Reviews

Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

avalete's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed this book for its recent and ongoing commentary of crime against non-white individuals and how the overall system of justice is rigged. Some parts I feel were a little rushed, but this is a YA novel so I can understand why focus was given on Jawad specifically. And Jawad’s chapters are heartbreaking, but I love that the priority of this story is to give more attention to the kids like Jawad who unfortunately are forgotten everyday due to how news is handled.

kaylaaaaa's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

mitskacir's review against another edition

3.0

This is a high quality YA book, so probably would call it 4 stars for younger readers. For me, everything was very explicit and there wasn’t a lot of work for me to do intellectually while reading. I knew who the Ghost Skin was right away as well, despite the “it’s not who you’d think!” narrative trying to mislead me. The most valuable part of this book is definitely the perspective of the narrators, two young Muslims navigating a racist system, and how it addresses the radicalization of young white men.

fatherofcats's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

evvelln's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

It was interesting, and I would recommend it to any lover of mystery thrillers. Not my genre, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. 

kem_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

anikaisreading's review against another edition

5.0

This book is one of my favourite reads of the year. It was so difficult to read but so gratifying at the same time. It was also relatable considering how I literally had similar experiences as of late so it was amazing to feel seen AND understood. So 100/10, I loved safiya and jawad and how this book was unapologetically brown and Muslim

gibbygibson_'s review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

bibliobrandie's review against another edition

5.0

This book was really hard to read at times but I am so glad that I did. Set in Chicago and amidst escalating white supremacy activity and hate crimes, high-school journalist and Indian American Safiya is determined to find the killer of an Iraqi refugee classmate who was murdered. There are some brutal scenes but Ahmed does an excellent job of keeping it from being graphic or sensational. Told in alternating perspectives, you have Safiya's voice as well as the ghost of the murdered boy, Jawad. The story is also interspersed with multimedia clippings, some taken from real-world sources. This supernatural thriller is a page-turner that educates as much as it captivates. There is a lot going on in these pages and Ahmed handles it all beautifully.
Note: There is a new book by Candace Fleming about the real life killers that this story is loosely based on. a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58492091-murder-among-friends?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=6V1KnaMbIj&rank=18"

chipottleworker's review against another edition

5.0

Made the mistake of reading this in public where I almost cried multiple times