I always like checking out debut authors in hopes that I find something special. With the idea that Hope Ablaze was like a mix of All My Rage and The Poet X, I was definitely intrigued and excited to dive into a culture that I'm not overly familiar with.

Upon starting the book, I almost put it down and didn't finish it. I think ultimately that the age group that it was geared toward wasn't really for me. It was for YA and although I do like and read those books, I wasn't feeling all too connected with it, although I was enjoying the pieces of letters as poetry that was included. I decided to keep going and I'm glad I did. I got to see a young woman that felt strongly toward her culture and religion and came from a very close knit family that happened to have very strong ties to their community. And it was that community that played a huge role in not only her life, but also to the plot of the story.

When Nida is put through an uncomfortable situation at a political event, it triggers something in her in a way that she must get out her feelings through the written word. Unfortunately (or fortunately), those words get into the hands of the wrong person and her poetry becomes viral. For people that already saw her community as a danger, it became even worse for her.

I truly liked the voice of the author and the way she was trying to get a huge message across, especially during the current world climate. She dealt with politics and how broken our system is and combined that with racism and Islamophobia. It was a lot to chew for a story that is geared towards young adults and at times was repetitive and didn't always succeed. BUT, I commend the author for taking such huge steps toward getting her words and thoughts out into the world so more people understand cultures in which they do not belong to.

Although not everything worked for me, there was lots that did. I loved Nida and her family and how strongly culture and food played into their home life. I liked that her family backed her up and supported what she needed to do to get those around her to understand what she was trying to say in her letters of poetry.

Overall, this book wasn't necessarily written for my age group, but I enjoyed aspects of it. The poetry included was timely and added to the movement of the story. I also loved seeing a young woman come to terms with who she is and the voice she was given within her community. She evolved and grew from her experience while also learning how important her family was, but especially her voice.
Sarah Mughal Rana is a promising young author and I can't wait to see where she goes from here.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

What a beautifully written story of strife, loss, family, and most importantly community. I absolutely loved the opportunity to see some of the intricacies of Pakistani culture through the eyes of a young girl.

I really appreciate what this book was trying to do — we need more YA discussing Islamophobia and hearing from voices that are frequently silenced. I picked it up seeing that it was compared to The Poet X in regards to the integration of poetry and deep-felt emotion. Unfortunately, this book just did not work for me. The writing itself was extremely repetitive, the magical realism wasn’t cohesive, the poetry felt basic, and it felt outdated. I’m sure this book will be great for some, but I would not rush to recommend it.

2.5⭐️

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book is wonderfully written. It a story that will resonate with you.

This book is phenomenal, easily one of the best debuts I've ever read. Starting off the year on such an incredible high feels like nothing will ever come close. It was incredibly well written and the characters were so phenomenally real. I loved every second of this and think it is a must read for all

I've been going through my acquired ARCs back to back, and the past couple days have been totally duds. This, unfortunately, joins that list.

The main story was so repetitive. Nida got frisked by the candidate and his security, her neighborhood goes into protective mode, her mom and fam freak out for dishonoring the family, the media paints her as a radical, and then the cycle repeats itself with a few bits of new info sprinkled in. It was exhausting to read Nida stretching between extreme depictions of racism/Islamophobia and her fighting with everyone in her life for one reason or another. Despite this book supposedly being about hope and continuing the fight against systematic oppression, I felt none of that.

One thing that really confused me was when this took place. By the description, I assumed this took place in the early 2000s. But then when social media was made essential to the plot, it's clear it actually takes place in the modern day. I feel like that's really stretching the Post-9/11 America as a descriptor.

The poetry parts weren't that good, either. It's so blocky and long-winded; it's the exact poetry I wrote in my beginner's workshop that was mediocre because I'm a prose girlie. I ended up skimming through them after the halfway mark, which didn't do much good because some scenes are started in a poem before dropping back in prose. That annoyed me a lot. I don't understand why a book about a poet isn't written in verse. Or, if the author still wanted prose, why the chapters alternate between all prose and all verse.

My last thing is something small, but, dammit, it irritated me so much. So, Nida has this friend (Kinda love interest? I dunno, it was hinted at but no official romance came out of it) named Jawad who brings up he has ADHD at one point. He says he gave up music for Ramadan and that it's help him cleared his mind. As someone with ADHD who uses music to help me focus, I was raising a brow, but that's why it's called neurodivergence. Some people with ADHD find music distracting, and it helps with others. But then he goes on to say everyone can find the willpower to get over their fears if they remember it's all in their head. This line pisses me off so much because it simplifies and minimizes neurodivergence (As well as anyone who has a mental illness). As if the brain isn't the most powerful organ in our body! As if forcing ourselves to adhere to neurotypical standards is so simple! This whole thing left an extremely sour taste in my mouth.

A powerful debut that’ll make you think and reflect. With a unique blend of prose chapters and poem letters, Hope Ablaze is a heartfelt reflection on what it means to be Muslim in America. Beautiful, heartfelt, and gorgeous. An absolute must read.

I don’t actually know where to start with talking about Hope Ablaze. Wow… I guess I can start at the beginning: I’ve not read any Muslim immigrant in America stories before. I have read a few books from South Asian/South Asian immigrant in America lenses, but as with most places in the world, South Asia isn’t only one race/ethnicity/language group, so Nida’s Pakistani Muslim immigrant point of view was wholly new to me. I think this book should be required reading. Period. Having a background in literature, this book would be wildly beneficial to anyone studying post-colonial criticism; I read it as an allegory of cololinzers taking indigenous art–without spoiling too much, Nida’s poetry is entered into a contest without her consent. But outside of literary critique, this story is so important for its representation of Muslim American life, especially post 9/11–and yes, while that was over twenty years ago now, its impact is still lasting in everyday American life.

Moving away from the above themes, on a writing level and surface of the story level, Sarah had me hooked from the start–I lately have had a hard time getting into text-based books as I become more addicted to audiobooks and the versatility they provide to my reading schedule. But Hope Ablaze set the stakes so high, the pace so consistent, and the writing so fluid that I had a hard time putting it down and only did when I absolutely had to do something else! Furthermore, the poems interspersed that gave us further insight into Nida’s mind and emotions could stand on their own in a book of poetry, or even as a novel in verse because there are times in the story when the poem before or after a scene actually gave us the plot of a preceding or following event.

I think one of my favorite aspects of this book were the various grey areas and moral ambiguities and the fact that the end doesn’t give us a “clean” solution, as life is truly messy and this story portrays LIFE. And yet, there was also this lovely magical realism subplot that I was not expecting and added a bit of je ne sais quoi that peppered the plot with literal color (iykyk).

This book is the kind of book I want to scream about from rooftops and make everyone read, so yes, 5 stars, easily. Sarah has definitely become a new favorite author of mine, especially when considering her addition to the anthology My Big, Fat Desi Wedding that I also loved!

Really enjoyed this story and the characters! It was surprisingly easy 5 star read and I’ll definitely be recommending it to my followers!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

In Sarah Mughal Rana's debut novel, high-school senior Nida is shocked to find that she's won a poetry contest ... that she never entered. Worse, her poem talks about her experience being frisked by the police under the watchful eye of a Senate candidate.

With her uncle in prison for an act of terrorism he didn't do, her father gone back to Pakistan, and goats occasionally wondering through their flat, Nida's life is already full of heartbreak and conflicting emotions. When her poem brings the national news to her door, she feels in turmoil--and all the worse, no longer feels like she can write.

What I liked about this novel:
1. It goes back and forth between prose and poetry, which felt super appropriate for a novel where poetry plays such a big part.
2. It's an own voices story about Pakistani immigrant culture, being Muslim in America, and the narrator's faith that not even her mother always understands.
3. It doesn't back away from hard juxtapositions and truths. The political candidate is a Democrat, so Nida and family are faced with the issue of supporting a party that vocally hates them or a candidate who obviously is Islamaphobic and hurts Nida personally.

What I didn't like as much:
1. The magical realism element felt a little disjointed and like it didn't really fit.
2. The author tried to attack A LOT of issues in one book. For a YA novel especially, it's a lot.

The author is very young (still in college), and there are places I felt like that was obvious. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future and seeing how it matures! She has a phenomenal, fearless voice ... much like the one Nida finds in the course of Hope Ablaze.

The story was easy to drag a reader along for the ride. The characters were all thought out very well and didn't seem flat. The main character was a bit repetitive with her wishy-washy thinking at times. It was kind of bizarre that the red string kept on popping up without any in-depth explanation until the near ending of the book which was kind of confusing at times as to what the string was supposed to represent. Overall, the book had an interesting premise that delivered and the writing style was OK. You can tell that this was written by a first-time author, but this author will improve with time.

In light of the fact that St.Martin's Press is refusing to provide actionable items on how they plan to prevent harm to their readers and reviewers due to racism and islamaphobia, I will not be reviewing this title in solidarity with the marketing boycott that has been put in place.

spectacular, excellent, tearjerker. thanks for the arc! i would recommend it. deeply discusses racism and islamophobia, both blatant and ingrained sions. thanks for the arc

Honestly, I really wanted to like this book. It is so important and I love to support debuts, but ultimately it felt not edited enough and needing more work on the plot

Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana tells the story of Nida, a teen who enjoys writing poetry and participating in a Muslim-only poetry group. When one day she is illegally frisked while walking near a rally, including having her hijab removed in front of a political candidate who claims to support Muslims. The experience is understandably traumatic for her and she works through the trauma by writing her poetry, including naming the politician. When someone close to her submits her poem to a competition without her permission, the candidate fights her for defamation and soon Nida's family is in the media spotlight leading to a number of uncomfortable, and potentially unsafe situations. Told through a blend of narrative and poetry, Hope Ablaze is a beautifully crafted and thought-provoking story that reminds readers of the importance of speaking up for yourself and your community, holding people in power accountable for their actions and the therapeutic value of writing down your thoughts and feelings, even if you're the only one who reads them. For me the only downside was that I am not a huge fan of poetry, but I could appreciate the use of poetry in this context.

While aimed at a YA audience, I think adults would enjoy this book and all readers can benefit from the messages sent. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher stmartins press wednesday books for giving me the chance to read and review this book ahead of its pubdate: March 2024.

An incredibly timely (almost prescient) reclamation of the Muslim faith, community, language, and art.

In all honesty, I could not get completely onboard with some elements of the plot and characterization (hence the three-stars), but I still respect this book for what it does. It touches upon the history of colonial meddling in Southeast Asian and the Middle East - from British rule in India, the partition of Pakistan, and more recently, the US-backed "war on terror". It fights the narrative that frames even non-violent resistance against oppressive regimes as de facto "terrorism". It reclaims the beauty and power of the Arabic language, resisting its appropriation by western leaders desperate to tie it to violence. And, most importantly, it highlights the importance of speaking truth to power and holding politicians accountable for their systematically violent policies targeting Black and brown bodies both domestically and overseas.

While I would not recommend this book to simply anyone, I think it is a powerful read that is a great jumping-off point for any older child, teen, or young adult struggling to make sense of Islamophobia in the western world.

Thank you Wednesday books and Netgalley for approving me for HOPE ABLAZE by Sarah Mughal Rana. This is a thought-provoking, poetic debut, that grapples with issues of Islamophobia and what it's like to be a young Muslim woman in America. I found the protagonist to be courageous and individual and the book wonderful.

"Hope Ablaze" by Sarah Mughal Rana left me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled. Despite my initial enthusiasm, I found myself struggling to get into the narrative, and the overall reading experience was a tedious and trying one.
The story seemed to drag on and the sluggish pace, made it hard to maintain interest. What could have been a compelling tale was lost in some overtelling. The book seemed to beat the reader over the head with its point, becoming heavy-handed and didactic. The narrative, which started with promise, devolved into a tiresome repetition that left me eager to finish rather than savor the closing chapters. Maybe this book would be better received by young adults? Unfortunately, I would not recommend it to others.

I will be withholding all reviews and promotion for St. Martin's Press titles and their imprints until the publisher addresses the concerns of BIPOC and Muslim creators who are being stalked, harassed and feel unsafe due to the actions of a racist employee.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Hope Abalze on February 27, 2024.

This book was a stark and gorgeous exploration of a young Muslim girl's experience in America. Sarah Mughal Rana fully immersed us in Nida's world, showcasing the love of Nida's community and family during life's highest and lowest moments. Hope Ablaze radiated pure emotion from beginning to end through Nida's poetry and spoken word performances as well as her internal and external conflicts.

I loved the nuance woven into this story about America's current political and religious climate, and I can tell Sarah's done her research/spoken from her own experiences to paint such a vivid picture. Though I haven't personally walked in Nida's shoes, I felt her pain and outrage, her courage and triumph, through Sarah's words. And as a former spoken word performer, I felt Nida's poetry deep down.

Nida's family's history with poetry was absolutely beautiful, and all of the verses in this book moved me. I wish I'd listened to the audiobook just so I could hear it myself.