Review by Izesicle -- Followed my Star by AR Annahita

[Izesicle]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Followed my Star" by AR Annahita.]

---

1 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The title called it. I am rating this book 1 out of 4 stars.

Followed my Star is a nonfiction book which I would classify as persuasive writing or an opinion piece. The author spends 71 single-spaced pages talking about "the middle", by which, she means the happy medium or the middle ground. This is book 3 of a series of similar books. It can be read by itself.

The author, of Iranian birth, draws upon her experiences as an Iranian woman during her various travels to different countries to form strong opinions on a variety of topics. She argues that there is too much extremism in the world; hence, it is necessary for everyone to work towards the middle ground. While it is positive, this is not a significantly unique message and there are no attempts to provide practical examples or steps on how to achieve the middle ground. The book has an unclear structure, with chapters that have no specific topic, making the reader feel like they were randomly labelled. In terms of tone, the book reads like a long rambling rant about society. Sometimes, it tries to be balanced by offering different perspectives; however, most of the time it is dismissive, prone to generalizations, and name-calling. The weakest part of the book for me was the call to be in the middle which devolved into a call for everyone to become part of the middle class, because the rich and the poor classes are extremes.

Aside from the numerous digressions in the book, there are a lot of typos and grammar errors that could have been eliminated or minimized with thorough and multiple edits. Examples include excessive use of commas, fragments, run-on sentences, and mistakes in subject-verb agreement. There are multiple instances of using the word "aso" instead of "also", "portrait" instead of "portray" or "portrayed", and "freighting" instead of "frightening".

The lone star in my rating is because there were some topics in the book that sparkled for me. I liked the call for the middle way, moderation, or happy medium. I liked that the author shared that she had survived through trials then exhorted us to learn from history. My favourite parts include the discussion on humanism, giving back, and voting with your money in Chapter 14.

On the other hand, the middle way was painted as a utopia instead of a compromise. Therefore, with no practical steps given, I found it difficult to think of the type of reader who would appreciate this book. There are very strong opinions on diverse topics that a reader might agree on one, disagree vehemently on another, and get offended by yet another one. There is a lot of labelling, binary generalizations, and name-calling, such as saying that people are stupid, that Republicans are inhuman, and that the Law of Attraction is evil. She implies that homosexual people are imperfect, dismisses the Bible and the Quran as "an old book" in Chapter 4, and explains how she is pro-choice with a condition. I cringed at the part where the author says arranged marriages lead to regular marital rape.

This calls to mind a quote in the book that says, "Mostly people with their negative opinions have too much time on their hands to destroy other people's lives. It's not your life so it is not your business." This is a 71-page book of mostly negative opinions, which brings me to my next point: the hypocrisy in this book. If it were not an opinion piece, they would be called inconsistencies. In one breath, the author says she is not judgmental; in her next breath, she starts name-calling. In Chapter 3, she talks about not judging somebody by their countries then continues on to bash the American concept of freedom, the European measures of success, then she speaks for Canadians. Because of all these, it was difficult for me to be receptive to her opinions, much less to finish the book. I would not recommend this book or invite readers to follow this star.

******
Followed my Star
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Izesicle's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

Sounds like this book could use some serious editing. And the part about everyone being I the middle class sounds communistic! Thanks for the comprehensive review.

[Donatelloo]

I should better not waste time on reading it .
Thank you for your honest review

[juliusotinyo]

Amongst the first books i read. It really had poor editing. I agree with your review.

[Izesicle]

Sounds like this book could use some serious editing. And the part about everyone being I the middle class sounds communistic! Thanks for the comprehensive review.

yes, it does sound like a communist, which doesn't make it a happy medium. Thanks for the visit. :)

[March Reviewer]

Izesicle, you explained the book well.

[Manang Muyang]

Hi, Izesicle! It seems this star will not find many followers. I admire your candidness. I hope your next pick will be a better fit for you.

[Jeremie Mondejar]

Oh, so sad with the book. I really like the title, it made me interested to read it but the content is not so good. I can't enjoy reading a book like that. Thanks for your review.

[Izesicle]

I should better not waste time on reading it .
Thank you for your honest review

yeah, it was such a stressful read for me. Thank you for passing by.

[Rosemary Okoko]

I agree with you on this one. I gave it 1 star. It's the most controversial book I have ever reviewed.

[Izesicle]

Amongst the first books i read. It really had poor editing. I agree with your review.

Thanks for stopping by. Good thing that book did not deter you from trying other books here. :D

-- 22 Aug 2017, 10:59 --

Izesicle, you explained the book well.

thanks! I did my best, given the lack of cohesion

-- 24 Aug 2017, 03:49 --

Hi, Izesicle! It seems this star will not find many followers. I admire your candidness. I hope your next pick will be a better fit for you.

i like the pun. :D My next choices are much better. Thank you for stopping by.

[Aubrey Lewis]

Nice review! You raised up a lot of points that I myself couldn't do. I agree with some of your opinions, though!

[Cyril Stephano Lissu]

It is a comprehensive review. I reviewed the book and rated it 2 out of 4 star. I learnt a lot from your review. Great job!

[Izesicle]

Oh, so sad with the book. I really like the title, it made me interested to read it but the content is not so good. I can't enjoy reading a book like that. Thanks for your review.

The title is definitely misleading. The only way i could connect it to the book is to think to myself that because she followed her * she has her own opinions and those opinions are in this book.

-- 28 Aug 2017, 01:49 --

I agree with you on this one. I gave it 1 star. It's the most controversial book I have ever reviewed.

It is definitely controversial. I had to keep picking my jaw from the floor.

-- 04 Sep 2017, 04:30 --

Nice review! You raised up a lot of points that I myself couldn't do. I agree with some of your opinions, though!

thank you! Gorgeous profile pic.
Well, everyone is free to express their opinions but sometimes it is difficult to read and be open to those that are not presented very well.

-- 05 Sep 2017, 11:07 --

It is a comprehensive review. I reviewed the book and rated it 2 out of 4 star. I learnt a lot from your review. Great job!

thank you, Cyril. I learned from your review as well. This is a great benefit from this community.