Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

La guerra de la henna by Adiba Jaigirdar

51 reviews

sonia_'s review against another edition

emotional lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Such a great book! After reading Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating I loved it so much I went to go see what other books Adiba Jaigirdar had written, and I am so glad I did. The Henna Wars is a academic rivals to lovers young adult wlw romance that deals with many heavy subjects such as: racism, outing, homophobia (specifically lesbophobia), bullying, and religious bigotry; despite the subject matter, it still managed to stay relatively lighthearted. As a lesbian in a religious household, Nishat's story hit me really hard, it is first time I've seen a accurate portrayal of  "new-age" religious homophobia (not outright hatred, but the idea of "hate the sin love the sinner") , and I think that this gives this story a more realistic feel. I absolutely love the Bengali culture that was shown in this book, as well as the discussions of cultural appropriation. I think that diversity in literature is a super important thing, and as a white woman I don't think that I would have learned this much about Bengali culture if not for Adiba Jaigirdar's books. 

I highly recommend reading this book, it's a pretty quick read and if you have a afternoon to spare there's no excuse not to read it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Racism and Cultural appropriation

justreaditem's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative sad tense 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

3.0

This book definitely brought the information surrounding henna and where it comes from. Nishat loves art, and it really shows throughout the book. You could really feel how hurt she was that her family were ashamed of her sexuality. Considering she is Bengali, but also Irish, you’d think that her family would be a little bit more accepting. Flavia comes across as a really selfish person. I wasn’t really a fan of her throughout the book but I did like that she was pushing Nishat out of her comfort zone. 

I really liked the element of culture appropriation that was threaded throughout the book. I think it brought a simple realness and honesty to the story. It’s so easy to take elements of a culture that you like and just use them as you wish. But without understanding and respecting where it comes from, it can cause a lot of pain and make life even more difficult for those from that culture.

The end was sweet and I like how it wrapped up. I can’t wait for the author’s next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Islamophobia

deideo's review against another edition

emotional tense 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Cultural appropriation

sammyreadsshit's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry

nelibarbareli's review against another edition

emotional informative tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

Pretty fast past paced, talks on important topics, but I was a bit disappointed by the love interest's arc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Cultural appropriation

mariethem1lf'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Gaslighting

rubydagger's review against another edition

funny inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, and Xenophobia

nothingrhymeswithrachel's review against another edition

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun twist on the enemies to lovers trope, and I like that  

neither one of the henna shops won the competition. That was a good way to end that part of the story line, and honestly neither of them deserved it anyway lol.

Obviously there are a lot of situations that could have been solved by literally just talking to each other but it’s supposed to be high school and no one knows how to communicate in high school. A great read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Outing, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Biphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

flameoflareon's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense 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

5.0

An ultimately hopeful story that touches not only romance, but family, friendship, culture, and religion. I loved the protagonist, and this story puts her through the ringer in so many ways that left me sad and angry and tense. Each character feels like a real person caught up in their own stuff. There are a few plotholes, but these are made up for by the cute story, the classic school drama plots and tropes used, and the loving ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Outing

The main character is

very publicly outed to her entire school

. This is after her family

tries to convince her to stop being lesbian because it's "shameful"

. She is regularly bullied for being South Asian and lesbian with both macroaggressions and microaggressions.

School administration never stops or prevents this

. There are cute, fluffy parts, but it's not a fluff book.

grace05's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Hate crime