Spilled Ink

by Nadia Hashimi Narrated by Ariana Delawari

Overview

In this insightful and affecting YA novel by well-loved author of books for adults and middle graders Nadia Hashimi, an Afghan American teenager's small town is thrown into controversy and violence when her brother, taking a stand against hatred, plays a prank that some think went too far...

When Yalda hears that her twin brother, Yusuf, will be performing with his band at a local venue, she lets her friends convince her to sneak out to see his show. But the night has something else in store: After the opening band makes some ugly jokes about “terrorists,” Yusuf uses his time in the spotlight for an impulsive stunt responding to the hate speech.

Suddenly, simmering tensions begin boiling over in their Virginia town, where many Afghan refugees have sought safety. When a video of Yusuf's performance goes viral online, it seems like everyone in town turns against their family's restaurant, leaving their livelihood in jeopardy. And then Yusuf is seriously injured in a mysterious fall.

Despite her grieving and frightened family, friends she is not sure she can trust, and a town that no longer feels like a safe home, Yalda must try to find her own voice-and do what she can to change her world for the better.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Utilizing Yal’s sharp-witted first-person POV, debut author Hashimi exposes how the prevalence of unchecked and unchallenged racism can lead to violence, as well as how American-born Afghans are othered and recently arrived Afghan refugees are scapegoated. Clever dialogue between the vividly individualized characters lightens harrowing depictions of anti-Islamic hate crimes in this tightly structured and engagingly paced read." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Kirkus Reviews

2024-03-23
Afghan American twins reckon with a hate crime.

Yusuf and Yalda are polar opposites: Popular, outgoing Yusuf plays in a band. Introverted, artistic Yalda socializes with two close friends. After a musician at a local competition makes an Islamophobic joke onstage targeting recent Afghan refugee arrivals, Yusuf pranks the audience. His response goes viral, and tensions in their small Virginia town boil over. When Yusuf suffers serious injuries from a mysterious fall, Yalda tries to determine who hurt him while facing her own insecurities. The inconsistent writing unfortunately distances readers from the unfolding narrative due to awkward transitions, segues that feel random, and pivotal plot points that are relayed after the fact. Yalda’s personal growth and how the community unites against hate crimes would have benefitted from greater exploration. The twins’ immediate family is nonreligious, and religious details are at times absent or presented in ways that may strike some readers as erasure. First-person narrator Yalda struggles with whether “the hyphen sometimes used in my label means a connection between two worlds or if one side is being taken away from the other and leaving me as something less than whole.” This inner battle manifests in part in her unflattering judgment of her religious aunt and her perceptions of a refugee classmate, but the light character development may instead convey a message of assimilation.

Introduces critical themes but struggles to address them with sufficient depth and nuance. (author’s note) (Fiction. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159324627
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/04/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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