Wow - this is one of the most astonishing, breathtaking and incredible books I have ever had the privilege of reading.

This has become an instant favourite and I challenge another book to come close to it - it had me holding my breath in anticipation throughout it entirety and it broke my heart over and over.

Syria is a country that I had very little knowledge of going into before reading this novel but the authors portrayal of its recent history is exquisite, captivating and heartbreaking.

Thank you for allowing me to read this - it is one that will stay with me for a very long time.

This is a very real and shocking story of the Syrian revolution and how it affected the lives of those who lived through it. Salama is the heroine - a pharmacy student who finds herself drafted in as a doctor when all the other medical staff disappear. Her life changes dramatically as she soldiers on - I’m not sure that the dream figure she sees and interacts with really helps the story but all-in-all this is a riveting read.

A very real portrayal of living in Syria and having your life torn apart and having to cope. Very graphic and disturbing scenes but it does bring home the horrors of war. Wasn’t so sure about Kwarf, the devil-like figure who taunted and threatened Salama but it is a brave story.

Everyone should read this book. It brought home to me the horrors of the Syrian war far more than any number of media reports would do because it focussed on the human side of conflict. This is about ordinary law abiding citizens who just want to have a normal life, but are caught up in a culture of unbelievably cruel politics and the ensuing horrific traumas they must face. That said, it is also a sensitive heart warming story of love, family loyalties, aspirations and triumph over evil. It is easy to empathise with young Salama as her studying is cut short and she is thrown into trying to save lives in the hospital. I even grew to like the irritating Khawf who was continuously making Salama confront some unpalatable facts about agonising decisions she must make.

This was a harrowing but also uplifting story that is so timely. I loved that characters in this book and how realistic and fleshed out they were. The story is full of love: love for characters, love for country and love for history. The depths of this story pulled at my heartstrings and made me fall in love with a people and a country I have never been to and (honestly) don't know much about.

What a gorgeous book this is full of love and emotion .i learned more about the war in Syria reading this book than I ever have watching the news
We are all aware of the horrors in Syria and have seen videos of children injured by bombs or chemical weapons.What this novel does so well is to give you the human stories behind these images
Whilst some of the detail is quite harrowing the author manages to treat a fine line between horror and human interest .She tells a story of an family perfectly you feel you know the members intimately by the end
I liked the way some of the story is told as flashbacks via the appearance of a man the main narrator of hallucinating as a side effect of her stressful violent life
There is a plot twist towards the end which I hadn’t anticipated and enjoyed greatly
I will strongly be recommending this book to anyone who likes a modern story and would be willing to immerse themselves in war torn Syria .anyone who likes novels where they can see relationships develop in stressful times would enjoy the book .I wouldn’t usually pick up a love story but this is so much part of this book and I loved it
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published in September 2022 by Bloomsbury

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the Syrian War broke out.
She volunteers at a hospital helping her countrymen but should she stay or flee?
Salama is torn and meeting an old acquaintance doesn't help.

“Our spirits are defiant, and our history is glorious. And our martyrs' souls are formidable guardians.”

As long as the lemon trees grow is a beautiful and harrowing story of love, loss, grief, resilience and hope. This story reveals the often forgotten aspect of war, the actual human impact that lasts for generations.

The story is set amidst the Syrian Revolution, where we meet a 17 year old girl called Salama. Khawf is a hallucination that Salama sees due to the losses she has suffered and the suffering she has witnessed. Khawf takes his name from the Arabic word meaning fear. Though part of me thought Khawf and what he represented (salama’s PTSD) was really smart. I also sometimes felt he muddled the flow of the book for me.

Salama is debating fleeing Syria for Germany. During this time she meets Kenan who makes her question whether leaving is the right idea. Their encounter leads us on to a very cute and wholesome halal romance. Despite the war, we see how their romance grows and how as the story unfolds they support and appreciate one another. I loved the development of the relationship. I thought the representation was nicely done and it felt very wholesome.

Many people have described this book as a love letter to Syria, which I totally agree with. It made my heart cry for the Syria that once was, despite never having known that Syria. At the same time, I really liked that the book does not shy away from the realities of war. This is a very graphic novel, it’s heavy especially when it comes to the Hospital scenes and almost makes you feel like you’re right next to Salama witnessing this.

Overall, Katouh’s writing is raw and real. It truly makes you feel and will even make you cry. The big twist was very cleverly done and was absolutely heartbreaking. I’m giving this 4 stars because it was really well done, but Khawf muddled things for me abit.

As heartbreaking as this book is and the current situation in Syria is, I think Katouh has done a great job of what she set out to achieve which is focus on hope.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really remarkable love story set in a war zone. It’s hard to image how it would be to find yourself in that scenario, or how anyone could find hope.

CW: Trauma, war, refugees, serious injury detail, death, loss, PTSD

There are passages of this book that are absolutely beautiful, however you need to be in the right frame of mind to read it as there are parts of it that are utterly traumatic. As other reviewers have said, this book is a "love letter to Syria" and shines a light on important aspects of the war that are not necessarily reported so widely in the west - and it doesn't shy away from the horrors of the war. The big twist was utterly heartbreaking and very well done. It feels like an important story. The lower rating was due to places where the pacing felt off and confusion caused by the Zwarf character.

Due to the graphic injury detail, I would not recommend to students, however there are parts of it I could imagine using for language analysis.

It feels churlish to say that a book based on real and ongoing tragedy was overly long, but it felt to me that this could have been edited to narrow the focus and make it even more powerful. I found myself confused in places by the hallucinatory passages but the author clearly has a future.

This book doesn’t hold back in places, but it is necessary to get the point across to people like myself, who have no idea about the revolution of the people in Syria, and the Military. The heartache and hope, and the love of Syrian soil. Their homeland, and home of their father’s, fathers.

I thought the book slightly slow to begin with, and in places.
However, it certainly got the point across to me of war, hunger, hope and love. All things that bind us together in life.
If you are of a sensitive nature then this book is not for you, but saying that image the author trying to put this book into words. People are dying in wars and the atrocities that comes with it, so I need to understand that, and feel the pain people had or are having to endure. It is hard to stomach that the world can inflict so much, and sadly still continue to do so.
Salama is just a young girl, studying pharmacy, but her world is turned upside down when the revolution happens.
The reason I have given 3 stars not 4, is because in my opinion I would have liked the beginning section to have had a faster pace, and the ending chapters to have been in more depth. I cannot elaborate on that further as I would spoil the plot.
The book represents every person out there with hopes and dreams, and a life to live. Hope and love.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury publishing for an e-book. Opinions are my own.

This was a beautiful but heartbreaking read. I don't want to give too much away but the author's twist broke my trust so much, I can't work out if the ending is re or a lie. In the best possible way!

Katouh's book reads like a love letter to Syria and especially to its people. It was equal parts shocking, uplifting, informative and horrifying - and hopeful. Ultimately, the hope wins, despite everything else.

If you want a book to break you and then build you back up again - this is it!

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is an interesting - and harrowing - read.

Set in Syria during the war, we meet Salama. She is a young student pharmacist who has been thrust into the position of nurse, doctor, surgeon and chemist at the local hospital in her home district of Homs. As the other hospital staff have been murdered by the military for rising against the government, Salama is left taking care of a hospital full of patients with only one qualified doctor in charge. Salama has lost all of her family except her sister-in-law Layla who is 7 months pregnant.

Salama has one other companion - her hallucination, Khawf - conjured up by her brain to help her cope with the horrors that she is being exposed to and the nightmare of being alone in a war torn country. Khawf convinces, bribes and blackmails Salama into approaching Am to help her to escape Syria in the relative safety of a dinghy across the sea, but Salama feels guilty for leaving the only country she has known, the place that she loves, and the place where all the people she loves the most are buried.

Then Salama meets Kenan, the boy she was supposed to be meeting on the day her mother died. Kenan comes with his own set of baggage in the shape of his much younger sister Lama and younger brother Yusef. Traumatised by war, Yusef is an elective mute and Lama is recovering from horrific shrapnel injuries. Despite the timing, and despite the odds against them, Salama and Kenan fall in love. Fearing this new romance will scupper the plans to leave, Khawf dials up the pressure and shows Salama the most horrific visions he can muster. Salama must now battle against Khawf's pressure and try to convince Kenan to leave with her before it's too late.

This novel is graphic. The hospital scenes do not shy away from the horrors of war and the injuries caused by bombing, shooting and torture. The book is very war heavy, I thought there might have been a split between Syria and the journey away from Syria to safety but that isn't the case. The novel is quite clever in that Salama's hallucinations are so rich in colour and detail that it is tricky working out what is real and what isn't - one particular revelation came as a total and utter shock to me!

It's a good story and if this genre of fiction is one of your favourites then you will love it. For me, it was just a bit too graphic.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the midst of the Syrian revolution, Lemon Trees follows Salama, living in Homs when it is still the territory of the Free Syrian Army. The danger is always close though, with regular attacks from the regime and protestors being taken.

Salama was a first year pharmacist until the violence of the regime and the lack of resources & trained staff forces her to become a surgeon. Everyday becomes about saving lives when she can and witnessing so much death when she can’t.

There were some particularly difficult scenes to read because of the weight of responsibility on Salama’s young shoulders. The things she had to throw herself into in order to help others were so heartbreaking because of the reality they reflected.

Salama’s decision to leave Syria comes from a survival instinct deep within her which manifests as ‘Khawf’, a companion - a hallucination that torments her with traumatic memories and imagines worst case scenarios, but who also ultimately tries to steer her towards the option that will keep her alive. Salama’s decision isn’t only for herself but also her pregnant sister-in-law, the only family she has left.

The guilt that Salama feels for deciding to leave was such a well written and heartbreaking aspect of the story and is something that isn’t always given as much attention when it comes to stories of refugees.

But alongside the loss, the death and destruction, Salama finds love. It was lovely to read Salama and Kenan’s blossoming relationship, a heartwarming example of halal love in a YA book. It was a testament to the fact that even in the most dire circumstances, humans still look for love and hope.

This was such a beautiful, moving story. A love letter to Syria and all the things so many had to leave behind.
This story had one of those shattering moments of revelation that left me covered in goosebumps with tears steaming down my face, so well written and so powerful.

⭐️⭐️ 2 ok stars.

I am obviously in the minority with this one judging by all the other reviews however I didn’t really enjoy this book.

I think it could have been a far better book without the Kwarf ‘character’ which I thought muddled the flow of the story. I also didn’t gel with the characters as much as other readers.

It is an emotional story so trigger warning re. grief, refugees, war.

Disappointing.

I still don't know how to form words about this one , it took me a whole month to read it , and when i finally finished it , it felt like my heart's been shattered into tiny little pieces just to put it back together by the author and the characters, a story necessary about grief and lost was also one about hope and love . It's about finding ways during times where everything feels lost .
Even though this book is fiction, they story wasn't, there are hundreds of salama and Layla out there grieving for the lost ones and hoping for a good future for the ones to come.
I barely have words to describe the story and the plot or the writing because everything was mesmerizing, even though it's a debut novel , Katouh knows how to tell a story which is griping and equal amount liberating.
I would recommend this book a million times over to everyone ( as long as they are okay with the tws ) as this is the story everyone needs to hear , not just a tale but generations worth of struggle , grief and hurt told in a beautiful and raw way .

Despite the warning, I didn't expect to find this story so difficult to read. It is not necessarily a book I would have chosen in a bookshop, but I'm so glad that I accepted the invitation to review it.
It is very well written and clearly depicts life in Syria in a very real way. It brings home to you the difficulties faced in war torn countries by those innocent people who just want to live their own lives. Every character from Salama, the main character through to the minor characters are very sensitively portrayed. It is easy to picture them and to understand the trauma they are experiencing. I can understand why Yusef doesn't speak, why Salama is hallucinating and seeing those she has lost., why they are looking to escape Syria for a better life, but are torn at the loss of their homelands.

This is a book that should be read by all. It should be on school reading lists for older students to understand why many migrants are choosing to escape from their homelands.

Wow! I hardly ever read a book that moves me to tears but this one did! Thank you Netgalley! It is a book that should be on every school curriculum. The themes of the novel make it a sometimes uncomfortable read but at the same time, you are compelled to keep reading. The author’s intention is partly to raise awareness of the dreadful situation in war torn Syria and she certainly succeeds in doing this. The book deals with the main characters’ deep love for their country, their love for their mostly dead families and their love for each other. Their faith plays a big part too.

.I want to give no spoilers but the book is so evocative describing from the heart, a world so different from our own world, a world where there are lemons. The lemon is very symbolic in the book. The characters, even the minor ones are well depicted, some are based on actual people. Salama, is the main character. She is still a very young girl and works in a hospital as a doctor despite just having pharmacy qualifications. She deals with death every day.

Bit by bit, we learn that in her imagination, she sees people who are not in fact there. She has imagined Khawf to keep her mind on the fact that deep down she knows she has to leave Syria but she lives every day with fear, extreme hunger and loss. However, there is hope in the book as well as loss. If you read this story, you will really understand why people risk their lives on fishing boats taking them to the hope of a better life in a country where they are not always welcome, a country so different from their own beloved country.

I now know much more about Syria, its people, it’s politics and it’s history. An amazing story.

This is a remarkable, harrowing book. There were many times when I was afraid to turn the page for fear of what was to come, especially in relation to Salama's brother. Her fears about his fate, her wishing him killed rather than held captive and tortured, matched the horrors she was confronted with daily.

All the news coverage in the world cannot portray the Syrian situation as powerfully as this novel. Salama, just 18 years old, is working in a hospital in the most horrific circumstances. She should have a wonderful life ahead of her, but instead is working unqualified as a doctor and watching over children as they die, The effects on both her body and her mind are profound and her hallucinations as real as her physical life.

At the end there is hope, and this is the one aspect of the novel that I find difficult to go along with, knowing that the same situations as described here are being played out in many parts of the world as I write this review. Overall, though, marvelously written, deeply moving, a story which will stay with me.