This was a stunning novel that I imagine will stay with each reader for a very long time. It was uncomfortable and heartfelt in all of the right places.

This book has left me wordless. I smiled with the characters it but I also cried with them. It was like a punch to the gut. I thought about the characters long after I had put it down. It is a definite must read

Set in troubled times in Syria. A poignant tale that will make you both cry and laugh. It is beautifully written. Everyone should read this important story.

This is an eye-opening book told by a superb storyteller about REAL events. We that have never experienced anything like the trauma of becoming and being a refugees are transported into Salma's world. For a brief time we are transported into this alien world of the Syrian war: the uncertainty, the insecurities, the trauma as together we are able to meet the hero's and heroines of this contemporary reality.
As you read, the storyteller makes you feel as if you are right there, living through these events. The vivid characterisation and the amazing detail that we are given help the reader transcend into the life of Salama’s. With hankies at the ready along with the escape button (by putting the book down) we gain a better insight into the Syrian world. What is it that leads someone to leave everything behind and get into a boat (not worthy of a city park pond) and sail out into the Mediterranean Sea knowing that the chances of reaching a destination is in the hands of God. Be under no illusion these are brave people who deserve our concern and our prayers.

This book is a must read for anyone who cares about humanity. Don't pass this opportunity for greater understanding and greater empathy- read this book today.
Thank you NetGalley and ARC for allowing me to read this book in exchange for this review.

What an amazingly beautiful story, totally poignant and heartbreaking, Salema is volunteering in a hospital dealing with all the harrowing sights and sounds that this war is doing too her country, it made me cry reading about the atrocities, The burgeoning love affair was a little light relief and necessary,

WOW! From the cover to the final words, this book will put you every emotion possible due to the content which may not be for everybody as there are a lot of trigger words, but if you can, you must read this story. It is also heart wrenching, beautiful and highlights the effects of war through the eyes of a Muslim woman without being condescending. I loved the use of the natural Arabic words and phrases which only add strength to the book, A must read if you are not too easily put off.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

What a beautiful story! As long as the lemon trees grow is a love story but in so many levels. Salama is a first year pharmacy student living in Homs with her parents, older brother Hamza and his wife Layla, who is also her best friend.
When the civil war breaks out Salama works in the hospital doing things that no eighteen year old should even contemplate. She treats the injured alongside Dr Zaid, dressing sounds and amputating limbs. She also looks after pregnant Layla and tried to keep the promise she made to her brother; to protect his wife.
When Salama is at her most desperate Kenan comes into her life and shows her that colours other than grey still exist in the world, you just have to look for them.
As well as romantic love As long as lemon trees grow is about patriotism. Love for your homeland; the place that shaped you and grounded you. The story also helps people who have been fortunate enough not to experience the sort of conflict in Syria and other parts of the world to understand a little of how it would be to live in constant fear and to pray for death rather than capture.
Heroic, heartwarming and honest.

Beautiful, poignant, impactful. AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW tells a tale of home, a sense of 'own-ness' and the struggle of choosing between survival and love for one's country. 5/5 stars! I cannot wait to read more of Katouh's works.

TW: death (adult & children), torture, sexual assault, murder, war, starvation, PTSD, grief

This book is devastating and hauntingly beautiful and a story that I will be thinking about for a long time. There are scenes that are seared into my memory, scenes that utterly broke me and I had to stop reading. This book made me sob and it is one of the most beautiful stories I have read.

This story is set just after the Syrian revolution began and deals with what happens to the people who are living in a war torn country. We meet Salama who wanted to become a pharmacist but those dreams are shattered when the revelation begins and now helps at the hospital saving as many people as she can. She meets Kenan who wanted to study animation but now films what is happening in Syria and uploads it to youtube so people can see what is happening. Together they bring back hope into their lives despite the circumstances they live in.

As long as the lemon trees grow hope will never die.

There is also Layla, Salama’s sister in law and only family left after her parents are murdered and her brother imprisoned. And Kenan’s younger brother and sister that he is doing his best to protect. These people are Salama and Kenan’s lifelines. Seeing how they feel terrified that anything could happen to them and there would be nothing that they could do. There are several scenes that are inspired by real life events and that made it even more chilling and devastating to read.

This land is me. And I am her. My history, my ancestors, my family, we’re all here.

We also meet Khawf who is part of Salama’s hallucination, he is the one that keeps pushing her to find a way to leave Syria to find safety but she feels guilty for leaving while there is so many people who need her help. She has learnt on the job but she always has a wealth of pharmacological knowledge that helps so many people. Kenan feels like he needs to fight for his home and share with the world what is happening. I really loved seeing the different aspects and how they struggled with the choices they made. It was so raw and real and I felt that struggle with them. Zoulfa has written these characters so beautifully and they are complex and feel so real and I completely fell in love with them. I also loved seeing how they carved out some joy for themselves amidst all the sorrow.

When they realise they will not survive long enough to make any impact they decide they need to leave to keep their family safe. But even the journey to escape is harrowing. Zoulfa doesn’t shy away from the realities of what has happened and continues to happen in Syria and everyone needs to read it.

This is a book that everyone needs to read. It gives voice to the voiceless and shows us the strength and resilience of the Syrians and their fight for justice and freedom and how hope can be find in even the most difficult circumstances.

One of the most touching and heart-tugging books I've read in a while, the pacing was generous and the characters came alive to me

It has been a while since I have read a book that is as equally distressing and but also equal joy too. A stunning story of Syria and one I can't wait to read and share with my Student Book Club.

Thank you so much Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and NetGalley for the arc of As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
I will be truthful, it’s been a long time since a book made me wholeheartedly sob, but this book totally did. I only picked it up because it was recommended by an author I adore, but this book blew me away.
This book isn’t an easy read, it took me quite a while to read it, but I don’t regret it, that gave me time to think, reflect and consider the themes within the book, in particular the atrocities and hardships of wartorn Syria. Despite this, the characters’ love for their country, each other and their faith, but most all of their, in the majority lost families shines through with such sincerity and feeling, and yes I’m getting emotional again!
This book is a world away from my personal experience, climate, culture, and the war itself, but I was immersed in Salama’s world; A very young unprepared woman who treats the ill in a hospital, facing death, injury and pain daily, performing the role of a doctor, with only chemist qualifications. She knows that she can’t stay, but to her home is a world with lemon trees and a climate where they thrives, but she has to. Every day her life is filled with facing mortal challenges she wasn’t trained or prepared for, fear, poverty, starvation and destruction and inevitably loss.
Yet, this book is uplifting, filled with love and beautifully crafted characters (real and fictional,) it is filled with faith and hope and belief that there is something better. I would also say that if you are looking for a truly faithful and educating guide to Syria, including it’s history, politics and people, you couldn’t do much better than start with this book. A truly astounding book that I truly recommend taking your time over to absorb, reflect and learn from.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is a sensational debut about hope and survival during the onset of the Syrian revolution that will simultaneously make your heart swell and break.

It centres on a young Pharmacology student named Salama, who has been made to take up the position of surgeon just one year into her studies due to the lack of more qualified personnel. Living with her pregnant sister-in-law, Salama fights for her country and its freedom by saving as many lives as she can, a role not without danger and trauma.

And then fate has her path crossing with Kenan, the boy from another life who brings a bit of light and hope back to her days. However, Salama is also haunted by Khawf, a physical manifestation of her fears out to constantly remind her of the horrors around her as a means to push her towards the ultimate decision of whether she should leave her country behind for her own safety and survival.

The story seamlessly drops you into Homs and Salama’s world, depicting wartime conflict on a civilian level with such brutal honesty, showing the fight for freedom in a developing country where much of the world ignores the cries for help. Alongside themes of war this book involves the exploration of grief and mental health as well as an instant of on page sexual assault so I highly advise checking the content warnings before reading.

Katouh expertly weaves tension and emotion into her writing and my nerves were through the roof with worry for these characters with each turn of the page. Salama’s strength and resilience was so inspiring but also hurt my soul because so much of what she sees and goes through stems from true experiences that are still ongoing today.

However, this book is not just about nightmares and guilt and the things that have been lost. It is also one about allowing yourself to dream, of honouring your motherland and all the love and colour that can be found in the darkest of times.

Salama and Kenan have my whole heart and their relationship was beyond beautiful. If you’re looking for a book where the Muslim representation is done right and respectfully then look no further. This is a book that I now hold close to my heart and a story that will stick with me for a long time, I can’t encourage you to read it enough.
Final Rating - 4.5/5 Stars

What an amazing read, this really gets to the heart of why people fight for their country and endeavour to live in the best way possible, whilst facing shortages of food, water, places to live safely, and all the time being surrounded by explosions, gunfire and murders.
Salama is a pharmacist, but due to shortages of staff, has been informally working as a surgeon, dealing with emergencies far beyond her remit. There is a shortage of medications and anaesthesia, but she does her best.
This novel is set in Homs, during the revolution. We are shown the struggles of families to get daily basics of life, yet the Pride in their country and the determination to stay and fight is as heart warming as it could be considered reckless. Why do they do this? They have hope and faith in themselves.
This is beautifully written, very emotional and tear jerking, it makes the reader more aware of the despair of refugees, and the perils and dangers they accept in order to escape a country of no hope, in order to seek a new beginning of a new life of peace and safety. The common theme seems to be, we will return to the Lemon trees, when times are better.
For a YA novel, it seems quite graphic regarding the war and mental health issues, but these are difficult truths. This should be on the bookshelf of every school library, it must be essential reading for all ages.
I recommend this book throughly, I will spread the word to various teachers of my acquaintance.
A five star read. My thanks to Netgalley and to Bloomsbury publishers for my advance digital copy, in exchange for my honest review.

This book definitely gets 5 stars from me. A beautiful hour ey very emotional so I felt rely connected to the story and the characters. Very enjoyable, I'll definitely be recommending this!

This was an amazingly emotional book which I completely loved. It took me a little while to get over it and find another book to move on to. It is a really important book but also has wonderful characters that you never want to leave. Read it!

I was intrigued by the premise of this book but wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As her country is torn apart by war Salema , a pharmacology student, is volunteering in a hospital dealing with all the trauma that the war throws at her. A harrowing novel that opens the eyes of the reader to the horror and despair that war inflicts on civilians - hunger, cold ,death and grief – the list could go on. Yet despite this and the grim decisions that Selima must make it is also a novel of hope and love both for our fellow man and for our birth country. The developing relationship between Salema and Kenan was a much needed contrast to the war surrounding them. I was a little surprised that this is described as a Y a novel as it is graphic at times. And the twist – how heartbreaking. It’s a novel but I will not forget and for that I must thank the author. Many thanks to net galley the publisher and not least so far at all for giving me an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A compelling read.

The writing was lovely, the imagery took me to each scene that was set and the relationship between Salama and Layla was remarkable.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Incredible storytelling, beautiful descriptions. This is exactly the kind of YA book that would be perfect in schools - as long as there is a caveat for some pretty harrowing descriptions of war. I really wish I'd read something like this when I was at school.

Beautifully and devastatingly looks at the impact of living in a country at at war, on family, relationships and mental health, using slightly abstract/magical realistic elements to really get inside the mind of Salama. A truly unforgettable and important book.

Wow. This was such an amazingly wonderfully written book. Such a harrowing and emotional story, but a must read