Review of Just me

[nini_reads]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Just me" by Talleb Omar.]

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2 out of 5 stars

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In Just Me, Talleb Omar writes about his experiences after leaving for Palestine as a child. Born in 1983 in Ohio, Talleb Omar was the son of a Christian American mother and a Muslim Palestinian father. Under the guise of a vacation to visit their grandmother, the father brought young Talleb Omar and his brother to Palestine. Briefly after their arrival, the siblings’ grandmother passed away, and what was supposed to be just a summer vacation turned into years spent in Palestine and Jerusalem. Suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar setting without knowledge of the language or local customs, Talleb Omar felt out of place. At school, he was a stranger who didn’t understand Arabic. The relationship with his father was complicated. A few years later, the young teenager still didn’t feel like he belonged. He felt empty. So, he planned to leave and started an illegal side hustle for quick cash. After coming to Jerusalem, things changed for the better. He started working at a small store, and the owner inadvertently adopted him into his family. Talleb Omar finally felt at home, like he belonged. The following years were good, bad, and everything in between—years that would change his future.

Talleb Omar shares deeply private moments in this book. Especially his early childhood memories left a lasting impression on me. The author shamelessly described how he felt when he first came to Palestine. Without his mother and forced to live in unfamiliar surroundings, he felt scared and out of place. Feelings like these shaped his years as a teenager. Almost every chapter in this book ends with a paragraph titled “Reflection.” These sections fit well into the storyline and the author did a good job explaining how certain actions and people impacted his life. While not every reader might understand the decisions he made in his teenage years, Talleb Omar’s story could still be a light of hope for people in similar situations.

Unfortunately, the book gave me the impression of being a first, unedited draft. I found some inconsistencies regarding the chapter numbers and several errors that distracted me from the story. Additionally, the storyline oftentimes felt repetitive. As stated in the book, the author used AI for editing. I’m not sure how much AI influenced the writing, but I think an in-depth revision by a professional editor would have been beneficial for this book.

To conclude, I rate Just Me with 2 out of 5 stars. I appreciate Talleb Omar for sharing such private memories with his readers and giving hope to people in similar situations. However, the book contained too many distracting errors that could have been easily avoided by more thorough editing. Just Me is best suited for adults interested in reading a memoir about a young man with an impactful childhood and adolescence.

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Just me
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[Asmae boujdi]

I'm fascinated by the way you described your experience reading this book.
The review is captivating at the beginning, it's one of those reviews that gives you the desire to read a book just by looking at its reviews.

To be honest, I was genuinely happy that you saved my time from reading this book. Thanks to your detailed explanation I won't read another book that will distract me by its errors. It will be the only thing that I will notice, specially when I read for amusement purposes and not duty purposes.

Thank you.