Title: The Henna Wars
Author: Adiba Jaigirdar
Narrator: Priya Ayyar
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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This was such an amazing book. It caught my eye when I first saw the cover, and I’ve been wanting to read it for a while now. I finally added it to my TBR as part of the Bratz Readathon (Sep 2020), as it was picked as the Team Book. I listened to the audiobook, and I’m glad to say I loved it so very much.
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Nishat is a young Muslim girl who starts off the book struggling with her decision to come out to her mom. They just attended a Bengali wedding, and the fact that nothing about a wedding to a man appeals to her and she wants to let her parents know not to expect that from her. the book deals with her parents coming to terms with her sexuality, and a host of other important issues. I love that these issues are highlighted in a YA book, because readers of a younger age need more books like this to see people like them, dealing with issues they are dealing with.
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Nishat’s relationship with her sister is, to me, the most beautiful thing about this book. In most YA books (that I’ve read), the best friends take the main support role while siblings are relegated to the background. In The Henna Wars, however, Nishat’s sister is her closest confidant, the first person she came out to, and even though Nishat is the older sister, her sister is usually her shoulder to cry on. I love how they are always there for each other, their inside jokes about their parents, and how they sort through their issues.
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Cultural appropriation is a huge theme in this book, and it’s one of the major plot threads in Flavia and Nishat’s story. I really disliked Flavia at the beginning of the book because she was being so obtuse, closeminded, and purposely ignorant about appropriating Nishat’s culture. Nishat is a much better person that I am because I would have done way more than she did to run Flavia’s business to the ground! Bullying, homophobia, and racism also play a major role in this book especially through China’s character. Lots of rumors are passed around about Nishat, and there was a forced outing in this book.
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I enjoyed reading this, and I loved how everything played out! 10/10 would recommend.
Blurb
Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat decide to showcase their talent as henna artists. In a fight to prove who is the best, their lives become more tangled―but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush, especially since Flávia seems to like her back.
As the competition heats up, Nishat has a decision to make: stay in the closet for her family, or put aside her differences with Flávia and give their relationship a chance.
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