Henna Wars, The

This was such a beautiful book of exploration and discovery of one's identity. It is as sweet as it is fierce. It's like a lovely layered cake with family relationships, friendships, and rivalries. It is everything I want in a young adult novel. I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed any other YA novel this year. The love between Nishat and her younger sister Priti is so powerful. Despite all obstacles, they always have each others best interests and backs even when it means going against others in their family. It shows a beautiful culture that we don't see enough of in literature today. The only thing I would have liked it if they explained some of the phrases used in other languages. That was nothing Google couldn't help me figure out but would have been nice to have included it at times. Other than that I adored this book. It gave me diversity, relationships, and self-discovery.All is fair in love and war? Or is it? Nishat has come out to her Muslim family, and at first, it all seems to have gone well. That is until she overhears them talking one evening in hush tones, but her younger sister Priti assures her that they just need time and that she loves her no matter what. When a chance encounter with an old primary school friend, Flavia, changes the course of her year. She has to fight her feelings that grow with each encounter, and the discovery that Flavia is cousins with her worst enemy, Chyna. A school business project throws everything in the air, and questions everything she thought she knew. She has many hard decisions to make: stay in the closet to keep her family happy, or put aside the drama and pursue her feelings for Flavia.A truly beautiful book on discovering who you are. I had such an appreciation for Nishat and her strength. This book does contain racism, homophobia, bullyiing, and someone being outed

First thing, I would love to see The Henna Wars adapted into a graphic novel. I think it would translate across so, so beautifully!This was a really cute and heartwarming contemporary that highlighted so many topics like cultural appropriation, racism, sexuality, homophobia and religion. In saying this, it did feel like nothing was explored in great depth and some things felt unresolved.The rivalry between Nishat and Flavia as they compete against each other with their henna businesses was so fun to read and a really great storyline to open up the conversation about cultural appropriation.While the romance was very sweet, my favourite part of this book was the sister relationship between Nishat and Priti. They have their arguments but ultimately they're so supportive and loving towards one another. Can Priti please get a book of her own?

I don’t think I have the words to do this story justice but I must say that this story and these relatable and endearing characters have touched my heart and made me smile during this really dark period in my life. The bond between Nishat and her sister is so precious and I couldn’t get enough of their witty banter. Plus, the pull and tug of attraction between Flavia and Nishat was undeniable and I watching them fall in love. I can’t wait to read another book by this wonderful author!

Very easy to read, great for teens and youths, I read it for a book club when we wanted something easy and loved it. Def recommend for teens and anyone interested in queer books written by and about people of color.

Such a good book! Totally recommend!

• 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 •𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: The Henna Wars𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Adiba Jaigirdar𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ☆☆☆☆ 4/5This book has a trigger warning, make sure you check that out before reading. This is one of the books I wanted to read for Pride month and I am so glad that I did. It also is one of the first F/F books I’ve read. It is just such a heartwarming and cute story whilst also talking about so many important topics and serious issues. That’s why I also feel like I learned a lot from this book. The book very easy to read and it was paced really well. The characters felt real and super complex and I think the character development is one of the best thing about the book. The characters make mistakes which sometimes is hard to read and feels annoying, but it does fit with the high school setting, so you can’t really blame the characters. It doesn’t focus as much on the romance as it does on the plot and I think this worked really well for this book. Overall, recommending this book to those who want to read a cute and sweet queer YA romance.

3.5 stars. I really liked the main character in this book, but unfortunately it’s about 80% people being just horrible to her! Including the love interest who just seemed to be thoughtless and rude. And I’m supposed to be rooting for them to get together? There was some really good stuff mixed in, but ultimately I just didn’t really enjoy reading it. I thought it was going to be a sweet little sapphic teen romance! I’ve seen it recommended so many times. The cover art is so cute! Oh well.

The Henna Wars is in my opinion the complete Young Adult novel. It includes difficult themes such as sexuality, romance, racism, bullying, cultural appropriation and family issues, all of which are so relevant in the lives of Young Adults and teenagers of today.Adiba Jaigirdar writing style is so fluid, making it easy to read and follow the plot. I connected so much with this book on a personal level as I have gone through some of the difficulties faced by Nishat, the protagonist. I highly recommend The Henna Wars, especially if you want to learn more about Bengali culture.

Really nice sapphic book!!!

The book came on time and it’s looks like brand new. I am really happy with my purchase.

se você não pretende comprar livros, não recomendo seguir autores no twitter.foi assim que cheguei em The Henna Wars, furando praticamente toda a minha fila de TBR. e tudo bem, porque, sinceramente, às vezes a gente só precisa de um romance sáfico. e posso afirmar que essa leitura foi uma bela surpresa!aqui conhecemos a Nishat e já nas primeiras páginas ela faz algo muito corajoso: sai do armário para a família. com o casamento de uma amiga se aproximando, ela não quer mais esconder que não pretende se casar com um homem no futuro, mas sim com uma mulher. essa revelação acaba tendo várias ramificações durante a história e a autora consegue retratar bem temas como homofobia, conservadorismo e preconceito. a gente sabe que se assumir não é fácil, e dentro da cultura bengali isso pode ser ainda mais complicado.além disso, Nishat é uma adolescente de Bangladesh que mora na Irlanda, então há um choque cultural muito grande entre nossa protagonista e suas colegas de turma. o racismo retratado aqui não é velado e a denúncia é clara. grupos minoritários sofrem preconceito e muitas vezes ele passa batido pela sociedade. até mesmo aqueles que chamamos de amigos podem nos decepcionar, pois não basta ser camarada nas horas boas, é preciso ser anti racista SEMPRE e ouvir aqueles que são atacados. eles tem voz para falar, mas não são ouvidos em sua maiora. Nishat tem uma colega que menospreza os comentários racistas como se eles não fossem tão graves, ou como se não tivessem sido feitos por mal, com intenção de magoar, e acho que esse foi o exemplo perfeito de muitas pessoas que, tecnicamente não são racistas, mas também não são aliadas. micro agressões só ajudam a perpetuar ainda mais o problema e devemos chamar a atenção para eles.gostei bastante do relacionamento da Nishat com sua irmã mais nova, pois foi uma aliada importante durante a narrativa. elas tem suas diferenças, mas sempre buscam o melhor pra outra.outro tema importante retratado é a apropriação cultural (das hennas, como diz no título). e ele vem justamente através do interesse amoroso da protagonista, a Flávia. então acaba rolando um pouco de friends to rivals to lovers. a Flávia tem mãe brasileira e pai irlandês e faz um contraponto muito fofo com a Nishat, mas também nos mostra que mesmo aqueles que gostamos podem nos magoar, ou não entender nossas lutas. a Flávia é negra, então ela também sofre racismo em certo ponto, mas isso não a isenta de também ter atitudes nocivas que causam dor. a forma como a autora retrata uma descendente de brasileira é interessante pois temos referencias à nossa cultura (brigadeiro,Tarsila do Amaral, Romero Brito) e em um momento a Flávia fala que no Brasil não se discute religião nem política e essa é uma frase que vejo muito por aqui (apesar de não concordar né...), então acho que teve uma boa pesquisa pra construir essa personagem sim.aqui os relacionamentos são complexos e nem tudo são flores, mas a autora consegue criar um meio termo intercalando assuntos importantes e pesados com leveza e fofura.recomendo a leitura! diferente de tudo que já li

fajne

i finished reading these 400 pages in a second, really. every chapter leaves you wanting more, and more, except for the last one! you’ll “close” the book satisfied and at peace. it’s so beautiful and totally recommended. Wonderful representation. ❤️