Heather reviewed Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed
Review of 'Hollow Fires' on 'Goodreads'
This book draws from several real events to craft a story about a boy who is murdered after he gains attention for being arrested. Jawad makes a jetpack to use in his Halloween costume. A teacher calls the police to tell them that an "Arab boy" has a bomb in school. Even though he is cleared of charges, he gains the nickname Bomb Boy and is harassed. Soon afterward he disappears.
Safiya is a senior journalism student who starts investigating several instances of hateful vandalism. Eventually her investigating leads her into Jawad's story. Do all these events really link together or is she making connections where she shouldn't be?
This story is heartbreaking because it shows clearly the systemic racism and classism in investigating crimes. Who cares if a poor immigrant Muslim boy disappears? Why is he remembered more for being "Bomb Boy" than for his disappearance? Will the police …
This book draws from several real events to craft a story about a boy who is murdered after he gains attention for being arrested. Jawad makes a jetpack to use in his Halloween costume. A teacher calls the police to tell them that an "Arab boy" has a bomb in school. Even though he is cleared of charges, he gains the nickname Bomb Boy and is harassed. Soon afterward he disappears.
Safiya is a senior journalism student who starts investigating several instances of hateful vandalism. Eventually her investigating leads her into Jawad's story. Do all these events really link together or is she making connections where she shouldn't be?
This story is heartbreaking because it shows clearly the systemic racism and classism in investigating crimes. Who cares if a poor immigrant Muslim boy disappears? Why is he remembered more for being "Bomb Boy" than for his disappearance? Will the police take a Muslim high schooler seriously when she has evidence that implicates a rich white boy?
This is a YA book and I'm not a YA person. I find the horrible things that teenagers do in this story so frustrating. There is a lot of lying because you can't trust adults and then that puts her in danger over and over again. She doesn't learn. I was grumbling about kids making poor life choices. I was able to overlook Safiya's overwhelming stupidity (which she acknowledges frequently) because the rest of the story was so good.
Make sure you listen to the historical note at the end to see how this story was taken from a famous murder case.