Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

203 reviews

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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purplevibes123's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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lynxaluchs's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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olive_ia's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25


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windermerepeak1's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Pretty enjoyable overall! Nishat and Flávia are very very cute. Nishat is a great MC even though
she seems to really take her supposed best friends for granted? What’s up with that😭 other than towards the very end does it seem like this girl care about her friends among the other people in her life which I thought it was wild even with everything she was going through.
. Still I love the Bengali + Brazilian rep in this book and the very much real disappointment that comes when ppl aren’t initially accepting of who you are (and how they might surprise you with love later on💙)

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bookswtheo's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kylosten's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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paili's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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dhiyanah's review

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challenging funny hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

After thoroughly enjoying 'Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating,' I was excited to check out more works by this author. The writing and characters didn't disappoint. The plot structure felt so keyed in to the emotional tension of the main character that I often felt stressed for Nishat.

Adiba Jaigirdar has a way of affirming, in her writing, the unique struggles of growing up within South Asian diasporas, weaving it with her experiences within the Irish immigrant context. I thought at first that I wouldn't feel connected to the latter since Ireland feels so far away from me and my reality here in the global south, but she writes in a way that makes space for familiar challenges and the life-affirming possibilities so many of us in the global diaspora dream up in our free time just to get by. The ending was an adorably soft landing and I appreciate how hopeful that felt.

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filipacmiranda's review against another edition

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2.5

I enjoyed the plot, found the characters likeable and wanted them to succeed. Despite this, the story fell short regarding cultural representation and romance.

Being one of the first times I read a book with a Bengali main character, I expected The Henna Wars to contain much more detailed descriptions of the celebrations that were included in the plot and for Nishat and her family's cultural background to be one of the main focuses of the story. I was also very excited when I realised Flávia was Brazilian rather than Hispanic! Reading my native language (Portuguese) in a book written in another language was fantastic. However, Brazil has a vast and diverse culture that I would have liked to see reflected in the small moments Nishat shared with Flávia and her mother. 

The same is true for Nishat and Flávia's romantic relationship, which seems to grow unsteadily just to become suddenly official.

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