This book was a lovely reading. One of the things that made it more meaningful to me is that Flávia, the protagonist's love interest, is Brazilian (as well as, obviously, gay). I'm a Brazilian sapphic and believe me when I say that it's not common for me to see that kind of representation in international books. Or media, in general. Adding to that representation, but this time one that doesn't apply to me, Flávia is also a black girl. The story, despite its highs, did have its lows, which I certainly am going to address.
"The Henna Wars" centres around Nishat, a Bengali lesbian who struggles with racism and homophobia at school (the latter with her family also). It starts at the wedding of one of Nishat's cousins, where they meet Flávia, a childhood friend they hadn't seen in years, again. The both of them discover that they're classmates again some days later, but Nishat also finds out that Flávia's cousin is Chyna, a white girl who was once her friend, then spread a rumor about Nishat's father's restaurant being unsanitary.
Then, a school project is announced: to make a business, and the winner's prize would be in cash! The problem was, Flávia and Chyna decided their business would be the same as Nishat's: the making of henna tattoos, an art typical of Nishat's culture and that Flávia only had contact to during the wedding.
Now, with the criticism! Nishat was a really nice main character: though she's flawed, she's likeable and relatable; but I don't think I loved any characters in this book. The closest to that is Nishat herself, then Flávia, but I'm still disappointed at some of her racist attitudes and speech. Since we're on that topic, I'll say that I didn't like the consequences (or the lack of them) suffered by the people who were racist/LGBTphobic in this book. Many don't apologize or don't do it properly, but they are forgiven and I didn't feel like they really suffered the consequences. They could've been expelled or suspended from the school, or lose friends/popularity, but none of the consequences were not even nearly as serious as racism and LGBTphobia are.
I've also heard criticism over Nishat not noticing others around her are struggling, as a criticism of both her personality and character, but I personally don't fault her or the author for it. It's clear she's suffered a lot throughout the book and it's normal if she didn't really notice others' problems while she was going through... well, a lot of hellish situations. So yeah, I think it made her more... real, human, y'know. Relatable.
The ending was a satisfactory one, but despite being crazy for those, I didn't particularly like this one. Besides the lack of serious consequences to racism and homophobia, I also would've preferred if Nishat and Flávia hadn't ended up together; at least, not at that moment. I longed to see Nishat's anger at many moments, as it'd be some kind of self preservation, but I didn't see it enough. I think that, before entering a relationship, the both of them should've explored Flávia's mistakes. It was clear to me that both needed some growing on their own before a relationship.
It might seem like I thought it was a bad book, but I swear that isn't the case. It felt heartwarming to see my culture, my language being used in an international book; I loved reading a story about other lesbians with a different experience with lesbianism than I did, which is also good, and the diversity in the ways families deal with someone being LGBTQ+: we have Nishat's family, which isn't accepting at all at first, but are trying, then we get to see Flávia with her mom referencing her sexuality in a way that's so... simple, normal, the kind of thing you say daily without needing to think it through. I should also say that I felt like giving the book three stars, because most of the reasons why I gave it for were related to being emotional while seeing LGBTQ+ and Brazilian representation. So, do with this information as you will!
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