Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2020 Gr 7–10—When Nishat, 16, comes out to her Bengali Muslim parents, the silence is overwhelming. Their tacit agreement to give her time to "change her mind" and their refusal to understand her sexuality adds to her general feelings of alienation as one of the only immigrants and people of color in her secondary school in Ireland. By starting a henna business for a school assignment, Nishat is excited to highlight an aspect of her heritage that she thinks her peers will actually understand. But when her crush, Flávia, a Brazilian-Irish artist, opens a competing henna stand, Nishat feels deeply violated and channels her anger into bringing Flávia's business down. Jaigirdar captures Nishat's pain as her friends deny the racism and homophobia in their school, and, ignoring Flávia's moves as cultural appropriation, dismiss her as jealous. The novel's Dublin setting, with its tight-knit Bengali community, informs all the characters' interactions, creating a nuanced and specific world. However, it is Nishat's heartbreaking clarity about who she is and what she experiences that drives this story forward to its deeply satisfying conclusion. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of school stories that celebrate intersectional experiences like Erin Entrada Kelly's Blackbird Fly and Hena Khan's Amina's Voice.—Molly Saunders, Manatee County Public Libraries, Bradenton, FL - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

School Library Journal - 04/01/2020 Gr 7–10—When Nishat, 16, comes out to her Bengali Muslim parents, the silence is overwhelming. Their tacit agreement to give her time to "change her mind" and their refusal to understand her sexuality adds to her general feelings of alienation as one of the only immigrants and people of color in her secondary school in Ireland. By starting a henna business for a school assignment, Nishat is excited to highlight an aspect of her heritage that she thinks her peers will actually understand. But when her crush, Flávia, a Brazilian-Irish artist, opens a competing henna stand, Nishat feels deeply violated and channels her anger into bringing Flávia's business down. Jaigirdar captures Nishat's pain as her friends deny the racism and homophobia in their school, and, ignoring Flávia's moves as cultural appropriation, dismiss her as jealous. The novel's Dublin setting, with its tight-knit Bengali community, informs all the characters' interactions, creating a nuanced and specific world. However, it is Nishat's heartbreaking clarity about who she is and what she experiences that drives this story forward to its deeply satisfying conclusion. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of school stories that celebrate intersectional experiences like Erin Entrada Kelly's Blackbird Fly and Hena Khan's Amina's Voice.—Molly Saunders, Manatee County Public Libraries, Bradenton, FL - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 04/01/2020 Bengali Irish teen Nishat can be anything she wants to be—anything except a lesbian, that is. Her parents think she can simply choose to be straight, but Nishat's very real crush on Flávia, a Brazilian Irish girl she went to primary school with and who has just resurfaced, proves this is indisputable attraction. Things get complicated when both girls enter a school competition as mehndi (henna) artists. Among issues of cultural appropriation, thieving tactics, and potential sabotage, Nishat needs to figure out if her all-consuming feelings are worth defying her parents over. Jaigirdar begins her bold debut with Nishat's taboo confession to her parents, proffering a story of self-exploration by homing in on the rocky trajectory of a forbidden romance. Although instances of homophobia, racism, and bullying are prevalent, the novel is balanced by Nishat's strong sense of self and unrelenting support from her sister Priti. Readers of YA #WeNeedDiverseBooks need this on their shelves—a wholly uncontrived story with lesbians who aren't just brown but diverse in a multitude of ways. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.