Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own. 

 

Book: Hope Ablaze 

 

Author: Sarah Mughal Rana 

 

Book Series: Standalone 

 

Rating: 4/5 

 

Diversity: Muslim Pakistani MC, Muslim Pakistani characters, Syrian characters, Christian Syrian character 

 

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, poetry 

 

Publication Date: February 27, 2024 

 

Genre: YA Contemporary 

 

Age Relevance: 14+ (religion, racism, islamaphobia, terrorism, police brutality, animal death, violence, gun violence, death) 

 

Explanation of Above: The Islamic religion is shown proudly throughout the book. There are scenes of racism and islamaphobia. Terrorism is mentioned and police brutality is shown and mentioned. There is an animal death mentioned (slaughter of a goat). There are scenes of violence and a shooting is mentioned. There is some death discussed in the book. 

 

Publisher: Wednesday Books 

 

Pages: 384 

 

Synopsis: Nida has always been known as Mamou Abdul-Hafeedh’s niece - the poet that will fill her uncle’s shoes after he was wrongfully incarcerated during the war on terror. But for Nida, her poetry letters are her heart and sharing so much of herself with a world that stereotypes her faith and her hijab is not an option. When Nida is illegally frisked at a Democratic Senatorial candidate’s political rally, she writes a scathing poem about the politician, never expecting the letter to go viral weeks before Election Day. Nida discovers her poem has won first place in a national contest, a contest she never entered, and her quiet life is toppled. But worst of all, Nida loses her ability to write poetry. In the aftermath of her win, Nida struggles to balance the expectations of her mother, her uncle, and her vibrant Muslim community with the person she truly wants to be. With a touch of magic and poetry sprinkled throughout, Sarah Mughal Rana's Hope Ablaze is heartbreaking, often funny, and ultimately uplifting, not only celebrating the Islamic faith and Pakistani culture, but simultaneously confronting racism and Islamophobia with unflinching bravery. 

 

Review: This was such a good read. The book revolves around Nida who is following in her uncle’s footsteps of becoming a poet. Following a racist incident led by a political figure, Nida writes a poem about the incident which gets leaked. The book follows Nida as she navigates the insane racism and terrorism following the incident as well as discovering how the poem got leaked. The book was very impactful and honest in showing how the USA treats Muslim citizens. The book features some good poetry as well, so it’s great for people who like slam poetry in books. The book had great world building and character development as well. 

 

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was that it was a bit repetitive in places and there were some spots where I was like “eh… is that necessary?”. But overall I did think that the book was good. 

 

Verdict: It was thought provoking. Highly recommend.