All My Rage

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: March 1, 2022

A contemporary story that will pull at your heartstrings and climb deep into your soul long after you have finished the very last page.

Starting out in Pakistan, Misbah has just married Toufiq in a pre-arranged marriage and they quickly leave the country they have always been in to move to America and open a motel. Jump ahead many years to the present with Sslahudin, the son of Misbah and Toufiq, is trying to navigate the world he is growing up in and the ever-changing relationship with his best friend Noor. They are both outcasts at school and try to restore their relationship after a huge fight. When Misbah falls ill, Sal tries to run the family business as his father drinks away his grief. Noor works for her uncle who owns a liquor store and wants nothing more than to get away, so she applies to college to hopefully leave him and the town that means so little to her. Sal and Noor must figure out what they mean to each other and if what they have is worth fighting for.

This is not the normal novel written by Tahir as this is very different but in a very good way. In All My Rage, readers get to see characters that grow in such a drastic way you can’t help but feel for them and all they go through. I thought it was very helpful that the front of the book contained trigger warnings for those reading it to be aware of some of the content. Even though this book is in the Young Adult category, I think that label can be misleading at times. I wouldn’t consider this great for young teens but older teens and those in their early twenty’s would probably really enjoy this one.

I enjoyed the way the story played out and the characters; I loved many of them and the ones I couldn’t stand were okay because I wasn’t supposed to like them. Being able to write characters in this way shows just how amazing Sabaa Tahir is as an author. Her first series is nothing like this and goes in a completely different direction, which shows she has great range.

I would recommend this book to those that enjoy seeing characters go through very difficult circumstances but work hard to overcome them and grow with the story.