Another phenomenal thriller!!! The title and cover jumped out to me and I’m so glad I gave it a go!!! Such a fun book!!!

I cannot recommend this book enough. I feel like it is especially relevant in today's climate and is an great example of the importance of books!

I can't wait to read more from this author.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with this arc

Samira Ahmed's books never fail to completely take my breath away through their hard hitting look at reality. Ahmed's writing style is so powerful that you can't help being completely drawn into to anything she writes.

Set in a small town in Illinois, This Book Won't Burn was a topical, thought provoking, and chilling read this was. The author didn't shy away from the big issues about racism and homophobia .
Tempered by equally thought provoking subplots (romantic and about the nature of family) this was not always a comfortable read, but it was a real page turner.
To see multi disenfranchised teen characters using intelligence and strategies to addres issues relating to their well being and human rights was inspiring.
Noor the main character had just the right amount of passion, but her vulneravility shone through too which made her such an appealng character.
YA fiction does it again. Loved it

Samira Ahmed's latest YA novel takes on the controversial topic of book bans in some American states by showing the courageous efforts of 18-year-old Noor Khan to take on the school principal and school board in a small town in Illinois.

When Noor and her family move to Bayberry from Chicago, Noor is initially determined to keep her head down for the last few months of high school, but she finds it impossible to ignore the removal of over 500 books from her school library shelves which have been 'challenged' by parents and pressure groups. Together with her new friends, and supported by a wonderfully subversive librarian, she stages a series of increasingly creative protests which attract the ire of the school hierarchy and leave her vulnerable to some deeply unpleasant Islamophobic attacks.

This is a beautifully written novel which makes serious political points about the importance of reading - particularly YA books by minoritised authors, and how fundamental freedoms are under attack. Ahmed is not afraid to draw parallels with fascist regimes throughout history that have banned and burnt books. Thankfully we do not currently experience the same threats to our freedom in the UK, but this powerful novel reminds us to value the freedoms we currently enjoy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this novel to review.

Wow that was quite intense. I often see “banned book” this, “banned book” that, but never I thought that it’s actually a thing. And this book made me realize that its very real and concerning.

I admired Noor’s bravery, bless her full-of-fire heart. The friendship and sisterhood also a notable things that I loved. And overall the book is just like Noor: brave and provocative. Reading is political, so limiting reading material is also a political statement. This book also made me realize that I’m very privileged to be able to read whatever book I want, whenever I want. Never going to take it for granted.

I enjoyed this a lot. Loads of brilliant characterisation and certainly a couple of twists and turns to go with it! Definitely an author I’ll be keeping my eye on for future books!

This was such a powerful book. At a time when our right to protest is at risk and books by queer and bipoc authors are being constantly challenged and removed from libraries, it’s so important to have a book that shows a main character who’s willing to stand up and challenge this.

Though the irony was not lost on me that this book would definitely get put straight on the lists of banned books that keep coming from American schools and libraries, I hope that this book gets into the hands of every child all over the Western world. It has an inspiring message and shows strength in the face of adversity

This book also contains the grief of a child who’s father walks out on them with no warning. It was a really touching part of the story. I would have liked a bit of a resolution to that bit of the story as it seemed like her pain was still really raw at the end of the story, but other than that it was a really good plot.

The heart of this book though is about protesting and that part of the book was really effective.

As I've come to expect of Samira Ahmed, she has taken a topical issue, in this case, book banning, and written a riveting story around it. When Noor is moved from Chicago to a small town by her mother, she is shocked to find that the school library stock is being seriously depleted by order of the school board. Anything not considered 'wholesome' for young minds is being removed. Despite her intentions to keep her head down and get to graduation, Noor finds herself at the centre of protests against this ruling. In doing so, she finds friendship and more support than she could imagine. Along the way though there are some confrontations with authority and some nail-biting moments.
Stories have often been rallying cries and messages of hope that we can win. Samira Ahmed does this well. This book was a reminder to me just how much we need to value and fight for intellectual freedom, not to take it for granted and an important message to pass on to the younger generation as you often don't know what is worth having until you have lost it.

Amazing read and so important in today's culture. A fabulous look at mob mentality and how some people feel entitled to dictate to others. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. So fantastic.

Admittedly, I am absolutely not the target demographic for this book and I really really felt that while reading (it made me feel so old!)
That said, I have to rate it highly, in honour of my 15 year old self, who could have really done with a book like this thrust into her hands.
It's very un-subtle and extreme in its message, but god, we live in a world where far right politics ARE very un-subtle and extreme so I think it's only fair we respond in kind. The right-wing characters in the book felt overexaggerated, evil, and cartoonish: just like they do in real life!
I think it's a really strong story, that does not compromise on its opinions, and I think that's exactly something a young person learning about the world needs to absorb.

In This Book Won't Burn, Samira Ahmed's delivers a masterclass in how to write electrifyingly relevant and important YA fiction.

The banning of books is not a new concept. Censorship has been used throughout our history to keep people ignorant to the true injustices in our society. As a school librarian, I feel very lucky to be working in UK schools because our libraries are vibrant, welcoming, safe spaces where inclusion and diversity are at the heart of the collections we curate.

In Ahmed's novel, 18-year-old Noor moves from Chicago to a small Illinois town and takes on the fight against conservative MAGA parents and school board members who are able to instigate book bans in the guise of protecting children. Noor, as a Muslim in America, knows first hand how it feels to be villainized by these people who really have no understanding of their own hate (at one point someone makes a comment to Noor about worshipping Monkey Gods and she realizes that the people who hate her for being Muslim don't even know the difference between Muslims and Hindus).

Along with new friends, Noor creates the Bulldog Banned Camp where students, teachers and parents are able to access and support the provision of the challenged books. Among these is Ms Clayton, the school librarian, who is a total badass and makes me proud to be in the same role. As you'd expect, Bulldog Banned Camp faces backlash from the conservatives in town, and this quickly escalates from trolling online to real physical danger.

This story is incredibly important at a time when people across the world could do with a bit more empathy. The claims made by the conservative parents in this novel are extreme and would feel ridiculously hyperbolic if they weren't literally the kind of things I see as comments on TikTok and Instagram every day. We are living in a time when people with bigoted views use aggression, gaslighting and physical violence to get what they want, and it is so important for our young people to learn, as Noor does in this novel, that there is still hope in the good fight.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Group for the digital ARC. I can't wait to get physical copies of this into the hands of my students!

This book definitely isn't for everyone, but it's also very important.
Some people won't understand it, but then others will take great comfort from it.
There's quite a lot of different themes going on here, but would recommend to all who want to take a stand and make a change
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

"Words give us power; that's why some adults want to silence us."

An engrossing read, focussing on book banning, censorship and prejudice in a small American town but the issues faced will be familiar to many across the world. There is also a focus on family, relationships and parental abandonment. A lot of things to cover, but the author combines them well and you're not left short-changed on either front. I liked Noor, the MC, and the friendship group she finds herself in when the family moves unexpectedly.

The cover and title are enticing and the book will definitely find some readers in our library.

This book was fantastic, it strikes up powerful and thought provoking conversation without the heaviness. It asks you to think about right and wrong, while also saying that silence makes you just as wrong.

Well done to the author the plot and characters are brillant!

I thoroughly enjoyed last year's Hollow Fires and I think this is even better. Told from the perspective of 18 year old Noor, This Book Won't Burn ironically would be a book on some people's burn lists because of its 'dangerous' content. There is no sex, no seriously bad language, a couple of 'f-bombs' in moments of stress, no exagerated violence: and that's the point of this novel. Ahmed's exploration of what makes a 'dangerous' book in small town Illinois brings home the awful state of play when one parent can question a book's place in a school library because of its content - especially when that content is about black and brown characters, non-heterosexual relationships and activism.
Noor arrives at her new school reeling from a family fracture to find the librarian packaging up 500 books from the school library that have been challenged by parents within the school community. All are from black or brown or LGBTQIA authors. Some portray stories of police violence but all are deemed 'dangerous' by at least one member of the school's parenting community. As the daughter of activist parents Noor cannot stomach this policy and she questions it. Within the first week she has gained a detention for wearing a tshirt that says 'I read banned books' and a notorious reputation as a trouble maker. She attracts the attention of the school board and local politicians who cannot wait to put her in her place.
Well written and engaging, This Book Won't Burn is a page turner. Full of great characters and reasonably authentic school descriptions - my particular bugbear! Here we have teachers who run the gambit of characterisation - the MAGA teacher to the BLM librarian and everything in between.
Really enjoyable and will likely make a lot of longlists this next year. highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'This Book Won't Burn' by Samira Ahmed.

This story tackles current times in the best way possible. Speaking about the book banning in America and politics, Samira Ahmed wrote a YA (I'd say more on the younger side of YA) book that is essential during the current climate. I did get the ick at some of the dialogue but that may be because I feel the writing is more Middle Grade.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK | Atom and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This title touches on a lot of really important topics which are very important for the younger generation to have access to at the moment, given the political climate. With that being said, I'm not entirely sure who the intended audience for this novel is. At first, I thought it would be for readers of Noors age, however the writing appears much younger.

While the author handles sensitive topics with care and does a good job of depicting a multitude of struggles faced by the characters, this book was a little longer than need be and some of the plot lines felt like a filler to reach a word count.

The book was, ultimately, fine, but that's all it was.

Many thanks for this ARC.

Samira Ahmed once again touches on incredibly topical themes and does so beautifully. However, the novel itself felt like it could have been wrapped up at several points and felt a tad too long.

This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed
Publication date 2nd May 2024

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Noor Khan is near to finishing school when her mum , due to family circumstances, moves Noor and her sister to a new school in a small town. Noor just wants to finish her last year unnoticed. She becomes aware of books being removed from her school library because they are deemed to be 'inappropriate' and there for essentially being 'banned'. With the help of some friends, Noor decides to make a stand to the injustices being imposed on them.

The books main story is book banning in an American school, and that these books that are being removed are written by authors of colour, or queer authors. Though there are some serious and important messages throughout that the author does not shy away from and tackles them head-on, such as racism, fascism, and homophobia are but a few.

The target audience for this book is for young adults, and you can tell from the style it has been written in. Some of the language used is a little 'young' for an older reader, and I did have to ask my teen daughter what some of the terms used meant. So, as an older reader, I did struggle to fully engage in this book - it felt too young for me. I would recommend it to the YA audience, probably more to the younger side of teens, 13-14 year olds. My teenage daughter would love this book. I would purchase this as a gift or for my daughter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group Uk

Review to socials two weeks prior to publishing date, and from the 2nd May for retail.