Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - The Henna Wars

I’m so disappointed to say that I did not enjoy this book ANYWHERE NEAR as much as I did Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating. That book was genuinely sweet, but this one was painful to read because the protagonist is the most horrible, selfish person ever. The best part of the book, apart from the sisterly relationship, was how painful it is to see how her family rejects her coming out and chooses to deal with it by ignoring her, then learning why they feel that way and seeing hints that they are coming around. But both that and the awful racism she has faced does not mean that she should be so horrible insensitive to other people’s cultures. It’s downright hilarious that she gets so upset about her friends turning down her henna business idea and being offended by that when she hasn’t even read her Korean friend Chaewon’s previous idea about a business around her own culture.

The romance itself was just icky to me. How am I meant to ship Nishat and Flávia after all of the cultural appropriation. Granted, Flávia EVENTUALLY realised she was wrong but even after that she seems so manipulative at points. I don’t think I would have finished this if I had borrowed, rather than bought it.

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enbae's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Finally a beautiful book about young sapphics of colour <3. I laughed and smiled and nearly cried so much while reading it!

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loveisland's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? No

3.75

The best parts of this are the family dynamics and sibling relationship. Romance is like second on the list to that.

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moonchildshine's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Such a satisfying read! Adiba never fail to make me hooked on her book. A poc lesbian as the main character is so intriguing already, but then she's a muslim too? I am sold. As a muslim lesbian myself, this book means a lot to me. Dealing with homophobia is never easy. Invalidation is every day struggle when you are a muslim. But Nishat, our main character here, also have to face a racism too.

The issues were hard to read because I can relate to almost all of it. The bits about the character being outed against their will was almost triggering for me, as I experienced the similar thing in my life and I know how hard and how traumatizing that thing is. But overall, Adiba wrote this books with light tone in Nishat's sarcastic pov. It helps because she's a strong-willed character so I feel like I can get through pass all of that horrendous experience that Nishat's been through. All in all, I love this book so much.

PS. I cried when Nishat's parents coming around. I wish my parents will come around too someday. I know it's just a wishful thinking, but a woman can only hope :") haha.

TW // racism, homophobia (lesbophobia specifically), character being out against their will, bullying.

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sydneybedell's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted 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

4.75

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lolad12's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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bendersreads's review against another edition

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challenging funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-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? Yes

4.25

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abby_shupe's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

From the beginning, the book starting with an amazing dedication, quote, and thoughtful trigger warnings my expectations for this book were sky high. The author does a great job of introducing and incorporating Bangali culture. Prithi and Nishat’s sisterly banter is so adorable, and had me wishing I was as close as my siblings with how nice their relationship is. The author refrains from using cringy gen-Z slang I see in all too many books nowadays but still maintains the relatable aspects of being a teen in the 21st century. I did find the main character to be annoying at times, with how selfish she was. But by the end of the book she has a slight character arc, I just wish I had the opportunity to see Nishat become the less selfish person she claims that she will become. I didn’t understand half of the book and it’s references because i’m not muslim, bengali, brazilian, in ireland or understanding the ireland school system, or speak portuguese & french so to say the least there were parts in the book I was lost but if you do have a connection to any of those-that’ll help. I still loved the cute, sapphic high school romance and even though I was sometimes a bit lost I still enjoyed this book.

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