As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow: The breathtaking story of love and loss in the Syrian revolution

The descriptions of life during the revolution or civil war in Syria are unforgiving and really make clear how you can leave life ina place you love when the ravages of war and fighting impact heavily on every moment of your days. It is told by an 18 year old girl with PTSD. The grim nature of her life, serving in a hospital, is countered by memories of what her home town and teenage life was like before the conflict. A must-read, it also has a devastating plot twist and a passionate romance.

Brilliant book. Doesn't pull any punches over the horrors of living in a war zone, but always in a sensitive and human way. Great characters and very clever plot twists.

A young pharmacy student finds herself catapulted to the frontline of working in a hospital in war torn Homs - a city under siege. It's a love-letter to Syria and a story of the possibility of finding love and happiness again amongst the ruins of a life.

Brutal and honest about the destruction and trauma of a war brought on by a government acting against its own people, it's a powerful and important book but perhaps not the most enjoyable in terms of style.

While we were glad to have read this book, we didn’t exactly enjoy it. It’s not really a book to be enjoyed, mainly because of its subject matter, but we also didn’t care for the writing style. The central romance was, in places, handled in a rather clunky way but overall it was very readable.
We hadn’t initially realised that the book was for a young adult audience, but some plot points and bits of the prose then seemed to make more sense once we did realise. The love story was very light and definitely appropriate for a teenage reader.
We liked that the author deliberately didn’t take sides in the conflict portrayed in the book and didn’t explain the backstory to the war.
Although we understood the necessity of the main character being forced into becoming a doctor sooner than she was ready for, we thought the depth of her medical knowledge compared to her age seemed incongruous.
The plight of refugees making the journey to Europe is very topical and this book served to give us as readers a fuller, more human insight into the situation. We were forced to confront the fact that some refugees would prefer to risk drowning instead of staying and facing the possibility of snipers and chemical attacks. The book gives a good introduction to the war in Syria if readers want to continue on and learn more. We thought that the author had definitely done her research but the depictions of the trauma suffered felt distant, as if not written from a survivor’s perspective.
The title gave absolutely nothing away – we had no idea of what was waiting for us within the pages of this book! We didn’t know about the connection between Syria and lemon trees so perhaps that would have given us a clue!

This is one of many recent books which present stories from war-torn Syria and the desperate attempts of its citizens to flee. For all the anguish and harrowing content (and this novel does go to some dark places), I really enjoyed it and was moved by it. The debut novel of Canadian Zoulfa Katouh, it places you there amongst the wreckage of a ruined city as the threat of annihilation looms large for the remaining population and the channel of escape gets narrower and narrower.

One of my favourite moments is when the main characters finds a kind of escape as she plans a graphic novel with the guy she has just met and is quickly falling for. I was left really wanting to read stories in that imagined world, but it also served as a poignant reminder of all the joy, creativity and life which are jeopardised where oppression stamps down its steel-toed boots.

There is a couple of narrative devices which are leaned on a bit too heavily to explore the trauma that plagues Salama and the impossible choice she grapples with: either to abandon her home nation or to forsake any hope of life and happiness. It's a clunky way to grapple with these ideas, but it just about works to convey the crushing weight upon her shoulders. You'll know it when you see it.

All in all, I would recommend, just maybe not if you are looking for a light read.

This is a wonderful young adult fiction story. It’s got all the hallmarks of a book teenagers and adults will love. Set in Syria, the background is about conflict, and the characters are faced with decisions and young love. Highly recommend.

A romantic saga set in the throes of war torn Syria.
A modern tale of love, hope and loss.
For a book meant for young adults I think it reaches a wider audience and with the added bonus of a twist towards the end which blows you away totally.
It is worth a read.
A wonderful novel.

Although I managed to finish it, I found this book to be rather slow and repetitive. It is a little wordy and has lots of inferences to PTSD which I found quite difficult. Not for me sadly.

Ark Academy received copies of this book from the publisher. This beautiful story pulls you in with the incredible character of Salama. Following her journey throughout the book is both joyous and heart breaking. The craft of the writer shines through, and the resilience of the characters serves as a symbol for the strength of the Syrian people.

Our Hythe Book Group received copies of this from the publishers

Yvonne introduced As long as the lemon trees grow the debut novel by young Canadian/Syrian author Zoulfa Katouh

A graphic, harrowing authentic feeling account of the siege of Homs and the events leading up to this massacre.

Was aware that this had been marketed by publishers as a YA book but felt many teenagers would find it very distressing and wondered if they would have persevered with what at times were fairly lengthy and repetitive chapters.

A love letter to Syria with a message of hope.

Some diversion of views on the ending - was it a happy escape to new lives in Germany and Canada or did they indeed drown in the sea and the ending was Salama’s dreams and hopes in some kind of hallucination?

Interesting use of various devices - such as Khawf (meaning fear) to represent her nightmares and PTSD and a personification of her fear.

Felt it was so similar to the documentary film what was made I felt the author had seen that and copied it? I would stock it in a 6th form library. An important story to be told - have we all forgotten Syria now with events in Ukriane having somewhat overtaken the horror that are still daily ensuing there?

A poetic book beautiful in its descriptions. Didn't expect the twist that Layla was a figment of her imagination.

Loved and saddened by the book

Recommendation to watch the classic film “Under the wire”
(available on Prime ) about journalist Marie Colvin and Paul Conroy

Scores from 6 to 9 with a total of 79 averaging 7.9

When the revolution in Syria started Salama was living in Homs surrounded by a loving family and studying pharmacy at University. Now she is volunteering at the local hospital and contending daily with the horrors of war, not only from the constant stream of wounded and dying who arrive at the hospital but also from the brutal military attacks on her neighbourhood. Her parents and brother have all disappeared or died and she is desperate to leave the country with her pregnant sister-in-law before she gives birth. But part of her still remains loyal to her country and she has constant internal moral debates about the rights and wrongs of every decision she makes. When she crosses paths with a boy that her parents had arranged for her to meet before war broke out, things become even more complicated.

This is a brutal, yet probably realistic portrayal of living life in a war zone and it is a frightening reality. The details of Syria’s recent and troubled history are both interesting and informative and the characters are well developed and seem very real This is the author’s debut novel and I think it was an ambitious project which had a lot of plus points.

However, I’m afraid that I found it a little dull in places and there was too much repetition, making the book drag. It is rather too gory for me, with the atrocities of war being described in minute detail. I also had trouble fully understanding the moral dilemmas that Salama was tossing back and forth in her attempts to make a decision about leaving or staying – somehow they didn’t quite make sense to me. Finally, the book is specifically targeted at a Young Adult audience but I’m very unsure exactly what it is about the book that makes it a suitable for a YA readership – maybe just the fact that the main character (Salama) is 18 years old?

I’m not sure I can whole-heartedly recommend this book as it was a little too slow.

I did not manage to engage with this book, or to finish it. I was really interested in the setting – Homs in Syria just after the 2015 revolution. However, the plot and characters did not draw me in.