Review - The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

 

 

Title: The Henna Wars

Author: Adiba Jaigirdar

Pages: 400

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Release Date: 7th January 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Nishat and Flávia are rivals at school, but Nishat can't help the secret crush burning in her heart - even though her parents disapprove of the fact she likes girls. Can she possibly find her happy ever after? A gorgeous, heart-warming, queer YA love story for fans of Becky Albertalli.

When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants - as long as she isn't herself. Because Muslim girls aren't lesbians. Nishat doesn't want to lose her family, but she also doesn't want to hide who she is, which only gets harder once Flávia walks into her life.

Beautiful and charismatic, Flávia takes Nishat's breath away. But as their lives become tangled, they're caught up in a rivalry that gets in the way of any feelings they might have for each other.

Can Nishat find a way to be true to herself... and find love too?

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My Review:

- Trigger Warnings: racism, being outed, bullying and cultural appropriation -

- Contains minor spoilers -

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Hachette Children's Group and NetGalley*

Bengali teenager Nishat loves her family, but she is keeping a secret from them.

When Flávia, a girl from Nishat's past, reappears in Nishat's life she finds herself falling for Flávia instantly.

Then their school announces a business competition. Nishat and Flávia both decide to start henna businesses and things become strained between the two of them.

How far is Nishat willing to go to beat Flávia?

Will anything come of Nishat's crush?

Can Nishat's family accept her for who she truly is?

I had been looking forward to reading this book ever since I first heard about it - despite contemporary novels not being my favourite genre - as it sounded like an enjoyable and unique read.

Nishat was a likeable and relatable protagonist, but I did find her a little frustrating at times. I could understand why Nishat was so upset with Flávia and I felt sorry for her, especially with the way Nishat was treated by some of the people at her school.

My favourite thing about the novel was Nishat's relationship with her younger sister, Priti. They were very close and supportive of each other.

I found the plot enjoyable to begin with, but after a while it became a little repetitive and my interest waned. I also wasn't particularly surprised by anything that happened.

I thought the topics of racism and cultural appropriation were handled well and the novel did make me think a lot more about cultural appropriation.

I really liked the diversity, especially that the main character was non-white and a lesbian.

The romance wasn't one of my favourites but it was quite sweet at times.

The writing style was easy to follow but failed to hold my attention for the entire book.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more, but I think this was an occasion where the book didn't quite reach its potential for me. However, I can see other people enjoying this more.

Overall, this was a mixed read.