TW: Racism, Homophobia, Bullying & Forced outing

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book has been so hyped so going into it I was inevitably expecting to love the book... and I ADORED it. First and foremost, the relationship between Night and Flavia was so intriguing, with a slight hate to love romance. The characters evoked me to feel so many things - from love, to anger to pure confusion. The discussion of coming out and it not being on your own terms was discussed with so much care too, and Nishat's story was one that many should read.

Adiba Jaigirdar's writing style was so moving yet so easy to read and the pace was perfect. I read this book so quickly and enjoyed it so much! I also absolutely loved learning more about Bengali culture!

The Henna Wars is a really cute contempary story perfect for teens, especially queer teens and queer teens of colour.

We follow Nishat, who is comfortable in her sexuality as a lesbian but hasn't told her parents yet, so at the start of the book she tells them and it doesn't go as well as she hopes. Feeling like her life is spiralling out of control she latches onto the idea of creating a henna booth (henna is a very important part of her culture) as her idea for her buisness studies competition. However things start t go wrong when the charming new girl Flavia and her cousin Chyna (who is the most annoying character ever haha) also decide to create a henna booth for their project. Nishat is annoyed with this because she (rightly) feels it is cultural appropriation.

At the same time Flavia and Nishat have a growing attraction and their relationship is very interesting and complicated, but also at times very cute and rom com-y.

Nishat's relationship with her sister is also a main focus of the book, and this is sucha precious relationship. I always love following siblings, especially complex but supportive ones. This was probably my favourite part of the book, even when they have big arguments and fall out you can tell they still love each other.

Nishat was a very interesting character, at times she was frustrating and could be a little self centred, however I do feel this is pretty realistic for a teenager haha. She was also very self assured and watching her stand up for herself, especially in a conservative, primarily white, all girls catholic school was a great thing.

This book also delves into themes of belonging and accceptance, both of yourself and others, and how you respond to different levels of acceptance from others. Also the differnce in cultures and attitudes towards contemporary issues, especially lgbtq+. It was also really interesting for me to learn more about Bengali culture and how that influences Nishat as a character.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc copy in exchange for an honest review!

I must admit I absolutely hate contemporary romance or just romance generally usually but weirdly I adore LGBT romance books, throw in the fact that they live in Dublin which made it physically impossible to dislike this book. I looked into the author was was glad to hear she has lived in Ireland since she was 10, i hate when authors set their books in Ireland when they have no actual idea of what its like to grow up there so that was massive brownie points!

There’s lots of harder themes in this book such as racism, homophobia and forced outing, it was a tough read but such an important one!

I loved that our main character was a proud Muslim lesbian. I was glad that it didn’t take an enemies to lovers approach as the book title somewhat suggests. It was more of a slow burn, natural romance that wasn’t too cheesy or sexualised (especially given the age of these characters)

Such an important LGBT YA novel

The Henna Wars follows Nishat who has just come out to her Bengali parents. This is proving to be a tense time within their household. At school she is falling for Flávia. However a school business competition leads them to be rivals as they both choose to do henna.

This book tackles a lot of serious subjects from coming out as gay as a Muslim girl to cultural appropriation to homophobia at school. I felt that the majority of the time that these topics were weaved into the story well.

The book also had its cute sides with having a crush and what comes with that. Also Nishat has a lovely relationship with her sister (even if sometimes I felt she took her for granted!).

The sign of a good book for me is one that you just want to return to at any spare moment and The Henna Wars had me wanting to go back to it whenever I could.

The ARC for this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.

Trigger warnings for racism, homophobia, bullying, and a character being outed.

When I first heard about this book I was so exicted to read it. I don't read much YA contemporary but with this being an LGBTQ+ novel with Muslim rep - I felt it gave it an edge in making me interested in reading it. However, during I was strongly reminded why I don't read contemporary very often.

This book made me angry. Not because it was poorly written or because it dealt with some very serious topics badly - but because I could relate to this story more than I can relate to most of the fantasy and scifi that I regularly read.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ society, as a Muslim and as a POC - almost every trial our protagonist Nishat faced in this book are also issues I have faced. And there is a luxuary when it comes to thinking of things in retrospect because I suppose now I know how to approach a conversation with a western, white person appropriate a minority culture, or someone who is homophobic.

I spent a good portion of this book wanting to scream and shout at these character for their poor treatment of our protagonist, I wanted to shake them until they realise what they were doing was wrong. But as a reader I obviously could not.

And this is all a testiment to Adiba Jaigirdar for writing a story which touches on real life issues and the struggles people go through when faced with them. Of the feeling of inadequacy and shame and fear. She captures these expereince in such a unique tone that I couldn't help but imagine myself as these characters and have it bring back memories of all the times I faced the same situation.

Overall, this book is educational. It's important in the message it sends and the experiences it shows and the author did an excellet job of sharing these experiences in a digestable way. Highly recommend (espeically to white people looking to understand cultural appropriation and it's affect on minorities)

The Henna Wars was a heartwarming read that balanced the line between softer moments and more serious issues perfectly. I loved the way it tackled themes such as cultural appropriation, coming out, acceptance, family, friendships, and identity. Alongside the enjoyable messiness of our main characters, it made for such an enjoyable read.

When Nishat comes out to her parents, it doesn’t go as well as she would have hoped. Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. She doesn’t want to hide who she is. It only gets harder when a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and Nishat falls for her instantly. When a school competition has students create their own businesses, they both choose to do Henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Even so, Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush.

I'm usually a diehard fantasy fan, so I wasn't sure what I was going into with this young adult contemporary. I was happily surprised! I sped through The Henna Wars in one sitting; I couldn't put it down! I couldn't help but get enraged alongside Nishat, supporting her one-woman crusade against the world, and, of course, falling in love with the ending.

One thing I loved about this book was how messy the teenagers were. What's the point of YA if it doesn't show the reality of high-strung emotions, mistakes, growth, love, and occasional childishness? The fact that I got so involved with Nishat's plight probably reveals that I was just as messy a teenager as she was. If you want a book with perfectly reasonable mature characters this isn't it, and that's why it's so good. Nishat is constantly hurting those around her, lashing out because she's struggling, focusing only on her difficulties, and her friends are just as messy. I always end up grumbling 'well you don't need anyone, these people suck, got it alone' at characters in books, and The Henna Wars has shown me why Nishat shouldn't listen to my rubbish advice.

Nishat's coming out experience was also wonderfully realistic. More and more people aren't met with outward violence (not that it doesn't happen) but instead confusion, disbelief, and hope that this is all a phase that they'll grow out of. The Henna Wars demonstrates how that response is incredibly harmful. Nishat feels like no one's on her side, that she's let her family down and she doesn't know how to make it better because she can't change herself. This isn't a story of her figuring out her identity, but instead how everyone else can accept her for who she is.

On that note, I loved the family relationships in this book. There was a wonderful complexity to Nishat's relationship with her parents, but what I loved the most was the strong bond of sisterhood. Priti and Nishat have such a strong bond; they always have each other's backs. It isn't as if they don't fight, but their relationship warmed my heart and makes me wish I was closer with my siblings.

Cultural appropriation was a major theme of this book, and it was handled in such an easily-understandable, engaging way. Anyone who reads this book will have a more nuanced understanding of what cultural appropriation is, and why it's so horrible. It thoughtfully tackles racism - demonstrating how white people weaponise people's culture against them with one hand, while stealing it for their own use in the other. Nishat's lesbian identity is under pressure at home, and the people at school are stealing aspects from her Bengali and Bangladeshi identity too. No wonder she throws herself so strongly into the competition. Not only is it reprehensible what Chyna and Flavia are doing, but she needs to fight for herself in whatever way she can. I also love that the white cultural appropriation girl is called Chyna; it's such a perfect name. Another positive of how this theme was handled was that it showed how other people of colour can participate in cultural appropriation too. Flavia quickly understood she was in the wrong, but it's still an important topic everyone should be aware of. I'm not an OwnVoices reviewer for this representation but I'm appreciative of how well the author handled this theme.

The only part of the book I didn't enjoy as much was Nishat being outed. I hate this trope. I know it's a common experience for LGBT+ people to have, and that's why it's such a common occurrence in LGBT+ books, but I never enjoy it. Regardless, I'm not going to let that impact my experience of The Henna Wars as it seems most books in the genre feature the trope.

Overall, The Henna Wars was a brilliantly written book that tackles many difficult topics in a sensitive and easily accessible way. I went in thinking this would be a sweet romance, and I was happily surprised by how the other aspects shined through with brilliant intensity. It's such an important book that I imagine a lot of queer teenagers (and adults) will find joy in.

The Irishness of this book just wraps around me like a warm blanket. Jaigirdar weaves in little details of life in Dublin with such a deft hand that they're completely unintrusive but make the story so intrinsically Irish, from anxiety over the Junior Cert, to the little orange lights at bus stops, to eating ice cream in terrible weather. The familiarity with and affection for the city bleeds through on every page, and it's one of the things that makes this book stand out from other US-based LGBT YA for me.

Jaigirdar checks every box of a sweet, fuzzy gay YA romance. A likeable, occasionally naive/misguided lead in Nishat, a fascinating but elusive crush in Flávia, miscommunication, family troubles, fun side characters, conflict in the way of love. The book navigates these plot beats satisfyingly, but also with enough personality and tie ins to Nishat's cultures and environments (be it Bengali weddings or Irish exams) that it never slips into becoming forgettable. It makes the whole thing satisfying and entertaining even to experienced YA readers.

I could see people having trouble with the main romance, as the resolution of the central conflict isn't as black and white as others in the genre, but I found it the nuance of the situation very engaging. Even if the characters are teens, Jaigirdar doesn't shy away from the complications of cultural appropriation, systemic racism and multiculturalism, and how they affect teenagers we might think of as being 'too young' to think critically.
There are teenagers with deep awareness of privilege, like our lesbian Muslim Bengali protagonist; there are teenagers without, like her straight white Catholic Irish schoolmates; and there are a plethora of teenagers caught in the middle (Nishat's sister, her crush, her friends) who don't always know the right thing to do.
This book is a great portrait of when those points of view collide, and I feel the resolution perfectly addresses the simultaneous responsibility and naivety that teenagers have when dealing with systemic racism and homophobia, while being a totally sweet, funny and satisfying book. I really couldn't flaw it.

3.5

I had heard so much about this book that I couldn’t wait to read it and was so happy to receive an arc, but unfortunately I felt a bit let down.

This book follows a Muslim girl going through the struggles of coming out to her family while having a rival henna business with an old friend (who she now likes).

The things I loved in this book was the relationship between Nishat and Priti as sisters. I loved how they supported one another and it was lovely to read. Of course the representation with this book is incredible and great to see so much diversity in one book!

However, I struggled to like the book when it came to then actual love interest because of the issue with cultural appropriation (which I would have loved to have been delved into even more) and the way she talks to Nishat. I honestly didn’t really route for them and would love to have seen Nishat be happy at the end by herself!

But it’s was a nice read and I read it quickly. Thank you to Netgalley, publishers and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eine schöne, vielfältige Liebesgeschichte, die sehr gut die Themen Rassismus und Homosexualität innerhalb anderer Kulturen aufzeigt. Mich hat das Buch sehr berührt und die Charaktere waren sehr divers angelegt, ohne Klischeebehaftet zu sein.
Eine klare Empfehlung!

As a fan of LGBTQ+ YA novels I was quite disappointed by this book.

It seemed to have so much going for it but the characters, for me, fell flat. Their interactions, friendships and relationships, I just couldn't 'buy into it'.

I did enjoy references to Bengali culture, food and language, I had to google several words and was amused when I found out gadha means donkey!

Unfortunately, this is not one I would recommend as something I enjoyed. However, for anyone looking for an LGBTQ+ POC romance it ticks the boxes.

Sometimes all you want is a sweet, quick-reading YA contemporary, and if that’s something you’re looking for, then The Henna Wars will definitely deliver. You’ll get sucked into it and, before you know it, you’ve reached the end and will want desperately for Adiba Jaigirdar’s second book to just be available already please.

The Henna Wars follows Nishat, who, as part of her Transition Year at school, elects to start her own henna business. Only, she’s not the sole person with this idea. Instead, her least-favourite-person, Chyna, and Chyna’s cousin, Flávia (whom Nishat has a big ol’ crush on), decide that they’re going to start one too.

First and foremost among what I loved in this book was Nishat’s family relationships. Okay, so for most of the book, her parents are very much not accepting of her being a lesbian, but her sister is always in her corner (while also being full of annoying younger sibling energy), and when her parents do come around, near the end, I can guarantee you’ll cry. There’s been a depressing amount of discourse around coming out narratives recently (you know, the whole we don’t need any more of them kind of thing), but coming out narratives vary wildly. They’re not all terrible, they’re not all perfect, and no single one will be exactly the same. And there’s a whole load of difference between a straight person writing a coming out narrative, between a white LGBT person writing a non-white coming out narrative, and letting ownvoices authors write those stories. What I loved here was that, while it was a rocky coming out, it was always treated with that kind of kindness that’s inherent in ownvoices stories.

The second thing I loved about this book was Nishat and Flávia’s relationship. They didn’t get off to the best of starts, what with Flávia’s decision to start a henna business too, but they communicated with one another, even if that communication wasn’t always received. And they didn’t have a stupid misunderstanding-based break-up near the end (always a positive in my book). I think the best part, though, ties back to my previous point about coming out narratives. When Flávia tells Nishat she doesn’t want to come out, Nishat is wholly accepting and understanding of it. Having already read at least two books this year (that I can remember), which go down the route of people forcing their significant others to come out before they’re necessarily ready, this was very welcome.

My final point is about the use of the word lesbian in this book. I wrote a whole piece about this on readsrainbow but, in summary, there’s a tendency in YA contemporary lit to avoid using the word by any means necessary. So this, a book where Nishat used that word and only that word to refer to her sexuality, was a blessing.

All of this, then, to say, if you haven’t already got onto this one, make sure it’s next on your TBR.

The Henna Wars is a YA/middle grade novel about Nishat, a Muslim lesbian living in Ireland with Bengali heritage. When her junior cert class announces a competition - create and run your own business - Nishat is immediately drawn to set up a henna business. However, someone else also has the same idea...

This is a wonderful story that explores cultural appropriation, racism and homophobia within a school environment, and would be a great way for younger readers to learn about these things, or feel validated by Jaigirdar's representation.

Nishat is a great, relatable protagonist and Jaigirdar deftly handles the complexities of having a multi-faceted identity through her portrayal of Nishat's relationships with the different people in her life. One of the best parts of the book was witnessing her relationship with her sister, which was so wholesome and heartwarming.

Jaigirdar has an easy, fluid writing style that is warm, emotive and well-suited to this genre. The main aspect of the story that initially drew me in to read it was the sapphic representation, however, I found Flavia quite a problematic character. While this was integral to the plot, she didn't seem to undergo much of a learning curve in terms of appreciating the deep trauma inflicted on Nishat by her and her cousin's actions. The ending was sweet, but it felt almost like a pre-determined happy ever after, and that Flavia's character arc wasn't completed for it.

In spite of this, it was a thoroughly enjoyable book that I would recommend. The importance of remaining true to yourself and your identity is heavily emphasised from the beginning of the novel, which is such an uplifting message to send to young readers. I also commend Jaigirdar for her inclusion of trigger warnings at the beginning of the ARC and that they will be put in the final copy of the book itself.

4/5 stars

What a great read! Never before have I read a book that I related so much to the main character before, as a fellow queer Bengali Muslim. I truly felt the pain that Nishat went through, felt her highs and lows along with her, and felt so seen whenever she spoke about her experiences as a brown girl.

It was difficult at first to read because I empathised so much with Nishat, but I am incredibly glad I powered through it because the ending was wonderful. This book was done very well, I enjoyed reading about so well articulated struggles about being brown and queer and muslim. It enlightened me on the struggles of cultural appropriation which I had never seen before or considered (growing up in a very brown community) and how hard it really is to be a poc in a mostly white school.

I liked the family dynamics, it felt very raw and real, especially with Nishat wanting so desperately for her family to understand because she loved them so much. I wish her friends had been a little more developed, but there are only so many pages in the book.

All on all, such a great read and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

This is such an enjoyable and charming f/f story!

It's about a girl's repercussions for coming out to her family and also trying to start a business in high school (girl?? chill? don't be more talented at 16 than i am in my mid-20s please).

Nishat is a wonderfully balanced protagonist tbh; she's caring, self-aware and brave but also can be petty, selfish and blinded by her heart. It makes the story so much more interesting when its lead is both likeable and human. Nishat's love interest, Flavia, is also a complex character, and despite it not being a split-POV book, you feel quite attached to Flavia even from her introduction.

It's great to see an interesting conflict between the leads too; both Nishat and Flavia have strong opinions about their henna businesses and having these young characters become completely smitten with each other whilst also exploring everyday racism and homophobia in schools makes the book very well-rounded and complex without losing its romance and charm too.

This book also gets huge points for having a great sibling dynamic because I love love looove supportive sisters!

Genre: Adult Fiction 
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 
You cannot do anything in this country without my permission.”
Being a teenager isn't easy. And it doesn't help when you have a mega strict Egyptian dad who tells you that everything is "haram" a.k.a. forbidden. All Sara wants to do is experiment with makeup, listen to the latest Destiny's Child single and read fashion magazines, but her dad's conservative interpretation of Islam makes it impossible. Things get even harder when her dad lands himself a job in the Arabian Gulf and moves Sara and her family to a country where the patriarchy rules supreme. In a country where you have to have your father's permission for everything, every door feels like it is being closed on Sara's future. In a desperate bid for freedom, Sara makes a judgement call that threatens to ruin their dysfunctional father-daughter relationship forever.
Hijab & Red Lipstick is told from the perspective of a young British Muslim woman growing up between London and the Middle East. It is a tale of a young woman’s difficult quest to find herself, offering an unusual and unique insight into life in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, where people’s personal lives, relationships and coming of age experiences are rarely spoken about.
My verdict: Firstly Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this book before it’s release to the general public. Wow! What a book! A powerful memoir about a young woman’s life in the often stereotyped UAE. Throughout the novel we see Sara struggle with her faith and the restrictions faced by women in the UAE whilst the men have more freedom and opportunities. Not only does this book deal with a struggle to conform to what seems like an oppressive community’s rules and expectations but also things that aren’t openly talked about not only in the east but also the west like mental health, sexual assault, domestic abuse and struggling with your identity; especially as Sara’s mother was English and so felt the pull and desire for western ideals. Overall, a very emotive read where you couldn’t help empathise with Sara’s family but at the same time it makes us realise how lucky we are as women to have all the opportunities we do. I felt a solidarity with Sara and championed her throughout and I loved how the red lipstick became an allegory for her identity outside the family and community ideals. It must have been hard for her to write about these issues and publish them but in by doing so provides a spark of hope for young women in similar situations (I hasten to add that not all eastern communities and family’s are oppressive like the media wants us to believe.) and by raising her voice can cause ripples that lead to waves that lead to change. Lots of readers would probably say that it just covers the different attitudes to men and women in the east and yes, it is partly that but most importantly it is a feminist raising her voice for the greater good. If you love Malala yousafi and Khaled Hosseni, you will love this real life experience of a half English and half Egyptian young woman and her battle for independence and the yearning to become a valued individual in a time when the majority of women are underestimated and disregarded.

This was such a precious and adorable story!

I really enjoyed this. I loved and appreciated all the representation and culture aspects.
I especially liked the sister relationship between Nishat and Priti as they had such a special bond.
There was a little bit too much drama for me but the romance was cute and heartwarming.

The Henna Wars is a contemporary YA novel about a girl who starts a henna business for a school project and finds herself with a crush on her rival. Nishat has a lot going on: she's just come out to her parents, who are having trouble accepting a Bengali girl could be a lesbian, and she's determined to create a successful henna business for her school business project. However, hers isn't the only henna business as part of the competition, and Nishat finds herself rivals with Flávia, a girl she used to know at primary school who's now at the same Irish all-girls school as her.

This book has had a lot of hype around it, and it is certainly distinctive, both through the henna rivals premise and just the fact it is a YA novel set at an Irish school. Nishat is a good protagonist, with realistic teen flaws like a tendency to become focused on her own issues and goals at the expense of others', and her relationship with her sister is a highlight of the book, as they support and bicker with each other. The reader gets to see a lot of Nishat's emotions and delve into Bengali culture and ideas around cultural appropriation, and it's good to see how much Nishat wants to stay true to herself.

Part of the plot later in the book does revolve around a forced outing to the whole school, which is a trope used in YA books that I feel doesn't need to be used so often, and which often isn't then dealt with in ways that feel supportive towards the character or teenagers reading the book. There's a lot of plot in The Henna Wars, which meant there perhaps wasn't enough space to deal more with how Nishat was treated at school after that, or even how her friends reacted. It also felt like some important conversations were cut off or skirted around, and it might've been nice to see these followed up on for more resolution.

A readable story with a great protagonist, The Henna Wars is a young adult novel that offers a powerful perspective about staying true to yourself and a teenage love story featuring characters who have to grow and try to learn from their actions.

The Henna Wars follows Nishat after she comes out to her parents, with a strained family life Nishat also has to deal with a new crush who is her competitor in a school competition where both girls have a henna business.

This book has elements that I really enjoy reading about; I loved the focus on South Asian (Bengali) culture, sisterhood/friendship, and identity, it was a fun and enjoyable read for me. I also liked the writing style of the book and how the book deals with various issues and how Nishat speaks out for herself and points out things that are inappropriate, I also really liked her relationship with her sister which was sweet and her love for henna and what it meant to her. Nishat and Flavia’s relationship was rocky because of their situation but I did find them cute, I just wanted to see them together more.

I did not like how fast paced the book was, everything seemed to happen really quickly and it meant that some issues were dealt with really fast and so Nishat kept going back and forth quickly about her thoughts on stuff and certain people – I felt like the character development for both of the main characters could have been better especially Flavia. In general, the book felt like it should have been longer to wrap up some of the issues better because the ending felt rushed and I wanted there to be more on how Nishat dealt with the people at her school. The book deals with Nishat’s emotions and feelings towards a lot of different things which I liked but there were elements which I felt were rushed – like how she dealt with being outed.

3/5

I really enjoyed this book! I've heard nothing but hype around this novel for the last year and I was excited to finally pick it up. I enjoyed the story, as we don't typically see F/F Asian stories. It reminded me a lot of Sabina Khan's debut as that also had a Bangladeshi F/F story.
My favourite parts of this story were the sections that discussed culture as I could relate a lot to it. I think this was incredibly cute and heartwarming. I cannot wait to see what the author does next.

I can hardly believe that Adiba Jaigirdar's heart-warming and moving 'The Henna Wars' is her debut novel! On the surface, this is a sweet romance between two sixteen year old girls in Ireland, Nishat, a Bangladeshi girl and Flávia, her Brazilian/ Irish classmate. Their growing love is beautiful to witness but the novel accomplishes weaving this with dealing more serious topics, particularly navigating the tension between Nishat's Muslim community, her Catholic school community and her newly confessed sexuality. Jaigirdar's writing never gets too angst-ridden, balancing the lighter plot with the more serious edge with great skill.

The story begins with Nishat coming out to her parents, boldly facing their feelings of shame but, in a continued theme across the novel, refusing to be anything other than herself. Her strength in her sense of self is then channelled into a school business competition, Nishat choosing to utilise an important element of her culture by designing henna for her classmates. Flávia and her cousin Chyna set up a business with a startlingly similar idea despite Nishat feeling they are appropriating her culture. Be forewarned, the competition gets unpleasant, serving as an important lesson for many members of the school community who are forced to examine their prejudices.

Surprisingly, my favourite central relationship was the bond between Nishat and her sister Priti which I felt was much better developed than the main romance. This is, in part, to the odd pacing of the novel, the competition only truly getting into its stride almost halfway through the novel. The slow beginning meant that some plot points are rushed at the end (I can think of at least two things I want more concrete answers about). However, the pacing does not detract from the important message held within this book, especially for a young adult audiences.

Overall, this is an adorable romance which deals with some heavy topics in a constructive way. This is certainly going to be a hit with younger adult audiences! 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.