This Book Won't Burn

¿ “[Ahmed] employs high stakes, increasing tensions, romantic near-misses, and adult hypocrisy to powerful effect.” -Publisher's Weekly, starred review

From the New York Times bestselling author of Internment comes a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about book banning, activism, and standing up for what you believe.*

After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves.

Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation.*

But things aren't so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic” and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors.*

Noor can't sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up? Or will small-town politics-and small-town love-be her downfall?*

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This Book Won't Burn

¿ “[Ahmed] employs high stakes, increasing tensions, romantic near-misses, and adult hypocrisy to powerful effect.” -Publisher's Weekly, starred review

From the New York Times bestselling author of Internment comes a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about book banning, activism, and standing up for what you believe.*

After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves.

Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation.*

But things aren't so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic” and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors.*

Noor can't sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up? Or will small-town politics-and small-town love-be her downfall?*

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This Book Won't Burn

This Book Won't Burn

by Samira Ahmed

Narrated by Kausar Mohammed

Unabridged — 10 hours, 34 minutes

This Book Won't Burn

This Book Won't Burn

by Samira Ahmed

Narrated by Kausar Mohammed

Unabridged — 10 hours, 34 minutes

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

As book banning continues to pose a threat to proper education, Samira Ahmed is here with her signature brand of story that speaks directly to a troubling trend. With timely themes of social justice and activism built into a healthy supply of suspense, this is a book that both entertains and makes a difference.

¿ “[Ahmed] employs high stakes, increasing tensions, romantic near-misses, and adult hypocrisy to powerful effect.” -Publisher's Weekly, starred review

From the New York Times bestselling author of Internment comes a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about book banning, activism, and standing up for what you believe.*

After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves.

Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation.*

But things aren't so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled “obscene” or “pornographic” and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy. Even worse, virtually all the banned books are by queer and BIPOC authors.*

Noor can't sit back and do nothing, because that goes against everything she believes in, but challenging the status quo just might put a target on her back. Can she effect change by speaking up? Or will small-town politics-and small-town love-be her downfall?*


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"With Hollow Fires, Samira Ahmed offers us an impossible-to-put-down thriller that is both spectacularly haunting and deeply thoughtful. Safiya and Jawad are not narrators we usually see, and their harrowing story is a wholly original commentary on perception, community, and the way society weighs one life against another." —Sabaa Tahir #1 NYT bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

"With pin-sharp attention to the complexities of grief, anger, and hope, Samira Ahmed gives us a main character who connects us with our own hearts and a story that connects us with our power to change our world."—Anna-Marie McLemore, author of National Book Award nominee Self-Made Boys

"A powerful, timely, and relentlessly compelling read. Hollow Fires burns brightly with Samira Ahmed's trademark blend of thought-provoking social relevance, heartfelt coming-of-age, and whip-smart plotting."—Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

"The book presents a ripped-from-the-headlines story that will be an easy sell both in terms of theme and topic."—School Library Connection

"A deeply chilling, inventive, and timely page-turner."Kirkus, starred review

"Weaving alternating perspectives with articles and other media quotes, both real and fictional, this drives an all-too-real story that educates as much as it enthralls."—Booklist

"Ahmed weaves evocative prose with images, articles, and text messages to explore with skill and depth the twining of social media in an age of misinformation, alt-right political movements, and racism and Islamophobia."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Ahmed offers up a twisty, thrilling mystery while deploying the details of the crime as a framework for her exploration of Islamophobia and how wealth and privilege shield criminals from suspicion. The Chicago setting and the ultimate revelations of the horrific act call up elements of the Leopold and Loeb murders... it also makes a timely whodunnit that will satisfy any reader looking for a mystery, rich in secrets and social commentary."—BCCB

"In a novel that cleverly uses time jumps; alternates narration (between Safiya and ghost Jawad); and occasionally incorporates text messages, newspaper articles, and the like, Ahmed positions her story in the larger context of a racially divided world."—Horn Book

*"Her devastating and inspiring book is at once a gripping thriller and a passionate call for change that’s urgent and timely—and sadly, also timeless."
 —Book Page

"This impassioned ride toward the truth, based on a true story, will make readers think about the media bites they consume and white youth’s easy access to radicalization."School Library Journal, starred review

* "Ripped from the headlines, Ahmed’s latest novel frames the fight against book banning as a hopeful endeavor in active civic engagement that a wide audience would benefit from reading."—School Library Journal, starred review

JULY 2024 - AudioFile

Kausar Mohammed passionately narrates this timely story of book banning, homophobia, and racism. Recently abandoned by her father, 18-year-old Indian American Noor Khan has been uprooted from her Chicago home and gone to live in a small town far away with her mom and younger sister. Noor is one of only a few Muslim students at her new high school, where she learns that the library is removing hundreds of books, mostly by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors. Along with other marginalized students, Noor fights back against censorship and hate. Mohammed expressively channels Noor's determination and feistiness, especially during run-ins with the school principal and the board chair. While the story's message can be a bit heavy-handed, the result is a thought-provoking listening experience. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2024-02-17
Reeling from her father’s sudden abandonment of their family, Noor’s mother moves her family to a small Illinois town far away from their life in Chicago.

Noor hopes to lie low and finish out the last quarter of her senior year, but she and her younger sister, Amal, are noticeably among the few Indian American and Muslim students at school. Once Noor learns that the school district has removed over 500 challenged books from the library shelves and slated them for committee review—mostly ones by marginalized writers—she feels compelled to act. She and her like-minded new friends protest by reading aloud from these books in public spaces. They also put up a “fREADom Library” (or Little Free Library for censored books), spreading the word on social media and encouraging others to join in. Their activism angers school administrators, students, and the local community. Along with their personal trauma, Noor’s family must also deal with veiled threats, racist and Islamophobic slurs, and physical violence. The story centers on the hot-button issues of book banning and freedom of speech, while also exploring family dynamics, forging friendships, and a budding love triangle. Although the pacing is at times weighed down by the content, Ahmed inventively uses different formats—social media comments, news articles, transcripts of television broadcasts—to examine the racist ideologies and talking points behind censorship efforts.

A timely story about silence as complicity, defending freedom, and the courage to fight against hate. (author’s note, resources, bibliography) (Fiction. 12-18)

Product Details

BN ID: 2940159237675
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication date: 05/07/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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