HOPE ABLAZE

A Pakistani American girl’s commitment to her family’s legacy of resistance poetry is put to the test.

Eighteen-year-old Nida Siddiqui keeps quiet about her aspirations as a poet—“to be accepted outside the bubble” of her community. Her political poetry, performed at a local Muslim venue and a national all-Muslim tournament, makes her mother fear for her safety; Nida’s uncle has been incarcerated on terrorism charges after going viral with his radical poetry. When Nida prays in a public park before a rally for a Democratic Senate candidate, she’s perceived as a potential terrorist by police, treated with scorn by the officers and the politician, and has her hijab yanked off. Unbeknownst to her, someone enters the scathing poem she writes in response in a contest. She wins, the poem makes the news, and the politician threatens to sue her for defamation and slander. Nida spirals into doubts about her poetry, family legacy, and the best way to handle the controversy in relation to her Muslim community. Using a mix of free verse and prose and blending realism with fabulism, Rana explores themes of wrongful incarceration and systemic Islamophobia. Unfortunately, the poetry is often repetitive and lacks emotional resonance, while the magical elements are too literal to be effective. The author attempts to weave Nida’s family history into political events, but the portrayal of her growth remains unconvincing.

An ambitious premise that falters in its execution.