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hippiequeen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
A cute romance between queer Brown and Black girls living in Dublin. Sometimes I wished Flávia acted different, spoke up more for Nishat, but I guess every character has their own journey and that was hers. We really need more South Asian / South American lesbian/bisexual representation in young adult literature, so I recommend this book to whoever is into the genre. It also brings up considerations about cultural appropriation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, and Outing
radiodarkblue's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
"Maybe ... sometimes people don't see the things they do as wrong, but they can see the wrong in what other people do - especially if it's done to someone they care about," I say. "When it happens to someone else, it doesn't feel as important as when it happens to someone we love."
It took me so much time to get around this book and it's entirely my fault! I really blame myself because I would have loved it even more than I already do. I started this book in July 2021 ans finished it in August 2022,,, stupid reading slump!
I find it very powerful when YA novels such as The Henna Wars tackled important themes such as cultural appropriation, racism or homophobia. When you read Abida Jaigirdar's words you feel how much she loves her culture and it's such a pleasure to read. It's so important to have books like this one that focus on queer people of colour. Priti and Nishat's relationship was everything, I love reading sibling relationships so much and they gave everything! Also we love reading the word lesbian so many times, definitely one of the greatest lesbian representations <3
"I'm not ashamed of it. It's who I am. I am comfortable being a lesbian."
I want to add that once in this book they talk about Elliot Page before his coming out as the book was published before he came out, so it mentions his deadname.
It took me so much time to get around this book and it's entirely my fault! I really blame myself because I would have loved it even more than I already do. I started this book in July 2021 ans finished it in August 2022,,, stupid reading slump!
I find it very powerful when YA novels such as The Henna Wars tackled important themes such as cultural appropriation, racism or homophobia. When you read Abida Jaigirdar's words you feel how much she loves her culture and it's such a pleasure to read. It's so important to have books like this one that focus on queer people of colour. Priti and Nishat's relationship was everything, I love reading sibling relationships so much and they gave everything! Also we love reading the word lesbian so many times, definitely one of the greatest lesbian representations <3
"I'm not ashamed of it. It's who I am. I am comfortable being a lesbian."
I want to add that once in this book they talk about Elliot Page before his coming out as the book was published before he came out, so it mentions his deadname.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Deadnaming
maxsslurpee's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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? No
3.75
thought this was cute, but more stressful than I was expecting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Outing
queerghstbuster's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Outing
nobeliumreads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
3.5
I have a lot of thoughts on this book, although that’s not to say I didn’t like it. First and foremost I acknowledge that it is on me for not reading the content warnings because I went into this book thinking it’d be a lighthearted sapphic romance with a bit of friendly competition based on the premise. It is a lot more, a lot heavier than that.
So the premise seems to make this book about a school business competition, but it felt more like Nishat going through so much and getting flack and hate for it all, especially since most of it was not really her fault. I personally adored Nishat; I loved her pride and strength in her Bengali culture and lesbianism and whilst she faces challenges, she doesn’t let anything affect her confidence in her identity. It was so affirming and beautiful to see! A big part of my feelings on this book was because seeing her go through everything hurt a lot. Her parents, her sister, her friends, her love interest; all of them at one point (and some of them more than once) hurt her in a way that I could barely forgive despite their apologies.
Even with the romance, I just wasn’t feeling it in this book. I found the sisterly bond between Nishat and Priti way more compelling and heartfelt whereas the romance between Nishat and Flavia disappointed; it might have come too little too late, especially with how little I already liked Flavia after some of the stuff she said and did. I think if this had been a dual POV book with Flavia’s POV, I would have definitely liked her more because it felt like we barely knew her other than what Nishat thought of her (the girl from primary, her rival, etc. etc.) and though I wholeheartedly understand and can relate to the struggles Flavia goes through, I personally think that the things Chyna has done is something that couldn’t be overlooked or forgiven. I know they are family and it complicates matters, but it was so hard seeing Chyna treat Nishat the way she did and Flavia do (in my opinion) so little.
I do think we could have had a deeper discussion on the cultural appropriation part. I wholeheartedly agreed with Nishat throughout but she didn’t seem to explain or articulate her points well enough to get people to understand her point of view, which just led to some frustrating arguments.
I’m just too angry and frustrated over everything that happens to have truly enjoyed the book. Objectively, I think it’s a great book; I just wish we had delved deeper on some issues, possibly had Flavia’s POV, and maybe given Nishat a break because she did not get one throughout the entire story. Overall, though it was a bit hard, it's a good listen and the narrator was wonderful too. It is on me for not reading the CWs because I would definitely have been better prepared and ready for this if I had!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Islamophobia
ageckocalledachilles's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Cultural appropriation
malupastafrola's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Biphobia and Islamophobia
prrttyodd's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Toxic friendship
j0rj_xo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? N/A
4.0
LOVED the sister relationship between Nishat and Priti. This book beautifully weaved to intricate complexity’s of being queer and POC in one. So so happy it ended on a happy note, this romance definitely warmed my heart <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Outing, and Cultural appropriation
nightfell's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.25
I love this book it was so cute. I loved the sapphic south Asian rep and that the love interest was a dark skinned Brazilian girl.
Their relationship throughout was done so well, it was so soft and the author made it a point to demonstrate the important boundaries for ppl dating in the closet.
I loved the relationship between Nishat and Priti (sisters), and that it was a significant part of the book.
This would have been a 4.5 for me but I read it too slowly because of exams.
This is a great YA book that more people should read I highly recommend.
And I liked how Nishat wasn't ashamed of her culture despite the bullying and how she was adamant about her henna business, even though I doubted her at times.
Their relationship throughout was done so well, it was so soft and the author made it a point to demonstrate the important boundaries for ppl dating in the closet.
I loved the relationship between Nishat and Priti (sisters), and that it was a significant part of the book.
This would have been a 4.5 for me but I read it too slowly because of exams.
This is a great YA book that more people should read I highly recommend.
And I liked how Nishat wasn't ashamed of her culture despite the bullying and how she was adamant about her henna business, even though I doubted her at times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Outing