SuitabookAll My Rage
Sabaa Tahir
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside the young person rather than requiring uninterrupted progress.
- Themes
- Addiction, responsibility and compassion: Sal’s father’s alcoholism affects the family, while drug use, dealing and an overdose form part of the wider crisis surrounding the teenagers. The book presents competing or mixed signals about this.
- Abuse and its aftermath: The novel includes domestic violence and reveals sexual abuse whose effects continue over time, including difficulty with touch. The book takes a critical view of this.
- Muslim identity and prejudice: Sal and Noor are Muslim Pakistani American teenagers navigating faith, family and prejudice in a mostly White California town. The reported portrayal resists stereotypes and shows faith through varied actions and relationships, while racism and Islamophobia are presented as harmful forces.
- Worth knowing
- Be prepared for sustained distress: alcohol and drug use, an overdose, domestic and sexual abuse, bereavement, illness, physical violence, bullying, racism, Islamophobia, strong language and a brief kissing-and-caressing scene all occur.