a b "The Henna Wars - Book Review". commonsensemedia.org. 10 July 2020 . Retrieved 30 January 2022. I still have a thing for Taylor Swift, after all- even though I hate all of her white feminism nonsense."

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 This book truly never sidesteps any uncomfortable feeling and dives straight into important issues with nuance and thoughtfulness. Bullying and marginalization in school come up in The Henna Wars as well. Jaigirdar says that “even now, in a lot of schools you would be very hard-pressed to find much diversity, so I think sometimes teachers aren’t aware of how to deal with bullying when it comes to race.” She says she “loved writing about Bengali culture, especially because growing up, I never saw that in books or in the media. When I first started writing the book, I was really just writing it for myself. It was a way for me to see a reflection of myself in books because nobody else had provided that for me. I knew that other Bengali people were also starved for this representation, so I hope that they will resonate with this.” rep :: Bengali Muslim lesbian MC, Brazilian-Irish (Afro-Latinx) bisexual LI, side Bengali characters, side Korean character Well, regardless, she's said some stuff and now she's going around with henna on her hands. That's cultural appropriation."On top of dealing with her parents’ rejection of her sexuality and her new crush, Nishat is challenged with taking part in a school business project. She decides to set up a henna business — but when she discovers Flávia is setting up a henna business too, it throws a spanner in the works. What can Nishat do when she realises Flávia is appropriating her culture? And that she’s also related to — and is working with — a girl that has bullied Nishat for years? Nishat enters a school entrepreneurial competition and starts a Mehndi stall, offering henna tattoos. Flávia and Chyna also open a henna stall to enter the competition, which angers Nishat, who feels that they are engaging in cultural appropriation. Flávia, by contrast, feels that henna tattooing is a universal art style and sees nothing wrong with her having a stall. Nishat and Chyna attempt to sabotage each other while Flávia remains mostly unaware of the rivalry. Flávia eventually realizes why her use of henna bothers Nishat, and she stops. Nishat's parents become more accepting of their daughter, and she becomes romantically involved with Flávia. a b c d Khan, Mariam (16 June 2021). " 'I didn't know Asian people could be queer - I hope my book helps other Muslims' ". Metro . Retrieved 30 January 2022. This story contains scenes of bullying and blatant racism. There is also a very painful scene with someone being outed and these scenarios can be triggers for some readers. The Conclusion

Nishat's parents have their walls up—like many Asian immigrants—when the idea of changing systems or accepting what they had unexpected is put forward. Their elder daughter comes out as a lesbian and their response is predictable but as hurtful as any reaction that involves cold shoulders and communication suspensions would be. The consequential anxiety that Nishat experiences is indicative of the mental impact a 'suffocating' South-Asian culture can have.One good thing to come out of this is the character development and Flávia’s realisation that her views are flawed, and that she’s also been distancing herself from her own culture due to trying to fit in with her white family members. It also turns out that Flávia’s cousin, whether she realises it or not, has been racist towards Nishat and others – for example, she constantly jokes about Nishat’s Bangladeshi heritage, especially the food she eats, and this leads to others bullying her too. Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Fighting continues in Sudan’s capital after army announces truce list 2 of 4 Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Indonesia, Malaysia after COVID-19 list 3 of 4 Palestinians in Gaza welcome Eid al-Fitr list 4 of 4 This Eid, we remember Syria’s disappeared end of list