A review by aditidxy
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

that was such a letdown 

i was so excited to see bengali culture represented in media but there were just so many problems that bothered me sm that i couldn't even enjoy it..
i read another review that explained it better but like flavia not understanding cultural appropriation felt weird and unrealistic but what was worse was that she profited off of nishat's culture and the whole issue got swept under the rug?? there r just so many problems between flavia and nishat in general that never get solved/discussed or even brought up, ntm nishat getting outed and her little sister defending that person was so weird and there wasn't enough conflict there
also i just hated the almost-'not like other girls'-but-not-enough-to-commit thing nishat was doing the whole time.. plus the writing kinda made me cringe 
idk it was nice to see myself represented (sort of) but for the most part i was just irritated..