When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life 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 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.

This book is absolutely stunning. It has an intricate plot and complicated, intense characters. Nishat is appealing and intriguing, yet still flawed. Throughout the story, she deals with conflicting emotions, a racist, homophobic bully, and her family's expectations of her. Her younger sister, Priti, is probably one of my favorite characters in any book and definitely takes the cake for the best character in this one. She's enthusiastic, fun, and also Nishat's best friend. She helps Nishat deal with the competition, her parent's hatred, and Chyna, her school bully. 

Another thing this book does really well is making sure the "villain" isn't just evil because "she wants to be." Chyna, although horrible, has motives behind what she is doing, which causes Nishat to empathize with her, even though Chyna doesn't deserve it. 

We recommend this book for ages 11+.

-Pigeon