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xovonniexo's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, and Gaslighting
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Really enjoyed it. This made me tear up a little towards the end a few times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Death, Grief, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Car accident, Bullying, Child death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
stephanielee's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Such a great book. Check the content warnings but I loved how the author pulled on real life events (names, locations, etc were changed) to really pull you in to how this is happening now. Still. Every day for black, brown and Indigenous folx.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Racism, Hate crime, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Misogyny
Minor: Car accident and War
clawclawclaw's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Hate crime, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Kidnapping
lawbooks600's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Representation: Asian main characters, side Black characters
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Well. I remember this book circling my recommendations for a while then I added it and not much time afterward I finally picked it up and read it. When I finished it I felt like there was a lot to unpack here and I must say the novel is well executed most of the time but it can sometimes get disjointed with all the multiple POVs though I do understand the need for that. Before the story starts there is a glossary of the terms the novel will use; in fact I never knew alternative facts existed but now I know. Now then. It starts with the main character Safiya Mirza or Safiya for short and off the bat she tells me she essentially goes to a school of woke-washing virtue signallers and also she's a journalist.
Here is the other significant part, there's another character who recycled some materials to make a jetpack for a makerspace program or something along those lines but his English teacher accused him of having a bomb which implies a racial bias according to Safiya. Well when I think about that it makes sense in a way but anyone could've done that, also people talk about races a lot here. He was arrested and suspended but later released and all that only took place within the opening pages, I know that seems like a fast-paced beginning, and it is though I must admit after that this is a much slower paced crime novel than what I'm used to. At least it picks up steam toward the end. Someone hacked Safiya's website and she deduces that based on the name Ghost Skin and those quotes from a fascist manifesto the culprit is a white nationalist/supremacist but I don't know who is that person. Later on the other character gets kidnapped and killed out of racism but here's the thing, the book told me there was a guy called Nate who after going on some extremist websites and channels he became a racist and since the killing is racially motivated he must've done it.
I spend the next 200 pages watching Safiya figure out who is the killer after seeing the body with some flashbacks and flashforwards from the other character interspersed, when I read this part I felt a little tension which built towards the last few pages. There was a plot twist I didn't see coming since there was another character called Richard who also had involvement in the killing (I never expected that considering I've never heard of this person up until that point) and Safiya's testimony that their race (white) and privilege didn't save them but somehow they got the nicest prison was chilling. One of them captained two sports teams and held a record. They had mansions. The revelation shocked everyone and some even denied this claim despite the evidence. Wow. At least she got a little solace when the jig was up. Still, she believes there's more work to do to ensure this never happens again.
P.S. Technically the novel is non-linear? It jumps from time to time sometimes.
P.P.S. It's slightly outdated since it mentions Twitter and not X but I can forgive that since it was set before the change. That cameo was a little amusing.
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Well. I remember this book circling my recommendations for a while then I added it and not much time afterward I finally picked it up and read it. When I finished it I felt like there was a lot to unpack here and I must say the novel is well executed most of the time but it can sometimes get disjointed with all the multiple POVs though I do understand the need for that. Before the story starts there is a glossary of the terms the novel will use; in fact I never knew alternative facts existed but now I know. Now then. It starts with the main character Safiya Mirza or Safiya for short and off the bat she tells me she essentially goes to a school of woke-washing virtue signallers and also she's a journalist.
Here is the other significant part, there's another character who recycled some materials to make a jetpack for a makerspace program or something along those lines but his English teacher accused him of having a bomb which implies a racial bias according to Safiya. Well when I think about that it makes sense in a way but anyone could've done that, also people talk about races a lot here. He was arrested and suspended but later released and all that only took place within the opening pages, I know that seems like a fast-paced beginning, and it is though I must admit after that this is a much slower paced crime novel than what I'm used to. At least it picks up steam toward the end. Someone hacked Safiya's website and she deduces that based on the name Ghost Skin and those quotes from a fascist manifesto the culprit is a white nationalist/supremacist but I don't know who is that person. Later on the other character gets kidnapped and killed out of racism but here's the thing, the book told me there was a guy called Nate who after going on some extremist websites and channels he became a racist and since the killing is racially motivated he must've done it.
I spend the next 200 pages watching Safiya figure out who is the killer after seeing the body with some flashbacks and flashforwards from the other character interspersed, when I read this part I felt a little tension which built towards the last few pages. There was a plot twist I didn't see coming since there was another character called Richard who also had involvement in the killing (I never expected that considering I've never heard of this person up until that point) and Safiya's testimony that their race (white) and privilege didn't save them but somehow they got the nicest prison was chilling. One of them captained two sports teams and held a record. They had mansions. The revelation shocked everyone and some even denied this claim despite the evidence. Wow. At least she got a little solace when the jig was up. Still, she believes there's more work to do to ensure this never happens again.
P.S. Technically the novel is non-linear? It jumps from time to time sometimes.
P.P.S. It's slightly outdated since it mentions Twitter and not X but I can forgive that since it was set before the change. That cameo was a little amusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Racial slurs, Death, Bullying, Kidnapping, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Vomit, and Antisemitism
Minor: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail
Full trigger warnings: Bullying, racist and sexist slurs, white supremacy, death of a child and another loved one, kidnapping, grief, loss and blood depiction, car crash, near-death experience, antisemitism, imprisonment, physical injury, terrorism, emesisweatherd's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Antisemitism
warlocksarecool21's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hollow Fires was a riveting and profound story about community and justice in the face of an unspeakable tragedy. I thought the format of this story was so interesting since it combined typical narration with articles, phone calls and video transcripts. I also thought the dual pov between Safiya and Jawad was well-done. We got to find out how Jawad’s past intertwined with Safiya’s and allowed readers to gain insight into what happened to Jawad while Safiya investigated. I thought Safiya was a good main character and I enjoyed her determination and sense of justice. I kind of guessed who killed Jawad (an ironic prediction turned out to be true 😭) but I was engaged in finding out how they would be revealed. The resolution of the mystery felt a little quick to me, but I think the overall plot was well-written. This is a powerful story about how fear and hatred can infest a country, and how the strength and resolve of a community can overcome it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Xenophobia, Murder, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Violence and Racial slurs
Minor: Kidnapping
corriejn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
YA novel about a teen in Chicago dealing with racist and Islamophobic incidents in her community. A bit true crime/mystery, a bit of teen romance, peer drama, struggles at school, etc., and lots of contextualizing situations within both real and fictionalized events in the rise of open right wing and xenophobic sentiments in the U.S. and social media. Some points made a bit "on the nose" but didn't feel too out of place for the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Classism, Xenophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Stalking, Police brutality, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, and Drug use
library_kb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This YA thriller/mystery was a slower start for me, but I finished the last 50% in one sitting. It is a hard story to read because you can see how each and every part of it could happen in real life--and every bit of it is so tragic, the way that racism and Islamophobia shows up in large ways and in everyday dismissals of real concerns. So much of it can be connected to current events that it is hard to believe that it has been in production since 2019, which makes it even more tragic that it feels so familiar rather than a story tied to a specific time period. Highly recommend for 8th grade and up as long as students are prepared to confront the tough topics inside.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Murder, Islamophobia, and Racism
Minor: Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
bookaddictlt's review
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Violence