The Henna Wars

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Nishat is outed very close to the end (I don’t want to put this in spoiler tags in case it’s triggering for some - I know many people don’t want to read books in which people are outed, and I don’t blame them!) One of my favourite things about this book is the side characters and their importance in the progression of the story and the growth of the main character. I really love when stories have positive sibling relationships, and I loved the relationship between Nishat and her little sister Priti. This book introduces a lot of things: Nishat’s decision to come out to her parents, meeting Flávia, discovering Flávia is also new to her school, Flavia using henna as a business idea. Flávia is also dealing with a lot of tension from her cousin’s family. On top of that, all is the central theme of cultural appropriation, which made this a book a great space to discuss such a topic. But I feel like it was all too much and nothing was given the space actually to be discussed. To call it rivals to lovers is a reach, Nishat’s friends were practically sidelined and then reintroduced at the end for the pivotal moment. Nishat has a terrible attitude where she expects everyone else to feel bad for her, but she refuses to extend the same opportunity to everyone else. There was a perfect moment where her sister calls her out on her petty behaviour, but I feel like it was all for nought as everything is brushed away in favour of a happy ever after ending. Nishat’s anger and disappointment in most moments were justified, but she never really seems to learn from any of the bad stuff she does.

It’d be a lie to say that I didn’t have high expectations for this book. (I mean, the premise is essentially “what if we were business rivals who may or may not have feelings for each other? and we were both girls?” so how could I not.) And I’m very happy to say that I was not disappointed in the least! The author also highlights how the school administration is complicit in the mistreatment Nishat has suffered throughout her scholarity, showing the systemic aspect of the oppression of marginalised minorities. It follows Nishat, a little, naïve, sweet Bengali Muslim teenager living in Ireland. She's a great daughter, sister and her parents are proud of her(or so they thought).

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First of all, Nishat is SO CUTE. She’s absolutely adorable when she’s crushing. I have to say, the teenage feeling of having a crush was quite on-point here. The new-ness and excitement that comes with crushing on someone is a whole experience on its own. sibling relationship 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 choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.

What follows is an impossible-to-look-away-from competition that gets nastier and nastier before it ever resolves, raising questions of cultural appropriation and racism along the way. This is one of those books where I can see people saying they dislike the protagonist. Nishat is very stubborn and alienates a lot of people, but I couldn’t help but think she was… right. I don’t know if some people will think Nishat is being petty, but if so, I guess I am exactly that kind of petty because I was 100% on her side. Jaigirdar drew inspiration from both Desi and Western media when writing The Henna Wars. She has cited works like the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and The Princess Diaries, as well as LGBT musicians like Hayley Kiyoko and Janelle Monáe. [7] She also credited Ireland's literary culture with influencing her love of writing at a young age. [1] Publication history [ edit ]Nishat was a great protagonist. Her journey was enticing and true, paving an easy path into the readers heart. I really liked following her through school and home life amidst the challenges making themselves present. I’m a foodie to the core and I am not ashamed to admit that I went to culinary heaven every time a Bengali delicacy was mentioned. I also enjoyed re-living my teenage years of secondary school assignments, having quirky friends and basking in the unexplainable joy that goes hand in hand with first love. I can’t draw or design anything to save my life but I was happy to tag along with Nishat while she perfected her henna art. I really wished that I could go through my kindle because I would have loved to see her in action and get a henna tattoo as well. Heads Up June 08, 2020: So glad to be featuring the author on my blog as she writes a guest post about the importance of conversations around sexual orientation in stories with South Asian culture while she also divulges a little about the history of sexuality and gender spectrum in pre-colonial South Asia.

While several discussions of sexuality and cultural appropriation were presented, I wish they were looked at in more depth. Nishat is unsettled by Flavia using henna the first few instances that it happens. After a while a romance ensues between them -and save for a vague apology- the cultural appropriation upsetting Nishat is not discussed between them. For this reason I wasn’t fully on board with the romance, though the characters are all young and written realistically.This book truly means everything to me and seeing these two girls being unapologetically happy made my heart feel a lot. I was definitely teary-eyed when I finished it and it took me awhile to take it all in; all the feelings of being seen and understood, all the joy and happiness. The Henna Wars is a slight tug at one's heartstrings with a sapphic romance budding through the fields of authentic cultural and religious representation along with an excellent portrayal of a young desi lesbian girl challenging the evident cultural appropriation around her. These themes of racism and cultural appropriation lead to some great discussions between the characters and it could potentially encourage readers to think more deeply about their own views too. I was so happy that Nishat and her friends found the strength they needed to stand up for themselves. Other Characters: Priti, Chaewon, and Jess NGILBERT (14 January 2021). "2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . Retrieved 30 January 2022. From lighting incense to torches, celebrations in East and Southeast Asia are a sensory experience. Muslim girls carry torches as they parade to celebrate Eid in Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi, Indonesia [File: Yusuf Wahil/AP Photo] Chinese Hui Muslim men light incense at the ‘Sheiks Tombs’ after Eid prayers at the historic Niujie Mosque in Beijing, China [File: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images]