My Accidental Jihad // Sierra's Book Reviews

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Genre: Memoir/Biography 
Rating: 4/5 stars (see more on GoodReads)
Summary: Fifteen years ago, Krista Bremer was a surfer and an aspiring journalist who dreamed of a comfortable American life of adventure, romance, and opportunity. Then, on a running trail in North Carolina, she met Ismail, sincere, passionate, kind, yet from a very different world. Raised a Muslim—one of eight siblings born in an impoverished fishing village in Libya—his faith informed his life. When she and Ismail made the decision to become a family, Krista embarked on a journey she never could have imagined, an accidental jihad: a quest for spiritual and intellectual growth that would open her mind, and more important, her heart.

I am on a reading kick. I can't seem to stop reading and it's been awesome. I am at the point of my life where I can open a book and read to "escape" and sometimes, that's exactly what I need. This novel, for me, was a quick read. I opened this book and was instantly involved. Krista's story is so unique and special, I had to keep reading to find out what she did to cope with her Libyan husband's roots. My favorite aspect about this book was the romantic, honest prose that it was written in. I think Krista did a wonderful job conveying the hardships of marriage, in general, which is something that many of us can relate to. To add onto that, though, I think that she was brutally honest, which I enjoyed (probably because I am a brutally honest person! Ha!). Her transition could not have been easy, trying to deal with all of the cultural differences, and that was fascinating to read about. Yes, she was a bit whiny, but I think that I would probably be whining too, in that situation! :) 

One thing that I did not love about the book was the lack of explanation with Ismail, her husband. I felt that she did not convey the growth of their relationship from the beginning very well. I feel like she just threw in some information so that she could talk about her experiences while in Libya. I wanted to know more about their relationship. I think it was interesting that title of the book says "A Love Story" because I felt a majority of the novel was her experience dealing with his Libyan family and friends more than their relationship, if that makes sense. 

Overall, I enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it to someone who wants a quick, interesting memoir. It was definitely interesting! 

Favorite Quotes: 

+Love like an anvil had cracked my locked heart open and unleashed an excruciating flow of tenderness

+I would not find happiness in status or possessions. Every breath takes you one breath closer to your final destination. This body I cherished and adorned was just a temporary home for my spirit, which would one day fly away like a bird released from its cage.

Other Book Reviews: A Man Called Ove // Go Set a Watchman // These Is My Words //  Intuitive Eating // Happier at Home // Happiness Project // Wild // Elizabeth Smart: My Story // Daring Greatly // A Man Called Ove