Skip to main content

There is Time

The semester is finally over, and to celebrate, I would like to talk to you about...a graphic novel I read in school. Lissa by Sherine Hamdy and Coleman Nye, with illustrations by Sarula Bao and Caroline Brewer, was assigned reading for one of my courses as an example of how academic research can be turned into something creative, and dare I say, absolutely wonderful. Set in Egypt, Lissa tells the story of an American girl named Anna, her Egyptian friend, Layla, and how these two young women come to understand each other despite their different backgrounds. 

Lissa

Both Anna and Layla are affected in different ways by the death of Anna's mother, as a result of her battle with breast cancer. After moving back to America, Anna learns that she carries the gene that might trigger breast cancer, and she considers taking preventative measures, something Layla is vehemently against. Back in Egypt where there is increasing civil unrest, Layla's father is suffering from kidney failure, but refuses a transplant. As Anna and Layla discuss the obstacles set before them, they are distanced by their different belief systems and cultural upbringings, but they are brought back together through their dedication to each other. 

Lissa, which translates to "there is time," is a beautiful journey of understanding, and I encourage everyone to read it. It was truly a pleasure for me to read because I had the opportunity to take a class with Coleman Nye, and she is a very intelligent, wonderful person. Undoubtedly a 5 star read!

If you have any comments, questions or review requests, please feel free to comment below, or email me (theopinionatedbookworm@gmail.com) or follow me on Instagram (@theopinionatedbookworm).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kamila Knows Best

One of the biggest regrets I had during 2021 was that I let my blog slip through the cracks...which is a pity, because I like to blog. Therefore, I have decided to write once more (hopefully more than once), because I want to talk about Kamila Knows Best  by Farah Heron. You may recognize Heron's name from her previous works: The Chai Factor  and Accidentally Engaged. Both of these novels were well written, humorous, and heartwarming, but I loved them all the more because they are set in Canada and written by a Canadian.  Kamila Knows Best  stays true to all of these points. Set in Toronto, this adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma was faithful to the original while adding twists and turns that are accurate for a modern retelling. Kamila is an accountant who loves her father, friends, dog and career deeply, but all of these things means she is too busy for a serious relationship -- or so she claims. Kamila also fancies herself a matchmaker, and takes pride in the fact th...
Post a Comment
Read more

The End of the Reading Rut

This reading rut I was in was a painful experience that unexpectedly came to an end when I picked up Seven Days in June  by Tia Williams. I was taken on an unexpected journey, torn open while reading about the love story of Eva and Shane. Now that the story is over, I wish it had never ended. 7 days to fall in love, 15 to forget Fifteen years after Eva and Shane first fell in love, they meet again during a writers panel hosted by a mutual friend. Although they had not spoken to each other since their love ended, they were forever in each other's thoughts when writing their respective novels, a fact that only they were aware of. Even after so many years, their feelings are still electrifying, but one question remains, can they overcome the events of the past? Sometimes, reading a romance novel can seem formulaic, but this story broke every formula I have ever experienced in my literary adventures. Each chapter told me something about Eva and Shane that I genuinely did not expect. On...
Post a Comment
Read more

"So, do you miss coffee?"

Today is Monday, and I have tasked myself with the near impossible goal of writing an adequate blog post (and subsequently an Instagram post) before I have to go to work.  Why does this task have such an intense deadline, you may ask.  Well, I read this book, and I just cannot wait to talk about it.  What would you miss... ...If you were an astronaut tasked with observing other planets in the galaxy? Try to remember, that it takes about fourteen years to get back to Earth, and just as long for a message to be sent or received. Thus, any news you receive is over a decade old, and you must spend the time you are not working in torpor, which slows your body's aging process as you move from planet to planet.  This is the mission Ariadne and her crew are set with in Becky Chambers' novel, To Be Taught, If Fortunate . Although the chemistry of the crew allows them to operate more as a family than as coworkers, they still face challenges during their decades lo...
Post a Comment
Read more