quotes that i will forever cherish <3
➼ "Bury me before I bury you, please."
➼ "I'm sure our souls met way before they found their way into our bodies. I think that's where we know each other from."
➼ 'It's as if we're molded for one another. That even if we'd been born on opposing poles of the world, the strings of fate would have drawn us together, intertwining, evermore intertwining.'
➼ 'Time is the best medicine to turn our bleeding wounds to scars, and our bodies might forget the trauma, our eyes might learn to see colours as they should be seen, but that cure doesn't extend to our souls. Time doesn't forgive our sins, and it doesn't bring back the dead.'
➼ 'We held our heads high and planted lemon trees in acts of defiance, praying that when they came for us, it'd be a bullet to the head.'
➼ "Because I see the love you have for me. I see your sacrifices and your kindness. I focus on the hope rather than counting my losses. I have love in my heart because of you."
➼ "Salama, we'll have that knafeh. If not in Germany, then in Heaven."
➼ 'He means so much more than that one four-letter word –love– but there's no other way to describe what I feel about him. And so i'll have to be content with it; find a way to carve a whole universe into its letters – an infinity. Be thankful that through him, I'm blessed enough to know the meaning of it at all.'
➼ 'This is my land, and just like the lemon trees that have been growing here for centuries, spilled blood won't stop us. I have God, he'll protect me. I've been force fed oppression but I will no longer swallow its bitter taste."
the message is hope. and i hope you carry it in your heart.
May 9, 2024
★★★★☆ - 4 stars
Insh’Allah, we will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We will be free.
a touching story about hope, longing, and freedom. as long as the lemon trees grow is easily the most beautiful book i’ve ever read.
as stated in the authors note, the Syrian Revolution is often overlooked and the deaths are only seen as numbers. this novel forces readers to pay attention, showing just how cruel the world can be. it’s absolutely painful to read about the innocent lives that were taken.
the writing in this book is easy to understand, yet still so meaningful. i could visibly picture the Syrian Revolution, and how it ravaged through the streets of Salama’s hometown. there are so many lines that touched my heart.
Zoulfa Katouh’s purpose in writing this book was to let the Syrian voices be heard. not only is awareness important, but so is taking a stand. Salama and Kenan did their part, and that’s what matters. if humankind all does their part, no matter how big or how small, we can conquer the monsters of this world.
Salama was such a wonderfully written character. i felt so deeply connected to her. i felt her emotions, i heard her thoughts, all as i am reading ink on paper. my heart breaks into a million pieces for the horror she, and many others, had to endure. i was not expecting the hallucinations she had, but PTSD is a real thing, and i admired her strength throughout the book. having to go in the hospital each day and see the devastation caused is no small feat. we need more people like her.
Kenan was the most heartwarming character ever. his hope and pride in his country were powerful, and so was the love for his family. we as a society don’t think much of the media posted and how dangerous it is. Kenan put himself at risk to protest the revolution, whether the rest of the world cared or not. many people cower in fear and watch everything unfold, but there are a select few such as Kenan who make it their mission to rise up. it was incredibly meaningful to read about.
i also wasn’t expecting the addition of a love story between the two. but it was everything. we as humans are made to love, and it’s a beautiful thing. Kenan and Salama’s connection with each other made me believe in hope again and every piece of my heart goes out to them.
i highly recommend this book to everyone. no matter what age you are, this novel will open up your mind to the ugliness in the world and what a small amount of love can do for it.
quotes
”This is my land, and just like the lemon trees that have been growing here, spilled blood won’t stop us.”
The storm will bellow and tear across the waves and no one will be there too witness it. Or maybe it won’t. Maybe the clouds will break free and the sun will shine.
buddy read with echo!!
Insh’Allah, we will come back home. We will plant new lemon trees. We will be free.
a touching story about hope, longing, and freedom. as long as the lemon trees grow is easily the most beautiful book i’ve ever read.
as stated in the authors note, the Syrian Revolution is often overlooked and the deaths are only seen as numbers. this novel forces readers to pay attention, showing just how cruel the world can be. it’s absolutely painful to read about the innocent lives that were taken.
the writing in this book is easy to understand, yet still so meaningful. i could visibly picture the Syrian Revolution, and how it ravaged through the streets of Salama’s hometown. there are so many lines that touched my heart.
Zoulfa Katouh’s purpose in writing this book was to let the Syrian voices be heard. not only is awareness important, but so is taking a stand. Salama and Kenan did their part, and that’s what matters. if humankind all does their part, no matter how big or how small, we can conquer the monsters of this world.
Salama was such a wonderfully written character. i felt so deeply connected to her. i felt her emotions, i heard her thoughts, all as i am reading ink on paper. my heart breaks into a million pieces for the horror she, and many others, had to endure. i was not expecting the hallucinations she had, but PTSD is a real thing, and i admired her strength throughout the book. having to go in the hospital each day and see the devastation caused is no small feat. we need more people like her.
Kenan was the most heartwarming character ever. his hope and pride in his country were powerful, and so was the love for his family. we as a society don’t think much of the media posted and how dangerous it is. Kenan put himself at risk to protest the revolution, whether the rest of the world cared or not. many people cower in fear and watch everything unfold, but there are a select few such as Kenan who make it their mission to rise up. it was incredibly meaningful to read about.
i also wasn’t expecting the addition of a love story between the two. but it was everything. we as humans are made to love, and it’s a beautiful thing. Kenan and Salama’s connection with each other made me believe in hope again and every piece of my heart goes out to them.
i highly recommend this book to everyone. no matter what age you are, this novel will open up your mind to the ugliness in the world and what a small amount of love can do for it.
quotes
”This is my land, and just like the lemon trees that have been growing here, spilled blood won’t stop us.”
The storm will bellow and tear across the waves and no one will be there too witness it. Or maybe it won’t. Maybe the clouds will break free and the sun will shine.
buddy read with echo!!
September 20, 2023
I am broken and in pieces but also so grateful to have read this book. Definitely one of the most important and emotionally devastating books I have ever read.
RTC when I can actually function and form coherent thoughts again.
Finally built up the courage to start this heartbreaking book but I have all the emotional support bc I am reading with my girls Deema and Hannah!! Pass the tissues, I am READY! (not really but let's do this anyway)😭😭😭
RTC when I can actually function and form coherent thoughts again.
Finally built up the courage to start this heartbreaking book but I have all the emotional support bc I am reading with my girls Deema and Hannah!! Pass the tissues, I am READY! (not really but let's do this anyway)😭😭😭
March 20, 2022
YOU. MUST. READ. THIS. BOOK.
I am not being figurative when I say I could not put it down. Beautifully written. Compelling. Characters that will live with you for weeks after you've finished reading. Yes you will cry but you'll also love and laugh and UGH I wish I could read this book for the first time all over again.
This is such an important story told during a revolution that continues to rage on and has gone mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. For the people of Syria, you must read this book.
I am not being figurative when I say I could not put it down. Beautifully written. Compelling. Characters that will live with you for weeks after you've finished reading. Yes you will cry but you'll also love and laugh and UGH I wish I could read this book for the first time all over again.
This is such an important story told during a revolution that continues to rage on and has gone mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. For the people of Syria, you must read this book.
June 16, 2024
꒰ 🍋 ⊹˚ 4.75 ★
➺ minor spoilers
“𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈, 𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓌𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓊𝓈.”
✾ this book was definitely more of a heavier read, but i’m so glad i read it. it quite literally changed the trajectory of my life. i’m not even exaggerating. it opened my eyes into conflicts that are affecting people in many different heartbreaking ways, even if they’re on the other side of the world.
✾ out of curiosity, i went though a little rabbit hole on the internet, researching this 14-year conflict. and the similarities between this fictional book and real life are astonishing to me. a bombing just 6 days ago killed 17 people. 17 lives were taken. some people may label this as a low-level conflict, but it still has jarring effects on countless civilians. and what makes me sad is that this was my first time really learning about this civil war, because it’s not talked about enough.
“𝒲𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓂𝒶. 𝑀𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝑒-𝒸𝓊𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝒶𝑔𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝒷𝓊𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓉.”
✾ the writing in this book was artistic, thought-provoking, and beautiful—but at the same time, it was easy to read. the characters felt like REAL PEOPLE that i knew on a personal level and i grew to love them so so much. as long as the lemon trees grow has left a mark, it has been etched onto my heart, and has changed my view of the world.
✾ salama is such a strong woman and she handled her hallucinations in such a strong and inspiring way, trying to remain strong for the little family she had left. me personally, i wouldn’t have had the strength to carry those burdens. khawf, her physical manifestation, literally translates to “fear” which i thought was really profound. khawf is pushing her to leave, her own fear is pushing her to leave. i think that was a cool way of portraying it, and definitely had me staring at the wall and processing all of that for a solid 5 minutes.
“𝐼 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒. 𝐼𝓉 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝑔𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉.”
✾ salama and kenan gave me a renewed sense of hope and i just wanted to give both of them a big hug. if you looked up the phrase “true love” in the dictionary, it would be salama and kenan. i have no other words to say.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ please please please read this book. it’s important. it’s beautiful. i went through so many emotions reading this masterpiece, and i recommend it to everyone.
➺ minor spoilers
“𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈, 𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓌𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓊𝓈.”
✾ this book was definitely more of a heavier read, but i’m so glad i read it. it quite literally changed the trajectory of my life. i’m not even exaggerating. it opened my eyes into conflicts that are affecting people in many different heartbreaking ways, even if they’re on the other side of the world.
✾ out of curiosity, i went though a little rabbit hole on the internet, researching this 14-year conflict. and the similarities between this fictional book and real life are astonishing to me. a bombing just 6 days ago killed 17 people. 17 lives were taken. some people may label this as a low-level conflict, but it still has jarring effects on countless civilians. and what makes me sad is that this was my first time really learning about this civil war, because it’s not talked about enough.
“𝒲𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝒮𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓂𝒶. 𝑀𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝑒-𝒸𝓊𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓉, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝒶𝑔𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝒷𝓊𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓉.”
✾ the writing in this book was artistic, thought-provoking, and beautiful—but at the same time, it was easy to read. the characters felt like REAL PEOPLE that i knew on a personal level and i grew to love them so so much. as long as the lemon trees grow has left a mark, it has been etched onto my heart, and has changed my view of the world.
✾ salama is such a strong woman and she handled her hallucinations in such a strong and inspiring way, trying to remain strong for the little family she had left. me personally, i wouldn’t have had the strength to carry those burdens. khawf, her physical manifestation, literally translates to “fear” which i thought was really profound. khawf is pushing her to leave, her own fear is pushing her to leave. i think that was a cool way of portraying it, and definitely had me staring at the wall and processing all of that for a solid 5 minutes.
“𝐼 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒. 𝐼𝓉 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝑔𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉.”
✾ salama and kenan gave me a renewed sense of hope and i just wanted to give both of them a big hug. if you looked up the phrase “true love” in the dictionary, it would be salama and kenan. i have no other words to say.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ please please please read this book. it’s important. it’s beautiful. i went through so many emotions reading this masterpiece, and i recommend it to everyone.
February 24, 2022
Ahhh i can't wait to hug this book that i doodled hearts and crying faces and wrote "FINALLY [we see this truthfully told!]" and "YES ALL THE SOBBING" all over the manuscript. I await the actual book eagerly (HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THE COVER?) after devouring it last year. Please do yourself a favor and get this book and read this book and, after finishing it and sighing while clutching it to your heart with love, recommend it to everyone else. The world is in dire need of its beauty.
December 11, 2023
“Every lemon will bring forth a child and the lemons will never die out- Nizar Qabbani”
Everyone should read this book at one point in their lives.
The Syrian revolution began in 2011 with an uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In 2011 I was aware of what was going on. I had an idea of what was happening. We all had an “idea” what was taking place in Syria at this time. But like most people thinking about it too long made that “idea” uncomfortable. I knew it was heartbreaking and I knew I was upset about it. There was so much happening in the world at that time that most of us were becoming desensitized toward everything..
"& the bombs don’t care that there are innocent people inside"
With that being said, As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow follows Salama Kassab, who is studying to be a Pharmacist when the Syrian Revolution breaks out. Right before her eyes she loses her family, her home, and her freedom. Within days, she’s goes from a first-year pharmacy student to a surgeon as she volunteers at a hospital in Homs. She treats the men, women, and children—suffering from all forms of atrocities inflicted on them by their government.
"I will tell god everything"
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a painful novel to read. It wouldn’t fully encompass the story of the Syrian Revolution if it didn’t capture the pain of people stripped of their freedom.
This book was so so so heartbreaking. Like I said before we all had an “idea” what was happening but to read it in such a raw form..I will never be the same. I cried so much through out this book. It was beautiful. It was devastating. BUT it is such an important read.
Everyone should read this book at one point in their lives.
The Syrian revolution began in 2011 with an uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In 2011 I was aware of what was going on. I had an idea of what was happening. We all had an “idea” what was taking place in Syria at this time. But like most people thinking about it too long made that “idea” uncomfortable. I knew it was heartbreaking and I knew I was upset about it. There was so much happening in the world at that time that most of us were becoming desensitized toward everything..
"& the bombs don’t care that there are innocent people inside"
With that being said, As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow follows Salama Kassab, who is studying to be a Pharmacist when the Syrian Revolution breaks out. Right before her eyes she loses her family, her home, and her freedom. Within days, she’s goes from a first-year pharmacy student to a surgeon as she volunteers at a hospital in Homs. She treats the men, women, and children—suffering from all forms of atrocities inflicted on them by their government.
"I will tell god everything"
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a painful novel to read. It wouldn’t fully encompass the story of the Syrian Revolution if it didn’t capture the pain of people stripped of their freedom.
This book was so so so heartbreaking. Like I said before we all had an “idea” what was happening but to read it in such a raw form..I will never be the same. I cried so much through out this book. It was beautiful. It was devastating. BUT it is such an important read.
February 5, 2024
wyciągnę tę książkę ze wszelkich tam i powiem, że absolutnie każdy powinien doświadczyć czytania jej
to zdecydowanie więcej niż książka, która doprowadziła mnie do łez
to zdecydowanie więcej niż książka, która doprowadziła mnie do łez
April 7, 2024
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
(gonna kms)
rating tbd bc i had some issues with the pacing that i may be willing to overlook. jurina discussions starting now ✏
៚ · 📂 pre-read.
꒰ buddy read with juliet | 30 / 03 / 2024 ꒱
i am ready for my heart to be hollowed out and my mind to be sent into a depressive spiral while reading this. welcome to rinaju julietrina diaries pt 1.
this is in honour of all my moots who've adored this book (of which there are many) and my bffie, ingrid <3
(gonna kms)
rating tbd bc i had some issues with the pacing that i may be willing to overlook. jurina discussions starting now ✏
៚ · 📂 pre-read.
꒰ buddy read with juliet | 30 / 03 / 2024 ꒱
i am ready for my heart to be hollowed out and my mind to be sent into a depressive spiral while reading this. welcome to rinaju julietrina diaries pt 1.
this is in honour of all my moots who've adored this book (of which there are many) and my bffie, ingrid <3
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