tamara_mousa's reviews
135 reviews

The Tears of Dark Water is a gripping drama by Corban Addison about piracy in the Indian Ocean near Somalia. It is a story about family, guilt, forgiveness, redemption, love, and keeping promises, which also highlights African girls’ circumcision and terrorism by the name of Islam. this enchanting book portrayed why some Somalis become pirates; being ruled by treacherous dictators, the violent Islamists taking control of the country with the help of the US, and the bad relationships between clans during the civil war who turned on each other to govern Mogadishu, resulting in poverty. That's why in the novel, we find Ismail skeptic about trusting Americans - to him a cheater will always be a cheater!
A summary is available in my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

The Garden of Burning Sand is an entrancing novel by Corban Addison who remarkably embraced sexual assault in Zambia, esp. of disabled children. These gifted children are seen as a curse, and usually shunned by their culture and family! This is Kuyeya's story, a 15-year old girl with Down's syndrome who was raped by an invincible man, and the role of CILA team including the Zambian officer Joseph and the expat American lawyer Zoe in capturing the perpetrator.
A summary is available in my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com

The Secret Life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a story about a teenage girl who was physically abused since childhood by her dad after her mom's death. Throughout the tale, the author accentuated racism in 1964, the year the Blacks were given the right to vote, and parental depression and traumas when a spouse leaves his other half without a word and ghost him.
A summary is available on my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

In Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat describes the life of Haitians in the second half of 1900, during the presence of the terrorist group Macoutes that was formed by Dictator Duvalier. It is the story of Sophie (who was the result of rape when her mom was a teenager), her childhood in Haiti and life in NY with her mom, who couldn’t escape her rape-trauma syndrome. The tale also highlighted the racism that Haitians were subjected to in the US, the role of the US in controlling Haiti's finances after invading it in 1915, since they imposed forced labor that caused Haitians to become slaves to the US, which resulted in the death of thousands in 1920s.
A summary is available on my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoieis the story of Elizabeth, the daughter of Captain Philip Schuyler and the wife of Alexander Hamilton. The novel describes the American Revolutionary War occurrence between 1775 and 1783 that was led by Washington, the poor status of the American patriot army, the role of Hamilton in the revolution and formulation of the constitution with James Madison, and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton’s life and the numerous times she has been stabbed in her back by these who were dear to her.
A summary is available on my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

The last post of Bolívar the American Liberator by Mari Arana highlights the role of Manuela Sáenz in defending Bolívar's possessions and papers, and her exile to Paita where she re-united with father Rodríguez and stayed there till her death in 1855. This section also reveals the conspiracies that the Liberator's co-leaders plotted to kill him, which hurt him badly resulting in his departure to a haven in Santa Marta to die due to suffering from tuberculosis in 1830. After his death, Bolívar was celebrated and people built monuments of him in many cities. Dictators of numerous countries in Latin America also used him to win elections by exhuming his remains and celebrating him, but sadly none of them worked on achieving Bolívar's dream of a united South America!
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Continuing with the second post of Bolívar the American Liberator by Mari Arana. The epic story that described how Bolívar and his co-patriots fought courageously by standing in the face of the treacherous Spaniards. El Libertador also kept Spanish Americans informed via establishing 'El Correo del Orinoco' newspaper and counteracting the false news spread in the Spanish paper 'Gaceta de Caracas.' These free men liberated Venezuela as well as Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Peru between 1810 and 1825 from after being colonized for ~350 years.
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Bolívar the American Liberator by Mari Arana is an electrifying historical saga about the man who with help of co-patriots was able to liberate his country Venezuela as well as Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Peru between 1810 and 1825 from the Spanish, who colonized South America for ~350 years. He was named Liberator of South America and this is how he remained. He was (is) the man who led a revolution traversing from Haiti to Potosí to kick Spaniards for good, despite that his vision of a united South America, similar to that in USA was shattered. Bolívar's principles of equality, eradication of racism, democracy, and fraternity also weren’t achieved in South America.
A summary is available on my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

Night Music by Jojo Moyes describes the story of Isabel and Laura and their families with the Spanish house. This tale is about love, friendship, betrayal, guilt, balancing between family and work, being uprooted, and bullying. This tale also depicts that people respond differently to traumas; how obsession about something could destroy the fanatical; and no one has the right to make decisions on behalf of others esp. when it comes to something shared with someone such as a connection or love bond.
A complete summary can be found in my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

Sheltering Rain by Jojo Moyes portrays an image of the relationship between a mother and her daughter, as well as between grandmother and granddaughter. This story also highlights the main reason for distorting these relationships, which is lack of understanding and communication between the two. The author also underlined how some people measure their happiness by being in a relationship like Kate. Yet happiness resides within! So if a person is happy by himself, then he can be happy anywhere and with anyone, as long as he/she was in a healthy relationship.
A complete summary can be found in my blog: www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

A memoir about fighting for one's life!
There is a summary about it in my blog - https://www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

In The Horse Dancer, Jojo Moyes described the life of the teenage Sarah who was trained by her grandfather to become a horse dancer and join L' École de Cavalerie in France. This tale also explored the life of Natasha and Mac, and the issues that this couple goes through due to shutting oneself from the other and not communicating with each other. This story highlighted the significance of always communicating with our loved ones. Building walls between each other destroys relationships esp. that people are not magicians. The author also stressed on the importance of communicating with one's children, listening to them, trusting them, never judging them, and believing what they say and not to brush them off. - A complete summary is available in my blog www.tamarayousefmousa.com/