The Henna Wars is a LGBTQ+ romance novel by Adiba Jaigirdar. Nishat is surprised by the lack of response that she receives when she comes out as a lesbian to her parents. She soon realizes, however, that her parents think that it's a phase which will pass if they simply don't mention it. Nishat tries to go along with the plan, with hopes of proving to her parents that being a lesbian is okay, when a childhood friend, Flávia, walks back into her life.
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating, by Adiba Jaigirdar, is a LGBTQ+ romance novel.When Hani comes out as bisexual to her school friends, they tell her that she can't be bi if she's only ever dated guys. To defend herself, Hani lies that she's actually dating a girl at school - Ishu. Ishu and Hani are opposites, but make a pact to pretend to date each other because it benefits them.
This book took me a total of 2 days to complete. I was delightfully surprised when I learned that this was the first published book of Madeline Miller, as I’ve read some of her other astonishing and addicting works. This story revolves around the famous Greek hero Achilles and his companion he held for most of his life- Patroclus. Rather than retelling the classic and widespread stories of Achilles’s heel, Miller took an alternative approach to the myths and lifted from the dusty covers the factor of love and friendship, in addition to the hardships and glory the hero faces.
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating is written by Adiba Jaigirdar. It’s a contemporary romance with lots of humor. The main characters are Humaira Khan and Ishita Dey, or Hani and Ishu. Hani is a Bangladeshi Irish, popular, easy-going person and has 2 popular best friends, Aisling and Dee. Ishu’s the complete opposite, an academic overachiever who seems to have no social life other than studying. When Hani comes out to her friends as bisexual, they immediately try to invalidate her because she’s never dated a girl.
Solitaire, by Alice Oseman, is a realistic fiction novel set in the same universe as most of Oseman's other books. Victoria Spring, more commonly known as Tori, likes blogging and sleeping. She doesn't have a real friend group at school, so she drifts through her life as a character in her brother's and his boyfriend's life. That is, until she discovers a trail of Post-It notes from her locker to an unused computer lab, where she finds a note from Solitaire.
She Drives Me Crazy is teen novel following the relationship between basketball player Scottie Zajac and cheerleader Irene Abraham. It’s the start of the basketball season, and Scottie’s team is playing against their rival high school. When Scottie is assigned to guard her toxic ex-girlfriend Tally her focus starts to slip and they end up losing.
The Deepest Breath is about a girl named Stevie. She wants to know about a lot of things in the world, and her list of questions is never ending. The reason she wants to be so knowledgeable is to know how to keep her and everyone she loves safe. Throughout this book, she is constantly learning how to cope with her worries. But, there is one very important thing she must know- what is this fizzy feeling in her chest when she is with her friend Chloe?
This book is definitely in my top 10 books of this year. I loved the portrayal of lgbtq+ themes with fantasy. It also has a mythological aspect to it. It’s honestly refreshing to see a book that has lgbtq+ as a subplot and focuses more on fantasy. Most lgbtq+ book are more slice of life or coming of age, although those are fun to read from time to time. Overall I loved this book.
After Virgil’s parent’s divorce he finds himself in a small town in Florida where he sticks out like a sore thumb. One night he stumbles into the streets, bruised and bloody. Virgil was attacked by a monster in the forest. But nobody believes that he was attacked like he says. Suddenly, the most painful night of his life turns into something he gets constant ridicule for. Grappling with this and trying to sort out what attacked him is hard. He must be careful though; he doesn’t want to become a monster himself. But after that night things just aren’t right...
