Totally lost for words.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read a book which made me smile and made me cry.
I will be buying this as a present for my sister and mum.
I cannot recommend this highly enough - 10 stars if I could

This is a very patriotic book, born out of a great love for Syria and the desire to bring the atrocities committed by the Assad regime closer to people elsewhere. It is also a very one-sided book that doesn’t bother with subtleties, everything is either good or evil, right or wrong, people are either martyrs or criminals.

It does however bring the Syrian war home like no documentary ever could. Through the eyes of Salama, a young woman who has lost all her family, we experience the trauma she suffered and all underlying emotions related to it: deep love for her country, compassion for others, boundless despair and boundless hope, survivors’ remorse and an unsatiable craving for safety and life.

It is a clever ploy within the story to personify a part of her mind, Khwaf, representing her fear and conflicting emotions. Through the dialogue between her and this imagined but to her very real figure, the reader gets a deep understanding of her situation, which no one who hasn’t lived through it could possibly fathom. We learn about her deepest fears, her inner conflicts when it came to deciding whether to stay or to go and the feelings of guilt to leave behind those who cannot be rescued.

The book has all the ingredients of a good story but, for my taste, I find it a little too close to political literature. It is fast paced and a good read and certainly achieves what it sets out to do: to heighten awareness and empathy with the suffering people in Syria and those who had to flee the country now trying to find a new home somewhere else.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow - I am lost for words! This book is breathtaking! It's a beautiful story about loss and grief and the importance of hope.

I have bought this book for family as a Christmas present and will continue to recommend it!

A moving, harrowing and emotional insight into the lives of refugees from war torn countries. Although fictional, it bears striking resemblance to the stories we hear everyday of people reluctant to leave their homes in war torn countries, but have to flee to save their families lives. I felt I was making the very difficult decision with them and enduring their journey.

This is a fantastic theme for any book, and incredibly important for young people to read (as well as YA-loving adults like me!). However I didn't get on with the writing style, and despite the characters and story being interesting, I kept putting it down and not picking it up again. I usually romp through books but this one I left unfinished.

A moving and sad story of life under the occupation in Syria. Will definitely stay with you after reading

A tender and moving story set against the backdrop of the Syrian revolution. Ashamedly I don't know a lot of Syria's history and was deeply moved by this story filled with hope and love. A beautiful story.

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh is a moving, fascinating story of two young people living through the Arab Spring in Syria and realising that they must leave to survive.
Salama Kassab And Kenan and his younger sister and brother, Lama and Yousaf come close to death so many times that they know they must pay the people traffickers and leave Syria for ever.
Their story is incredibly moving and show how they love Syria and don’t want to leave until they have no choice.
Highly recommended

This is a love story set against the backdrop of the Revoloution in Syria. Bombs and destruction are all around when Salama and Kenan meet. I enjoyed this book, but found it a difficult and at times harrowing read. However, the author wrote this book to help others understand what Syrian's have been through and allow us an understanding. In doing so she has crafted a masterfully moving novel.
I highly recommend this book, but know , like me you will find it staying with you long after it has finished.

An absolutely beautifully written book. The characters were so well described and the effects of war on every day life brought sharply in to focus. Really thought-provoking. Highly recommended.

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is a harrowing but engrossing story set in Syria at the start of the war - though not an easy read, the difficult themes are sensitively handled by the author. The main character, Salama Kassab, a pharmacy student until war broke out, is now volunteering as a doctor in her local hospital. Plagued by hunger and loss her mind conjures a companion - Khawf - who haunts her every move. The book follows her struggle between loyalty to her country and the need to leave for her own safety. This book left me wanting more - and needing to understand more about Syria's history and ongoing struggle for freedom.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Moving account of a young woman in rebel-held Syria, struggling to treat casualties in the hospital and wrestling with her own dilemmas and moral choices. It took me a little while to get into this book, but I'm glad I persisted. Gives a great insight into the background of those who are forced to leave Syria and become refugees.

I entered into this book nervously, unsure if it would be too depressing given its topic but I have so many words for this book and depressing isn’t one of them. This book is poignant, enlightening, important whilst yet also uplifting demonstrating that there is hope. I knew little to nothing of what has happened in Syria, partially due to the way it was covered in the news but I feel very grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to read this book through NetGalley and educate myself. I can’t comment on the accuracy but regardless this book transports you. It’s worth noting that the author does comment on some fictional changes to real life events in the author notes at the end which I know many will appreciate the acknowledgment of.

5⭐️ and I’d recommend to anyone who wants to educate themselves through fiction.

Absolutely loved this book even though it was harrowing. Not only did it give an insight into the suffering of ordinary people in Syhria but it was cleverly done. I gave a loud gasp at one point in the story which shocked me but made perfect sense.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
A truly emotional roller coaster that I invested in with every turn of the page. I feel that this should be on every schools curriculum as a need to read.

I feel like I’ve been on a right journey reading this, which can only mean that it’s a pretty amazing book!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

A beautifully written story with very harrowing themes. Powerful, moving and heartbreaking - a really compelling page turner!

Eighteen-year-old Salama lives in Syria, she is using her medical knowledge to work in a hospital as a doctor.
Buildings are being blown up all around her and her family are all dead or have disappeared
She meets up with an old familiar face whom she was once almost set to marry.
They are faced with the reality of staying put or paying smugglers to escape in an overcrowded boat to another country.
Throughout the book Salama is seeing her absent brother and having discussions with him.
I found this part of the story annoying.
It is hard to imagine this went on in Syria, but it still is, and this book shows how it feels to lose family and possessions and have a choice to make of leaving your home behind..

This really wasn't what I was expecting but I was surprised by how the story held my attention. I wouldn't really class this as fantasy but more of mental illness and the affects of war/trauma. As long as the lemon tree grows really made me empathise more with refugees in our current global situation (not that i didn't already) and really brought light to the subject in my eyes. Quite an emotional read too. 3.5⭐️

This book is absolutely incredible. Incredible words, incredible characters, incredible everything. I finished this book a while ago and I’m still thinking of it.
Salama is the main character who is a pharmacist (but having to act as a doctor) in a hospital in Syria. Salama lives with her sister in law (no spoilers but this isn’t quite what it seems) after losing her family to the war. Everyday she sets off to work not knowing if she will return. She decides to attempt to find freedom and manages to secure a place on a boat fleeing the country. Will she make it? Does she find love or will she be alone?
Zoulfa writes perfectly. I felt every emotion, smelt the lemons and saw everything she described. This book is so moving. You will laugh and cry. I’ve heard about the plight in Syria but to read it at this extend is a sobering wake up call. The story she tells is of strength, determination, sadness, grief, love and fear. She manages to emphasise the struggle of the people but also the empowerment and perseverance of human kind.
This book will stay with me forever. I read a digital copy but I have ordered the book so I can enjoy it over and over again. I can’t recommend it enough.