Book Review: This Book Won’t Burn,* by Samira Ahmed, published May 7, 2024, 381 pages (Kindle edition), recommended for ages 12+ or grades 7+ Please note: this book is not yet in the Pageturner library and will require student requests in order for purchases to be made.

Written in first person, our narrator is 17 to 18 year old Noor Khan (yes, there’s a birthday in there), older sister to Amal who, along with their mother, are recent transplants from Chicago to the fictional, podunk little town of Bayberry, Illinois.  Barely a couple of months have passed since their beloved dad had absconded for London, where he now presumably lives la vida loca without sparing his family a single second thought. The day he’d left, he’d apparently forgotten his satchel—as a lawyer representing the downtrodden and put upon in society, he’d taken that satchel with him everywhere.  In fact, their parents met over protests, and protests were the foundation of their active political lives. Leaving for work one morning, her dad comes back a moment later, saying,
 
"’It’s colder than I thought it was,’ he said, reaching for the maroon cashmere scarf that my mom had given him for their twentieth anniversary a couple of months before. He’d gotten her a new teakettle. Thinking about it now, she must’ve been disappointed. I mean, a teakettle for an anniversary gift? I can’t be sure because my mom never said anything, not to me anyway. She’s like my little sister that way; she swallows her feelings. We didn’t notice until later that the beat-up brown leather satchel he usually took with him every day was sitting by the front door. He never bothered to come back and get it. He never bothered to come back at all.”

Inside his satchel, dad had left a two-sentence note that read, “I can’t take it anymore.” He was too cowardly to mention any of it face-to-face; he’d walked out that morning as though he fully expected to return that evening as usual, when he’d apparently fully planned an entirely different life. Cowardly, yes, but also how grossly calloused the man was, that he hadn’t ‘forgotten’ to take along his wife’s fine gift, that very expensive cashmere scarf! Noor has researched this phenomenon, called “wife abandonment syndrome.”  Of course, in their case it was family abandonment, but there were no online research headings for THAT. So now she’s struggling to finish the last three months before her high school graduation in a MAGA town where she, Amal, and a boy named Faiz are the only desi students, and the rest are 90+% Whiter than White.  Faiz and quick-witted Juniper--my favorite character—become fast friends right away.  The rest of the student body, not so much, so Noor is both flattered and a bit flustered when she catches the attention of an immensely popular student athlete, readily distinguishable by a functioning brain.  When she mentions being “half agony, half hope,” he immediately recognizes the Jane Austen quote from Persuasion. Noor loves that he’s so much more like Wentworth than Mr. Darcy-- she soon joins in a happy flirtation while ignoring the butterflies she often feels with Faiz. Faiz smells like her father’s own sandalwood soap, and she just can’t go there. 

As in all schools where the misfits and unaccepted go during lunch to have a safe space, Noor spends a lot of time in her new school’s library. She hadn’t had to do that in her progressive school in Chicago, where diversity was apparent, politics were readily discussed, and friends proliferated. Meanwhile, the sweet school librarian, Ms. Clayton, is packing boxes of books and covering up the resulting empty shelves with brown packaging paper. The school is clearly banning books. So Noor wears a tee the next day that reads, “I read banned books.” She is called to the principal’s office, his voice clearly irritated as he calls her name over the school’s microphone—an embarrassment she would never have suffered at her previous school, where someone would come to get her privately:

“’Your intent is to spread disinformation by willfully misconstruing school policy and to stir up trouble with this fake controversy. It’s disruptive to the learning environment. There are no book bans in this district.’ My jaw drops. Is he serious? I literally watched while Ms. Clayton pulled five hundred books from our shelves, but he’s saying that’s fake news? He’s gaslighting me, and he’s not even subtle about it. ‘You’ll find I have zero tolerance for political rabble-rousing. I run a tight ship, Ms. Khan. You will report to C-100 for detention today after school.’ Mr. Carter points to the door, ushering me out.”  He won’t even allow her to make arrangements for 15-year old Amal to get home; she, too, will have to endure detention.

As her parents’ daughter, Noor has not been taught to be silent in the face of oppression—a different thing entirely, of course, from being respectful to one’s elders, especially to aunties! But her mother, ‘just’ trying to establish herself in her career at a new college, has lost interest in ‘just’ about everything.  She ‘just’ wants Noor to go along to get along, how hard can it be, after all, with only three months to go before she graduates, her acceptance to the University of Chicago already in hand?  As her relationship with Andrew escalates, so does Noor’s response to the MAGA book-banning led, as everywhere in the USA, by Moms for Liberty. (1)

“’The only people who are hyped are the ones who started the banning—Liberty Moms and Dads,’ Faiz says, dragging a fry through ketchup. I nod, familiar with the group—they’re a super fashy right-wing group with chapters all over the country. Juniper continues. ‘The school board voted three to two to institute the new policy, so it wasn’t, like, five to nothing or anything, but Liberty Moms and Dads backed three of the members, so they basically control the board.’ ‘They’re the literal worst,’ I say. ‘My parents went ballistic and wrote letters to the principal, superintendent, and board that they got some other parents to sign. Not that anyone cared.’ ‘They also sent the letter to the local paper, but it wasn’t printed,’ Faiz adds. ‘Surprise! The owner of the local paper is the school board president. Bonus, he’s running for state rep.’ ‘Wait. What? That’s a massive conflict of interest. Is it the only paper in town?’ I ask. They both look at me like I have two heads because, of course, it is.”

It's ironic that the school board president and newspaper owner’s name is Hawley—as in Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who actually lives in Virginia and barely ever flies over the state he’s presumed to represent.  Hawley’s also cute/sensitive boy Andrew’s stepfather. On his own, Andrew steps up to help, building five neighborhood little libraries they’re calling fREADOM libraries, a ‘take one, leave one’ effort to circulate banned books. Someone is also helpfully leaving banned books for Noor in her locker. Soon, however, Ms. Clayton is placed on administrative leave and may be fired for her resistance to the book bans. Worse, Andrew’s stepfather deliberately threatens Noor by almost running her over in the same kind of silver BMW he’d given Andrew in a fake attempt to seem alike; understanding the unspoken rules of ‘he said, she said,’ Noor never mentions this, even to her pals. Faiz shows Noor a place where they can hold banned book readings away from campus, and soon as many as 30 kids are joining.   

Hawley and school principal Carter, however, viciously ramp up their attacks on Noor and things take an ugly turn when a Molotov cocktail is thrown inside their reading facility--and Amal needs stitches.  It will turn out to be Andrew’s two bffs who burn down all the little fREADOM houses on private property. Under his stepdad’s thumb, Andrew will soon cave, rescinding his prom ask and unable even to look her in the eye. Amal’s brief hospitalization finally reawakens their mom, however, and Noor is so glad to have her back again.

Because of the completely one-sided violence and the ridiculous argument that freedom of speech (!) somehow requires the banning of books, newspapers other than Hawley’s are soon drawn to interview both sides, and the MAGA side comes out looking as bad as they really are. This prompts a meeting of the school board, in which a motion to ban the ban is put forward and heartily seconded.  As the story nears its end, banned books may be back in Bayberry’s only high school soon, and Faiz is delivering a wrist corsage to Noor on prom night, as she wears their mom’s wedding lehenga (2) replete with her “I read banned books” favorite tee and a pair of sparkly Air Jordans, Amal’s gift to complete her look.

After my own heart, the author conveniently includes worthwhile URLs for further reading in her afterword. She also writes,

“Libraries are not neutral spaces. Nor should they be. This ought to be clear to anyone paying attention to the rising tide of censorship that has been sweeping through the United States these past few years. Book bans, long a tool of oppression, serve only those who want to hide history, who want to perpetuate lies, who want to control what young people think, often under the guise of “parents’ rights.” But let’s be clear—the drive to ban books is fueled by fear, ignorance, and hate. The majority of books that are being challenged in public libraries and public schools are written by LGBTQ+ or BIPOC authors. This is not merely a coincidence; it is a focused, insidious campaign to erase identities, to gaslight, and to press for private control of public institutions. [emphasis added] 

“The truth is that book banning is un-American. The truth is that if we want to call ourselves a free people, then we must fight for the right of all people to read freely. The truth is that fear and ignorance are the hobgoblins of small minds and weak hearts. We cannot remain neutral in the face of oppression. We cannot remain silent. This is a lesson we have heard over and over—neutrality aids the oppressor, and book banners do not need our help. Go to your school board meetings. Vote in every election, big or small. Hold elected officials accountable. Speak truth to power. Pick up a book, open a doorway. Take the journey the story invited you on, be a part of the conversation. Reading gives you power. Don’t ever forget that.”  

I grew up a million years ago and was taught by nuns who helped me attain a 12th grade reading level in 3rd grade.  I started reading Kurt Vonnegut at 11--and skipped 7th grade. For the nuns who taught me Latin, no book was ever off limits because they were dedicated to learning and didn’t care at all about politics.  But the seeds of destruction targeting public education were being planted even then; they’re fully grown plants now and require rigorous vigilance to weed them out and uproot them.  

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* So recently published, too soon for awards! ★ “[Ahmed] employs high stakes, increasing tensions, romantic near-misses, and adult hypocrisy to powerful effect.” –Publisher's Weekly, starred review

(1) “Moms for Liberty is an antigovernment organization founded in 2021 by former Florida school board members, Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich. Current Sarasota County, Florida school board member, Bridget Ziegler, was also a co-founder. She has since left the group, leaving Justice and Descovich at the helm.” Read more at: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moms-liberty

 [Ziegler was forced to leave after a scandal broke involving her having three-ways with a woman who’s claimed Ziegler’s husband had raped her multiple times over the course of years.]  See: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2024/02/01/police-records-christian-ziegler-was-accused-of-years-of-sexual-abuse/72434956007/

[I previously reviewed They Came for the Schools in this Pageturner blog.] “In 2021, an affluent suburban school district in Texas gained national attention when parents and local conservative activists accused the district of indoctrinating students with Critical Race Theory. What started as an earnest effort by the Carroll Independent School District to confront racist rhetoric and bullying devolved into a battle about much more. Conservative parents and activists turned a district cultural competence plan into a fight over protecting their — quote — "traditional way of life."

“The result? Books and classroom discussion about race, slavery, and sexual orientation were effectively banned. In his book "They Came for the Schools," released in May, Hixenbaugh details how this school district became a blueprint for Republicans across the country and exposed their ambitions, which go well beyond controlling what version of American history makes it into high school textbooks.”  They Came for the Schools reveals, step-by-step, how Moms for Liberty have been taking over school boards across the country.  This site includes an interview with the author, Mike Hixenbaugh. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/they-came-for-the-schools-details-how-gop-targeted-race-and-identity-in-classrooms

(2) ABOUT THE LEHENGA  “One of the most cherished outfits of all time is the alluring Indian traditional lehenga, also popularly known as lehenga choli. Adored for its exquisite craftsmanship and elegant silhouette, this iconic garment has woven its magic through countless wedding ceremonies, adorning brides with unparalleled grace and beauty. During the wedding festivities, the bride's lehenga becomes the focal point of admiration and awe, capturing the essence of the celebration and reflecting the grandeur of the occasion. Such a special lehenga is deeply ingrained in the fabric of Indian weddings. 

“The history of lehenga can be traced back to the majestic courts of the Mughal era in India. During this period, the lehenga originated as a luxurious garment primarily worn by royalty and aristocracy. Its design reflected the opulence of the Mughal dynasty, characterised by intricate embroidery, lavish fabrics, and elaborate embellishments.

“Originally, the lehenga was not just a symbol of fashion but also a reflection of status and wealth. Persian lehenga style introduced the use of luxurious fabrics like silk and brocade, as well as intricate embroidery techniques such as zardozi and gota work. Mughals, the patron of arts, introduced their own style with intricate nature-inspired motifs and embroidery techniques like threadwork, zari and mirror work leaving a royal aesthetic.

“For instance, Indian lehengas in North are characterised by elaborate embroidery in rich fabrics like silk and brocade. South Indian lehengas, on the other hand, feature temple-inspired motifs, vibrant colours, and lightweight fabrics like kanjivaram silk.” Read more and see examples of different styles at: https://diademstore.com/blogs/blogs/what-is-a-lehenga-lehenga-meaning-history-types-and-styles?srsltid=AfmBOor9_gDUSREpqUD3cC6qOshLeOZzjCXp5pWtPHjg-eH9XCzvMWKy

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