Review of "Broken Tether"

[Michael Jerry_]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of ""Broken Tether"" by Linda Clifford.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Linda Clifford is an author with a degree in Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Project Management. Broken Tether is Linda’s first novel, and I think it is almost perfect. She wrote manuals for 20 years during the early stages of the computer boom and is now retired. She used her 20 years of writing experience to craft a heartwarming story that gives hope and also reveals the dark reality that some women call life. Linda’s Broken Tether revolves around a group of Muslim women who seek a better life for their children.

Fahima is the mother of Ghulam and Roya. She is among the few women from her small village in Afghanistan who received a quality education. Unfortunately, the Taliban has taken control of most of their country, so Fahima is forced to quit her job and move back to her village. But tension is rising, and the conflict between the local militia and the Taliban is getting worse. The village is no longer safe, and the women can tell. Their husbands have all left to fight their holy war, so these faithful Muslim women must find a way to protect their children from the surrounding violence. Fahima has a plan, but if it doesn’t work, it may cost them their lives.

It is amazing how good Linda’s first book turned out to be. She used very simple words and avoided unnecessary details, which resulted in a short book with just under 200 pages. The characters were vibrant, and each chapter was from the perspective of a different character. This added a layer of sophistication to the plot, and it gave me the privilege of knowing how each character felt about their situation or about one another. Also, I’m not very good with other languages, so it was nice to see that the whole book was in English.

I didn’t like how short this book was. I would have preferred if it was longer and a bit more eventful. The book also lacked suspense. I couldn’t feel the urgency of the situation. Even when some Taliban fighters confronted the group of women and their children, it still didn’t feel like their lives were in danger. Another issue I had was with the names of the characters. The names weren’t conventional names, which is expected, but I had a lot of trouble keeping up with the unconventional names of all the characters.

Overall, this was a book I enjoyed. However, because of the issues I encountered while reading it, I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t rate it lower because I believe that the more people read stories like the one in this book, the more aware we will be of the issues women in third-world countries face daily. I believe this book received exceptional editing from a professional. I recommend this book to adults over the age of 18 who are interested in stories about feminism or women supporting women. Human rights activists may also enjoy reading about how the women in this book went against all odds to exercise their rights.

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"Broken Tether"
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[Kelyn]

Although I love books with strong female leads, like Fahima, the lack of engagement discourages me from reading it. Thanks for the warning. Great review!

[Mildred Echesa]

I love this book and I guess it depicts the events that occurred in Afghanistan about a year ago

[Blessing Odii]

I love the fact that this story is from the author's life experiences. Nice job.

[Aisha Yakub]

I like that she tries to inspire people with this read, and amazingly, it is her first novel. Thank you for the review.

[Mbenma Esther 080]

I enjoyed reading every bit of this review. This is a work well done by the author. Thanks for the review.

[Ndagire Hassifah]

I really like reading inspiring books and mostly with strong females. Thanks for the amazing review.