Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

This is my very first read from YA author Samira Ahmed. Hollow Fires is a powerful read and I was wrecked for days while reading this book and for a few days after as well. The author does a tremendous job with this book based on real news stories. For me as a reader, it did hit a little too close to home. Ahmed makes a strong case against the false narrative that helping immigrants or displaced people means there is less for other Americans
Told through the perspective of Jawad, a 14-year-old boy, this story will break your heart. But, in the protagonist Safiya Mirza you will find your courage to keep going just as she does in the face of extreme racism and Islamophobia. This is definitely not a comfortable book, but it’s an important one.