I really liked the book ! The main character was liakable and I loved the plot ,I wish it was longer tho ,to enjoy it a little bit more

I really enjoyed this book and wish I gave it a proper review after I first finished it. It was a good fun read that handles daily issues in our society well.

This book is beautiful and really just included all the possible feelings. It was swoon-worthy and soft and so real and relatable. Very good. 4.5 stars

“This is one of those moments that I want to bottle up and keep with me forever. Not because it's extraordinary, or because it's the kind of thing you would find in a Bollywood movie. But because it's the kind of moment I could never have dreamed of having in a million years.”

CW: Homophobia, Outing, Racism, Cultural Appropriation, Bullying

I can't believe it took me so long to pick up this book because once I finally did, I ended up devouring it in one swift sitting. Other reviewers have said it better than I ever could but this story truly touches on some heavy subjects. However, it is done very well and sheds a lot of light on topics that other stories just barely scrape the surface of. The conflicts faced by the main character were very relatable to me--and maybe some people will think this is negative--but I think it felt nice to be seen, to know that I am not alone in my experiences. Even if you are not a queer POC like myself, I would still highly encourage you to read this in order to expand on your perspectives of YA literature. We need more stories like The Henna Wars.

I just can't recommend this enough. What an impressive debut from Adiba Jaigirdar.

A wonderful and sweet story that fills an important diverse spot. There are not many stories about Bengali families living in Ireland, but they exist and there should be stories about them. Add to that the cover that shows two brown girls clearly staring at each other with romantic intention, and this book is very important and backs up its importance. Jaigirdar has a few debut-author stumbles in the way the characters evoke an emotional response from the reader, but it's still a fun and moving read.

Romcom fans will enjoy this heartfelt story. It will help if they are familiar with Ireland and its school culture.

For some reason, I think from the cover art, I thought this one was a middle grade story. It's definitely not, definitely YA. I loved that the romance is between a Brazilian Irish girl (who gets mistaken for African American) and a Bangladesh girl whose parents moved her to Ireland so that she would have more opportunities.

I know that this more or less echos the authors own experience, but let me say how much I love that Ireland was used as the land of opportunity for this novel instead of the more standard America for this kind of plot.

The first scene of this book is Nishat coming out as lesbian to her Muslim parents, which goes about as well as anyone could expect. What's even better than that is the way that the parents eventually come around once they stop thinking of the apparent shame. But that happens later in the book. Certainly not the first half. The good news here, though, is that they are not overtly homophobic (just undertones).

Nishat's younger sister Priti is basically the VIP of all scenes involving their family and, honestly, their school life, for the whole of this novel. Priti is the main character I want to see in a future book by this author. She stands up for herself, for her sister, and against a best friend who is kind of a jerk (even though I don't think we ever see that best friend talk, she is just portrayed more or less off screen).

Flavia is the love interest. She is also the cousin of Chyna, a person who has bullied Nishat heavily prior to the beginning of the story. But Flavia is pretty nice, even though she lacks a lot of the characterisation that Priti has in terms of being able to stand up for herself (again, until the very end of the book).

This is one of those novels that resolves itself very satisfyingly by the end of the novel, despite there being a whole bunch of crap laid on the main character throughout. It isn't completely believable, but it's still an enjoyable read.

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

Demorei pra organizar as ideias sobre esse livro porque ele realmente tem coisas muito boas e coisas que eu fiquei pensando o quanto me incomodava ter ou não ter mais na história. Acho que o melhor jeito de falar sobre ele é uma listinha mesmo, então aqui vai:

1) Cultura bengali: eu nunca tinha lido um livro com protagonistas de Bangladesh, ainda mais um #OwnVoices. Já aviso que não é a mesma coisa de ler outros livros com outros povos asiáticos marrons, nem outros livros com personagens muçulmanos. Sabe por que? Pessoas racializadas não são todas iguais ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Eu gostei muito que a cultura, crenças e culinária bengali foi explorada aqui e em alguns momentos era a coisa mais importante na situação (como todo o conflito do negócio de henna) e em outros era apenas um detalhe (como o fato de ter amigues que não comem carne é difícil pra alguém de Bangladesh porque muitas comidas tem carne).

2) Personagens LGBTQIA+ muçulmanos: isso é algo muito complexo e que tenho lugar nenhum para escrever sobre ou julgar. Tendo lido uma boa quantidade de livros com protagonistas muçulmanos, sejam praticantes da religião ou que o Islã é parte da sua cultura além da religião, é muito raro ainda ver personagens LGBTQIA+ nesse contexto por uma série de motivos. Foi muito interessante a história da Nishat aqui (que se identifica como lésbica) porque ela está num contexto de morar com a família e ensino médio, e assumir publicamente parte da sua identidade nesse contexto é muito diferente de fazer isso quando adulto.

Mostrar não só ela, mas os pais lidando com isso foi muito interessante de ler. Dá raiva, dá nervoso, mas ao longo do livro a gente vai vendo como é um processo. Nem pra todo mundo esse processo traz tranquilidade e um ambiente seguro depois, mas é sempre bom ver que a alternativa positiva existe.

3) Relacionamento entre irmãs: aqui eu incluo duas coisas que foram muito boas que é a dinâmica familiar e as interações entre as personagens eram muito reais. Todas as situações de "me empresta aqui teu celular, faz isso aqui pra mim, fica quieta pra eu fazer isso, não enche o saco porque tô te fazendo um favor" são muito realistas.

4) O romance: não funcionou pra mim. Apesar de conseguir ver como a autora foi seguindo para construir o romance e fazendo conexões das personagens terem algo em comum, eu não acreditei nele pelas interações que elas tivera e talvez seja algo completamente meu. Eu gosto que ele aconteceu porque precisamos de histórias em que jovens LGBTQIA+ muçulmanos tenham romance e felicidade do jeito que quiserem.

A sensação que eu tive é que os problemas construídos pro romance não foram realmente resolvidos e a Nishat passou por um monte de situações terríveis de homofobia, racismo e xenofobia, e fica por isso mesmo. A reação da Flávia pra mim foi menos do que eu esperava e acho que isso, mais o próximo ponto me incomodou mais.

5) Apropriação cultural: pra mim esse é o tema central do livro. Esse é o "grande desafio" dentro do romance que acontece aqui entre Nishat e Flávia; todo o discurso de "mas é arte e arte é pública", "você está exagerando", "mas é uma homenagem, você deveria achar bom", "você está vendo coisa onde nem existe" é exatamente o que ouvimos sempre.

É assim que funciona o sistema colonizador: quando tem algo que gostam, como a arte ou uma comida, tudo bem! Viva diversidade, olha como somos globalizados! Mas quando a existência de povos racializados e originários fica desconfortável, quando nós fazemos a própria arte, falamos alto demais e reivindicamos o que é nosso, aí foi longe demais. Deveríamos nos civilizar mais e "se misturar melhor".

O curioso na história aqui é que é uma pessoa racializada se apropria: Flávia é birracial e se identifica como uma mulher negra e, apesar da prima branca terrível e bullying que tem, ela é quem começa com todo o processo de apropriação cultural e joga algumas dessas frases incríveis de que "arte não tem dono" quando falam sobre o trabalho com henna. Ela simplesmente não entende o que é apropriação cultural e a Nishat é um ANJO de ainda tentar explicar e ela fica tentando explicar para TODO MUNDO O LIVRO INTEIRO. Quando eu penso na quantidade de estresse e energia que a Nishat teve ao longo do livro para lidar não só com as situações de violência que passa na escola e em casa sobre sua identidade como lésbica e uma mulher bengali, filha de imigrantes, asiática...

Eu acho que a história focou depois na prima bullying e como é terrível o jeito que ela tratava as pessoas e na "violência mais aparente" quando tinha uma discussão bem maior pra acontecer. Apesar disso, ainda acho que o livro conseguiu ser didático e natural para explicar apropriação para quem não entende e que isso pode acontecer em qualquer situação, não apenas partindo de brancos com povos racializados ou originários.

É um livro muito mais pesado do que parece. É uma bomba de sentimentos disfarçado em um YA contemporâneo que tem uma competição de negócios na escola, vários elementos de cultura brasileira e romance. Pra mim, é um livro que precisa ser lido e digerido aos poucos porque tem muita discussão aqui que passa batida por muita gente. Eu gostei bastante da escrita da autora e com certeza vou ficar de olho nos próximos trabalhos que ela lançar. <3

I loved this book and had been quite excited to read about it. A teen rivalry romance, discussions about race and cultural appropriation, as well as a burgeoning self-discovery and coming out - a great mix for a book. The writing was great, the dialogues engaging, and the overall messages really beautiful. We need more books like this, especially ones that show and emphasize the differences between culture and religion, especially relating to being gay, as the author has discussed.

The Henna Wars manages to be such a sweet YA romance, while still being chock full of understandable conflict.

Nishat knows she’s gay and that she can’t be happy hiding it much longer, but is worried that coming out will mean losing her family. When Flavia (re)shows up in her life, Nishat falls for her immediately. But not only is Nishat not ready to be open about who she really is, she learns that Flavia is the cousin of Nishat’s racist bully. And to make matters worse, the school’s business competition sees the two pitted against each other as rival henna artists.

Abida Jaigirdar does a fantastic job of talking about serious issues like cultural appropriation and familial expectations, while balancing these topics with humor and sweetness.

My copy was problematic, in that it skipped pages and each time I took a break, it'd jump to a random old page, requiring me to try and find where I left off. For this, I did not finish.
What I did manage to read was interesting, fresh, and well-written, so I am giving it 4 stars (from what I read) and will likely buy the audiobook to listen to. Still interested in the story.

Full review: https://sumaiyaahmed.com/2020/01/11/the-henna-wars/

I really enjoyed reading this book! Loved the representation, the cultural inclusion, the slow romance! It was fun to read and I can’t wait to purchase more of the authors work

This was a fun read that tackled some heavier topics, including bullying, homophobia, cultural appropriation, and racism. For fans of Never Have I Ever on Netflix, Frankly in Love by David Yoon, or You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to download this book in time. The 5* star rating was chosen in order to not hurt the book sales or ranking, even though it was not possible to read it.

My own lack of understanding about the Irish school system made for a strange reading experience. I kept trying to figure out how old the characters were. 16? 18? I kept thinking that a "transition year" must be like an optional senior year, but the characters read younger. Now that I've googled it and I actually understand that Nishat would be a 10th grader in the United States, and this book makes so much more sense to me.

Sometimes I struggle to fall into the tone and pace of books originally published outside the U.S., and The Henna Wars wasn't an exception. I kept thinking maybe I should picked up the audiobook, thinking it might be easier to sink into the cultural differences if the narrator had an Irish accent, perhaps even a Bengali-Irish accent. I've enjoyed other international books that way. But the PRH audiobook reader has an American accent, so I didn't bother with it.

Things I loved:
- Jaigirdar's presentation of Bengali food, family, henna, language, and discussions about cultural expectations really dance on the page. After the wedding at the beginning of the book I was craving every food item listed.
- Hell yes to two queer girls of color falling for each other.
- Nishat and Priti's relationship is really sweet and their conversations are fun to read.
- Queer longing is done so well, almost bittersweetly. Very reminiscent of The Half of It for me.
- Cultural appropriation, racism, and homophobia are handled so thoughtfully and meaningfully in the book. I haven't seen cultural appropriation handled so well in fiction for teens - who does cultural art belong to? When is it ok to borrow? How is a piece of someone's culture connected to them?

Things I didn't love:
- This book was FAST. The plot was very efficient, but I kept wishing for a bit more time with the characters. I think I would have liked just a little more "fun and games" in the middle.
- You can spot plot "twists" a mile away. (view spoiler)
- I didn't think Nishat and Flávia had much chemistry. There didn't seem to be a reason they were attracted to each other beyond "this is the first gay girl I've ever met and she's pretty."
- The whole thing felt a little... bland. Maybe it was the writing style? I couldn't put my finger on anything in particular. It was just a bit lackluster for me.

Overall a good library buy for QPOC rep and a great discussion about cultural appropriation. Fast and a good fit for younger teens.

Jaigirdar's debut beautifully tackles romance, racism, and cultural appropriation and captures the nuances and complexity of intersectional identity. The chemistry between Nishat and Flavia is palpable and their romance sweet and complex in ways that are heartbreakingly authentic in terms of both self-reflection and self-awareness and implications of their romance on their personal lives and what is at stake for them both. I look forward to hearing more from Jaigirdar in the future, but already this debut is beyond stunning.

Included in May New Releases Part 1, which highlights exciting upcoming releases (link attached).

I wouldn’t call this book particularly romantic as most of the content is heart-wrenching, but it did end happily and I cried my eyes out.

Before attending her cousin's wedding, Nishat feels she can no longer keep from her family that she is a lesbian. Her parents don't freak out, but they're not thrilled either-- according to them, Muslim girls aren't "like that". Nishat runs into childhood friend Flávia at the wedding, and her heart soars immediately... but that flight doesn't last long when Flávia is at her high school, AND copying her idea of running a henna business for a school project. The Henna Wars is friends-to-rivals-to-lovers and I absolutely loved it. Jaigirdar also depicts what is now somewhat common when coming out in the modern age-- not all acceptance, not all harassment, but a gray area that exists in the world that isn't often explored accurately in LGBT media.

I loved this book so much!! It was so cute yet touched upon serious topics such as homophobia and cultural appropriation. I saw a lot of myself in Nishat as well and it brought me so much comfort.