very interesting book that talked aboujt some very sensitive subjects in a very well-done way. tysm for the arc. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Harper360YA and NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for review!

This book has a hard topic and I feel it was addressed well. It deals with issues such as racism, anti-refugee/immigrants, and Islamophobia. This book doesn't shy away from the hard discussions and discusses it in a nuanced way that is accessible to many readers. It gives the perspective of a character who while hesitant at first grows into her own and stands up for what she believes in. This book shows the importance of a strong support network, along with differing perspectives on issues. Overall, this was a good book and one that I would recommend to all readers!

This is the second book I have read by Nadia Hashimi, the first was "The Pearl who broke it's Shell" and I that book stayed with me for a long time. I learned so much as I read the book. She did the same with this book. She weaved together a story around racism, intolerance, Islamophobia and dual identity with Afghan-American twins Yalda and Yusuf. This book is so complex and yet so easy to read. It brings up a lot of ideas and could be discussed in so many really important ways.
Her protagonists are your average teenagers growing up in a suburban Virginia town that has seen a recent influx of Afghan refugees. When Yusuf takes a joke around religion too far (at least for the white folks in that town), the twins find themselves in the middle of a huge controversy that almost destroys their family. "Spilled Ink" is timely and relevant to help provide perspective from other POVs. I hope to get in the hands of students at the library. The lives and experiences of Afghan refugees and immigrants have had little representation in mainstream publishing. I am thrilled for those who will pick up a copy of Spilled Ink and find a glimpse of their experiences as a mirror and those who will pick it up as a window.
After reading this book, I definitely want to read more by Nadia Hashimi. I would highly recommend this book to readers.

Moving and complex. This book is so valuable in this current climate and I would love so many people to read it. The chapters are engaging and you want to read more about them.

Nadia Hashimi’s latest Young Adult novel, Spilled Ink, may be fiction, but it will open eyes to deep-seated social issues within contemporary society. Featuring teenage banter, school life, and a fictional social media platform called Pick-Up, it caters to youth, but its suspenseful plot, social issues, and important message can also be read by adults.

Hashimi sets the opening scene in the Jamali home as two high school seniors, the twins Yalda and Yusuf, prepare for school, fight over the bathroom, and rush to meet Yusuf’s friend Keith, a close neighbor, for their walk to school. Brief mentions of the twins’ pranks, of the family’s loss of Yalda and Yusuf’s cousin Rahim, and of “PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD” signs cropping up in local yards all hint at trouble to come.

Outgoing, charismatic Yusuf, a guitarist and songwriter, along with band members Liam and Chris, are scheduled to compete in a battle of the bands at Wherehouse, a local nightspot adjacent to a bar. Introverted, artistic Yalda and Yusuf’s friend Keith decide to attend together. Keith’s brother—a veteran of the war in Afghanistan--and Yalda’s two best friends tag along, the Muslim students concealing from disapproving parents where they have gone. When a member of the band preceding Yusuf’s, makes derogatory remarks about immigrants as Yusef’s band listens in the wings, Yusef cannot resist responding once his band has taken the stage. His words set off a firestorm that spreads overnight on social media, adversely impacting Yusuf and his family. Tensions escalate from there.
As readers follow the impending tragedy and watch family, community, and police deal with it, they also learn what happened to Yalda and Yusuf’s cousin Rahim.

Hashimi draws upon her professional and personal background as pediatrician and daughter of Afghan immigrants as well as on that of her husband, a neurosurgeon and Afghan refugee. Having also worked with Operation Allies Welcome, which has aided recent refugees who helped American troops during the war in Afghanistan, Hashimi knows her novel’s subject matter, including opposition to Afghan and other Muslim immigrants and refugees and the difficulties of cultural assimilation.

The book’s epigraph comes from the 14th-century poet Hafez: “What we speak becomes the house we live in.” Few ideas could be more central to Spilled Ink. The more our young people come to understand this message, the more hope we have for peace and understanding.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books for an advance reader egalley of this highly recommended YA novel.

I loved this book, it was not an easy one to read as it talks about sensitive subjects, but it was a very good read that made me understand better how the Afghan people are struggling when they're fleeing the terrors of their own country. The characters were great and I felt connected with them and I understood so many things through them. This is definitely a book that needs to be read by everyone.

Spilled Ink is the newest book by Nadia Hashimi. This is a book I choose to read because of the cover. It is mysterious but also really pretty. What will this book have in store for it's readers?

The book starts of right away. I felt like there was little time to get to know Yalda and Yusuf in the beginning and was hoping I would get to know better throughout the story. However this wasn't the case.
I do see a lot of potential in this book, however I feel because of the lack of details it just couldn't reach it's potential. Nadia Hashimi does have a nice writing style, making this book a rather easy read. Just because I felt like this book could have been way better, I give it a 2,5 star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quill Tree Books, and HarperCollins Children's Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Spilled Ink on June 4, 2024.

Even within the first few chapters, I could tell this author writes with an achingly honest and heartfelt voice. The characters leaped off the page, and I felt their emotions so viscerally. While I wish I could've finished the entire story, unfortunately, I don't think I'm in the right mood/headspace to give this book the review it deserves. The issues it addresses are crucially important, and I definitely want to come back to this story when I'm able to fully immerse myself in it.

I read to the 11% mark before deciding to not finish this. The summary intrigued me but the first 11% was filled with Yusuf and Yalda play fighting, a walk to school with Yusuf's friend Keith who Yalda has a crush on, a walk back home from school, and Yalda's love for artwork and descriptions about her artwork. I really wanted to keep reading, but the 11% was not enough to capture my attention. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this.