A review by flameoflareon
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

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, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

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.