A review by kait_sixcrowsbooks
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

Representation

• Irish Bangladeshi Muslim lesbian MC
• Afro-Brazilian LI
• Bangladeshi Muslim SCs
• Korean SC
• Other side characters of color

Just finished this today, and I really enjoyed it! I loved seeing Nishat’s character development, along with her mother’s, and while it wasn’t as light-hearted as I thought it was going to be going on, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was really interested in seeing how the author would develop Nishat and Flavia’s relationship, and while I wish we could see a bit more of it, I was still left feeling satisfied.

However, I do wish that

Ali would have been reprimanded on-page for outing Nishat, like what the fuck.

I feel like we as readers missed out on that, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really take away from the story, it just could have added an extra layer. On top of that, I felt like the whole subplot with Chyna wasn’t really...all that wrapped up? But it felt like the story was trying to get me to think it was, if that makes sense. I just thought it left off kinda suddenly near the end, which meh.

But overall, outside of those couple of things, I really enjoyed the book, especially the sibling relationship between Nishat and her sister! Can’t wait to read her next book, which is coming out sometime in May this year!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Bullying, and Xenophobia

Note that Elliot Page is deadnamed and misgendered when mentioned throughout the book (it was published before he came out). The xenophobia also includes cultural appropriation (which is a huge topic throughout the book, just fyi).