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A review by katykelly
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
4.0
Cultural and sexual identity... in a family and school setting.
With shades of Heartstopper, this multi-racial queer love story set in Ireland covers a lot of ground.
NIshat is 17 and Bengali, she works hard at her Catholic school, has a close relationship with her sister Priti, and is about to come out to her parents. Their reaction, to try and ignore it and ask her to 'make a different choice', hurts.
While reeling from this, Nishat meets an old school friend Flavia, to whom she is instantly attracted. But soon also develops a rivalry with, as both girls decide to start henna businesses for their class competition. Nishat has been raised in a culture dedicated to such creations, Flavia has seen it done at a wedding. Nishat cannot let her win this.
Confusion over feelings, over culture, over identity results. Nishat herself comes across as self-absorbed and I became quite annoyed at her treatment of friends, her sister and others. Priti was much more likeable and grounded, a wonderful sibling relationship there when she manages to bring Nishat back to the real world. The love story is sweet, though nothing that hasn't been seen before, though with a mixture of racial backgrounds made visits to family homes and seeing their cultures intriguing.
I could see this on a screen, lots of good roles for friends and family, with bullies and contemporary issues to play out, it's also about coming out and standing up for yourself and for others.
For ages 13 and above.
With shades of Heartstopper, this multi-racial queer love story set in Ireland covers a lot of ground.
NIshat is 17 and Bengali, she works hard at her Catholic school, has a close relationship with her sister Priti, and is about to come out to her parents. Their reaction, to try and ignore it and ask her to 'make a different choice', hurts.
While reeling from this, Nishat meets an old school friend Flavia, to whom she is instantly attracted. But soon also develops a rivalry with, as both girls decide to start henna businesses for their class competition. Nishat has been raised in a culture dedicated to such creations, Flavia has seen it done at a wedding. Nishat cannot let her win this.
Confusion over feelings, over culture, over identity results. Nishat herself comes across as self-absorbed and I became quite annoyed at her treatment of friends, her sister and others. Priti was much more likeable and grounded, a wonderful sibling relationship there when she manages to bring Nishat back to the real world. The love story is sweet, though nothing that hasn't been seen before, though with a mixture of racial backgrounds made visits to family homes and seeing their cultures intriguing.
I could see this on a screen, lots of good roles for friends and family, with bullies and contemporary issues to play out, it's also about coming out and standing up for yourself and for others.
For ages 13 and above.