This is such a gorgeous YA book that everyone should read. It was a quick read that was sweet and enjoyable but also dealt with some serious issues!

The Henna Wars was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 so I’m really glad that I managed to get my hands on it and read it before the year ended. And it certainly didn’t disappoint.

This book had probably the best Muslim and South Asian representation I’ve ever seen in a YA book. I loved how Nishat’s Bangladeshi heritage and religious practices are presented naturally throughout the book – I mean, even aside from the main plot point of Nishat’s henna business – from the random words in Bengali and Arabic that the characters use to Nishat and other characters’ thoughts and discussions on things that are unique to people from immigrant families, such as the understanding that your parents/grandparents made a huge sacrifice moving to a completely foreign country to build a better life for their family and give them more opportunities, and the immense pressure that can be on the kids.

The author handled Nishat’s coming out and the wider plotline about her sexuality really well, in a way that felt accurate and realistic, not shying away from the negative realities of the struggles that coming out/being outed can bring for someone from a South Asian/Muslim background at a Catholic all-girls school, but also having a hopeful and optimistic ending. I also can’t tell you how relieved I was that this book had not even a whisper of the classic white saviour trope that is unfortunately all too common in books with Muslim characters (or really any of the awful tropes that YA books with Muslim characters seem incapable of steering clear of). In fact, I was really impressed with the way that Jaigirdar incorporated important issues, such as racism, xenophobia, homophobia and outing (and much more), into this story, particularly the point of cultural appropriation, which is handled and explained really well.

And yet, despite covering a lot of sensitive topics and having some really heavy plotlines, The Henna Wars still manages to be a really enjoyable read, mostly due to the romance between Nishat and Flávia. At the start, I really didn’t like Flávia and I’ll admit I was quite sceptical about whether I was going to enjoy the rest of the book knowing that she was the love interest. But Jaigirdar handles Flávia’s character development and the romance between the characters really, really well so that I did end up rooting for them to get together and actually really enjoyed the romance plotline.

Nishat was also quite a likeable main character. She is flawed but also shows growth throughout and generally is quite competent and has her head screwed on; she (mostly) doesn’t let her crush on Flávia stop her from ultimately making smart decisions. Probably one of my favourite things about this book was Nishat’s relationship with her sister Priti. I loved how close they are and how they have each other’s backs throughout, but still interact like real siblings do. Honestly, I think that’s the best part for me about the author’s writing – she writes her characters and settings really realistically. Nishat could be a real-life person and her struggles real-life struggles, and that’s what really helped to keep me interested and invested in this story.

Overall, I would highly recommend picking up this book, and I can’t wait to read more of Jaigirdar’s future works.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for am honest review.

this was...terrible.

i was genuinely so excited to read this. the premise sounded so beautiful - a hate-to-love romance between two girls of colour who have a competing henna business...

well, the execution was not there, to say the least.

-the writing was felt so childish at points and remained consistently bland. there was something so weird about it that made it difficult for me to feel connected to the story and characters. nishat's narrative voice just felt very juvenile at points. there's just some... odd lines in here and i'm like do people even think things like this?? and it just made me cringe to read.

"Flavia," Ms. Kelly says in her stern I'm-not-taking-any-bullshit voice. It's the voice that makes everyone behave immediately, no matter what. Because Ms. Kelly is not one to put on that voice willy-nilly.

WILLY NILLY? lord help me.

-"Instead, hushed whispers travel through the air, like we're all trying to keep our plans a secret from each other. Maybe we are. Maybe we should be."
nothing even wildly significant is happening and this book is just being dramatic for no reason? it reminded of the ally carter books i read when i was 12.

-i really don't want to offend anyone but sometimes this book was just trying so hard to be woke...and i was just there like...
reactions on Twitter:
"I was down to be the token POC"
...*cringes* there's nothing wrong with this sentence alone. it just...felt so, again, odd to see this in a book?

-"I still have a thing for Taylor Swift, after all- even though I hate all of her white feminism nonsense."
*blinks* no words.


- "Well, regardless, she's said some stuff and now she's going around with henna on her hands. That's cultural appropriation."
i don't really want to go in-depth about this book's discussion about cultural appropriation because I'll probably be like, burned at the stake, but i just found the discussion very repetitive and not nuanced at all and VERY in your face like "CULTURAL APPROPRIATION IS BAD!!" over and over again. it got...really tiring.


-I can't stand the way she says my name: Neesh-hat, like I'm a niche hat.
*blinks again* WHAT? what is this book?
Reaction gif tagged with what?, confused, America's Next Top Model
-also, the number of times a character rolls their eyes in this book should be illegal.
-i'm not really one who feels strongly about pop-culture references (don't hate them or love them)and this book didn't have too many but sometimes,,
"Our relationship was shorter than Kim Kardashian's last marriage."
...okay


and besides all that (gestures to above) this book was just really boring. i was struggling in the last 30% of this book. stratch that, the whole book was just very boring...i didn't care for any of the characters. and the romance!

*throws hands in the air*

the romance was disappointing. i'm so bitter. this was advertised as hate-to-love and i'd like you all to know that's a lie. the two characters never actually hate each other. nishat is consistently crushing on flavia (tho there is slight resentment) and flavia doesn't seem to ever actually hate nishat...so. and even besides the false advertising, i wasn't interested in the romance at all.

there were some good things though! i liked some discussions between nishat and her parents. nishat's sister bond with priti was sweet. i thought some romance moments were cute (very few) and i always love to see desi culture in books and relating to some of it.

but that's kinda it.

What if you were told you could not be yourself?

When Transition Year student Nishat comes out to her parents that she is lesbian, she is told she needs to make a different choice. "Nishat can be anything she wants to be, except herself." She doesn't want to lose her family, nor does she wish to hide who she is. But things get harder when her childhood friend Flavia resurfaces.

This is a beautiful romantic comedy set in Dublin which was really uplifting and funny despite dealing with homophobia and racism.

Delving into the Bengali culture with Nishat and her family was so interesting and something I had never read about before.

I loved the strong relationship between Nishat and her sister above all others. The bond they share is so special and it's a great shoutout to all siblings who help us through so much in life.

It is also the first time in a long time (or maybe even the first time full stop!) that I read fiction set in an Irish Secondary school and it was very relevant especially given that our school is also an all-girls Catholic school.

Overall, this was a great story about coming out but also about inclusion, sisterhood and friendship.

🙌🏼Congratulations to @dibs_j on the nomination in the Teen and YA fiction category of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2020. Best of luck!

Thank you to @Netgalley and @hachettekids for this e-book in return for my honest review.