4.5/5 ☆

I have never read a book that made me feel so seen as a Muslim or as a South Asian. So many things about this book, from the characters blaming evil eye on everything to the littlest things like stuffing sewing kit into biscuit tins, was so familiar that it made me think about how I’ve had to downsize my expectations with representation, having to hyper-fixate on scarce words and lines, but this book was so effortlessly Muslim that I didn’t have a single worry about being misrepresented.

I still can’t get over how this book made me laugh even during sad scenes. It was an interesting reading experience, one that I enjoyed a lot, especially because it’s a reminder that our joy exists along with our sorrow. Also I’m never going to forget the goat scenes, or Nida’s mom’s WhatsApp statuses, or the aunty feeding the raccoon.

The writing was almost magnetic. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. One of the biggest reasons for that is the way the author wrote the Muslim community. It captured everything about our community as a whole: our diversity, our brotherhood, our unity. I never thought I’d see it in a book, but I did and I’m so glad.

Rana tackled heavy themes, from how Islam was, in her words, ‘bastardized’ to conversations on the hijab that emphasised that we wear our hijab to show our submission to God brilliantly. The usage of poetry letters was so clever, especially because this book covers so much—from Islamophobia to art to colonisation. There were some poems that I didn’t connect with, but that’s okay because poetry is subjective and I loved most of them. Also, the poetry letters paced the book out, allowing the heavy themes to be explored in an even pace.

Another aspect of the book that is noteworthy is that the author managed to keep true to the character’s age. Oftentimes, when characters are pushed into hard situations, they completely grow up. But not here. Even through her suffering, even though she learnt a lot, Nida was still a teenager figuring things out.

At first I wished that Nida’s relationship with her sister had been explored a bit more, because Nida mentioned that Zaynab kept coming in between her and their mom, but at the same time this makes it more realistic. Especially in the South Asian context, sit-downs rarely happen. We learn as we go.

A reviewer pointed out that despite being upset about her privacy being invaded, Nida does the same thing. I wish that there was a part where she would’ve been corrected and made to understand that her mother is her own person and deserved the right to privacy.

Overall, Hope Ablaze is an amazing book that shouldn’t be missed! I highly recommend this to everyone, especially Muslim and South Asians (especially Pakistanis).

I have been withholding my review in support of the boycott on St. Martin’s Press and it’s imprints and I will continue to do so until all the concerns are addressed. Readers and influencers demand accountability and action.

St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books need to be held accountable for their silence, in relation to their treatment of BIPOC creators and their staff. While I am excited to read this book, I will be withholding my review.

"Hope Ablaze" by Sarah Mughal Rana is a powerful and timely young adult novel that tackles themes of Islamophobia, wrongful incarceration, and finding one's voice in the face of systemic oppression. The story follows Nida, a Muslim teen whose poem about being illegally frisked at a political rally accidentally wins a national competition, thrusting her into the center of a scandal.

Rana's writing is raw and unflinching as she explores the overwhelming racism and bigotry facing Muslim Americans, especially in the wake of 9/11. The novel blends free verse poetry and prose to give voice to Nida's experiences and interior life. The poems are often poignant and impactful, capturing Nida's feelings of anger, fear, and desire for change.

The characterization is strong, with Nida's relationships with her family and community feeling authentic and well-developed. Rana does an excellent job balancing the pain of bigotry with the love and support that pours in from Nida's community. The Muslim community's rallying together to support Nida's family financially is a particularly moving example of solidarity in the face of adversity.

While the pacing can be uneven at times, with some poems feeling more like scene transitions than explorations of Nida's interiority, this is a minor quibble. Overall, "Hope Ablaze" is a powerful and necessary read that gives voice to the experiences of Muslim teens in America today. Rana's unflinching critique of the bipartisan system's failure to support Muslim Americans is a bold statement.

Fans of socially conscious young adult fiction will find much to appreciate in "Hope Ablaze." Rana's debut novel is a promising start, and readers will eagerly await her next work. This is a story that will stay with you long after the final page.

Hope Ablaze follows Nida as she is unfairly frisked by security at a political rally. Nida loves to write and chose to put her feelings into her poetry. When her poem goes viral after being submitted into a poetry contest, Nida’s life is flipped upside down. Nida didn’t submit the poem and she is emotionally destroyed to see her work out in the open for all to see. Not only this but the backlash she begins to receive because of the content brings her down further.

This book was powerful and impactful. It covers many topics that are still important today. The poetry was a great added touch and the overarching story was amazing. Overall I give this 4/5 stars.

DNF at 18%. This book felt like it wanted to be something that was profound, but it ended up being more of a caricature of activism and social change. The book relied on poetry as the medium for the MC to express herself. The poetry is supposed to be moving and impactful, but it was so bad. Like so cringey it pulled me out of the book. The rap battles were embarrassing, giving Save the Last Dance vibes. Like those people thought they did something.

I think the author wrote this with the intent for it to be a movie. Scenes just happened in order to move the plot in a clunky way that didn’t develop characters or connection. Lastly, all of the characters and scenes had such a negative, bitter tone. It was not inspiring at all. This was a good concept, but the execution was not.

This book is incredibly powerful and heart-wrenching, diving deep into the extreme racism Muslim people face and the heightened racism and profiling following 9/11. The poetry is stunning, often leaving me breathless. This story is deeply emotional and unflinching - it is a necessary read for not only young adults, but readers of all ages. Please pick up this book and share it widely - it is a pivotal reading experience!

Very interesting, solid YA novel. In parts it felt a little preachy but I also learned a lot so maybe it evens out. Wednesday Books rarely misses and did not with this one, even if it was not my favorite. 3/5

I'm sorry to say that this book was just poorly written right from the start. The plot was confusing, the characters were all over the place, and the poetry that was supposed to be a big part of the story was just not well written at all.

DNF at 17%. I tried this in both print and audio just could not do it. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters or plot points. I was bored. Thanks anyway for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana. It was an absolutely incredible read. The prose was engaging, the poetry both inspiring and heartbreaking. While I can't personally relate to what Nida went through (as a white christian in the US), her turmoil, her relationship with her peers and family, and her struggles finding herself amongst it all is utterly relatable.

While the dash of magical realism kind of confused me at first, I ended up appreciating it after finishing the book. It allowed for an even larger connection to family and community, as well as gave her more 'context' when decision making... but it did throw me for a while there.

Definitely recommend this book!

I was really excited to read this as a fellow South Asian but I was immediately hit with storylines that left me confused and I eventually DNF. This book read like it was literally set right after 9/11, not now (which is when it is set). While I can believe there are characters like the main character in this book, it felt like the story relied on stereotypes which really hurts to say - I know many Muslim Pakistani girls, many of whom are my friends, and I could not see any comparison between them and Nida.

I kept trying to give this a go and even read through some reviews but I think that ultimately backfired and convinced me to not continue reading. One review justified my absolute confusion at a goat roaming around their apartment before slaughter - I could believe this if this took place in the countryside but not in a metropolitan city.

Also, I absolutely do not think this should be compared to All My Rage - feels like it only is because both have a Pakistani girl in the US…that’s not enough.

I really liked what the author was trying to do: addressing how Islamophobia within the U.S. carceral system has affected Muslims negatively, especially poets after 9-11 who got labeled "terrorists", and how Islamophobia is present within both U.S. political parties even if democrats aren't as brazen as Republicans. She does this through the eyes of a young Pakistani American high school student, Muslim, and poet who gets (unconstitutionally) frisked as she is trying to pray and accidentally finds herself outside of a Democratic political candidate's rally. As she tries to seek justice, she gets further entrapped in stereotypes against Muslims played up by the media especially after they find out her poet uncle is in prison for "terrorism." Luckily, she has her community and local Poets' Block to cheer her up and remind her who she is and where she comes from.

However, some parts of the story felt a bit heavy-handed and, like editing could have gone a bit deeper. The magical realism felt like it came out of nowhere instead of working with the story in the first third. The flashback to her ancestors was especially abrupt and not deep enough to be meaningful or otherwise threaded into the story.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC, all thoughts my own.

Hope Ablaze is not an easy book to read. I find books dealing with racism to be hard and it’s probably because it hurts me when characters hurt - yes, I’m that person who cries at commercials (chuckle). Sarah Mughal Rana makes you feel everything that Nida is feeling, even the blue thread.

I love the poetry that runs throughout the book. It is powerful and full of truth. It slams with an impact and I bet the audio is amazing. I can hear Nida in a jam now and how the crowd would be responding.

The author gives us a character to root for and stand with as she finds her voice to speak loudly with. I love Nida and even the crazy goat. The secondary characters define Nida just as much as her pen does. Hope Ablaze is everything you want a young adult novel to be and so much more. I love it.

Hope Ablaze is honestly a very hard book for me to review. I'm a 40 something year old white woman (not the target YA audience). I can't necessarily relate to the characters (back to the whole being a white lady in the US). I have never been treated the way Nida, a young Muslim woman was throughout this book. I can tell you that there were so many moments when I was reading that I felt anger at the injustice of it all. I think it was a great representation of how both US political parties can be problematic. And that the fact we have a two party system leaves huge gaps. There are major groups of people in the US who don't feel represented because of this system.

Books like this remind me why i love and cherish reading. I appreciate being given the opportunity to learn through reading this fictional, yet highly plausible story. I guess where I have a hard time with this book is that I really wanted to throw the book across the room quite often. I didn't like feeling so hopelessly mad and it made me want to stop reading. But otherwise, i found tremendous value in this story and hope this author keeps on writing because I'd read her next one!

This was a really important story and one I was very happy to see represented in the publishing world. The author used poetry and weaved it into a really heartbreaking, hot button topic.

I was slightly taken aback by the magical realism the book. It took away from the story for me. I was distracted by the “magic” and lost some of the heart of the story.

I also had some difficulties getting through the poetry sections as I found them lacking but maybe I just don’t appreciate poetry the right way.

Beyond that, the relationships are special and the injustices are horrible but the characters are inspiring. I found the voting section at the end particularly relatable and frustrating. While it had some faults, I think for a Young Adult novel it is a strong story.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

I find this review very difficult to write. I also find this book difficult to rate - so I'm leaving it right in the middle at 3 stars.

There is definitely a group and voice for this book. There are strong themes here and it will make people both uncomfortable but also push them outside of what they know. There is magic realism that, while I found it jarring, I think others will appreciate the nuance it added to the story. There are also parts in the book with poetry. Although I don't read a lot of poetry, it can work as a great medium to tell really deep feelings without the mess of a lot of words. Sometimes the message is just as much what's said as what isn't. Again, while I didn't love it, I think it worked well as a overall part to the story and I appreciated breaking up the parts it was placed in.

But this is a deeply personal story from the author. And, although this is fiction, there are experiences that are very real, similar but with different characters, tied around politics, religion, racism and violence. This isn't a space I feel comfortable making an opinion on, telling someone how they feel isn't okay or isn't "right." All I can do, I believe, is be a witness to this story. To absorb the words, take them in, and then move forward knowing a new perspective, new information. It makes me want to seek even MORE information, so that I can be as informed and as knowledgeable as possible. I'm glad I read this story. It was moving and sad but also a good reminder.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Overall I enjoyed reading this, there was a moment that made me emotional and I realized I had actually grown more attached to the characters than I expected. It’s always a pleasant surprise when that realization just creeps up on you - at least I’m always left feeling like hmm wow, you did the job.

The story took an unexpected turn when there was an element of magical realism that added a new layer of intrigue (this is why I avoid book blurbs and summaries as much as possible, so I can be pleasantly surprised).

This was, in some ways, a coming of age story that did a good job at weaving in commentary on identity, family, community (the good and the bad), Islamophobia and what it means to stand your ground and uphold your morals and beliefs. It makes for a timely read too considering the currently global political climate!

Oh and the food! Like sheesh…I think I was only a few pages in before Sarah’s writing had me craving Pakistani food.

I will say there were two drawbacks for me, though they did not detract from my overall reading experience, for the most part.

1. The dialogue and some of the character reactions/conclusions sometimes felt… abrupt.
2. Somewhere along the middle it got a little repetitive before it started to pick up and progress more.

This is a powerful story that shines a light on Islam0phobia and the impact words can have. I loved the interspersion of poetry written as letters. I think this is something that is a must read in the culture that we live in.

I liked the premise of this book, with the main inciting incident being interesting and not something I’ve read in YA before. The ensuing conflict was also engaging and made me want to keep reading. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the poetry woven throughout, and the magical realism piece (which I first mistook for a metaphor that hit just a little too hard on the nose) didn’t work for me. Good social commentary and rep, but just missed the mark from being great!