So, I'm warning you now – if you're the MAGA hat-wearing, Moms for Liberty-supporting type, you're definitely not going to this book. The politics in this one are very heavy-handed and decidedly not right-of-center.

Personally, though, I loved it. I mean, it's definitely a young adult novel so I didn't love it in the same way I might love a really good book geared more toward my age group, but This Book Won't Burn is an excellent (and important!) YA read. It's about censorship and fascism and book-banning and bigotry in small town America. And it's rather ironic that it will ly be challenged in libraries across the country because it addresses these issues.

This book is filled with able characters, but it also has more than its fair share of closed-minded jerks. It's difficult to read at times and some of the characters' actions had me seething on Noor's behalf. For all of their ramblings about “parental rights,” book banners (both in this novel and in real life) sure do seem set on having the final decision what other people's children are allowed to read.

In addition to the pro-censorship rhetoric, there's also lots of not-so-casual racism in this book. (And, based on my years attending high school in Small Town, USA, it's pretty realistic.) Noor and her friends handle it with a maturity that's beyond their years, however … and far better than I'd ly be able to handle it as an adult, if I'm being completely honest.

But even though it's difficult to read at times, this book is still ultimately hopeful and inspiring. I can see it encouraging teenagers to speak up against censorship in their own school districts, which is so incredibly important. And it's also about so much more than just censorship and racism. The budding relationship between Noor and Faiz is an adorable-yet-complicated subplot, and Noor also spends the entire novel coming to terms with her father's abandonment of their family. Adult readers might find the story a wee bit juvenile at times, but its intended audience will ly find it relatable and entertaining.

Overall rating: 4.4 stars (on my slightly-adjusted YA scale), rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.arcs-and-such fiction popsugar-challenge-201554 s5 comments Aυѕтιη 129 9 Shelved as 'on-my-radar'

Adding a review solely to point out the absolute irony of the current top review saying, on a YA book about people restricting books because of queer and BIPOC content, that the book is not for classroom use because of lesbians.

Ma'am.2024-to-know genre-contemp-cur note-aoc ...more16 s2 comments adina ♡96 31

This is a spoiler free review! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

“Hope is an act, not just a feeling. Hope is a choice. So are hate and cynicism and silence. Every day I have to think about what I’m going to choose.”

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°

☆ Synopsis

After her dad abandons her family and her mom relocates them to a small, predominantly white town miles away from home, Noor is forced to rebuild her broken life away from everything she has ever known. At her new school, Noor discovers hundred of books, mainly written by authors of colour and queer authors, have been banned due to “obscene content”. Feeling she can’t ignore the issue, Noor and her new friends, Faiz and Juniper, rebel against the school board and begin reading the books aloud while off-campus. As Noor gains notoriety, she finds herself going head-to-head against some very powerful people.

☆ My thoughts

✻ This book is not for everyone

As much as I’d say this is a book I’d recommend to everyone, I’d be lying, this book is not something Conservatives would enjoy or even tolerate. This is not for right-wing, MAGA hat-wearing people who believe that “snowflakes” are destroying freedom of speech, this is young teenagers who see the injustices occurring in the world and feel powerless. Especially the young people of colour that feel their words mean nothing and carry no weight in this world. The politics of this book are not subtle, they’re heavy-handed and unavoidable, so if this doesn’t sound your kinda thing – it probably isn’t.

✻ My rating

More of a tentative 3.5 stars than 4, as I really struggled to get into it at the beginning, I almost thought I would mark it as DNF but I’m so glad I stuck it out because I was pleasantly surprised. Once I got into the book and started enjoying the characters more, I did fly through it. It was also a little cringey at parts, words “adorkable” and “lowkey” made me roll my eyes a little bit but I acknowledge that this is probably because I am not the book’s target audience. I would argue it’s probably veering towards the older end of middle grade/younger end of young adults in terms of who I think will enjoy this book the most.

I’m rounding it up to 4 stars just because the ending was lovely and for the most part wrapped up the story nicely. Whether it was entirely believable is another thing, but it’s important to have hope so I do understand the author’s choice to wrap up the book in the way that she did.
Ultimately, books This Book Won’t Burn are important, they leave you feeling enraged at times about the events occurring in the world, specifically America, but also feeling empowered by the strength of Noor and her friends. I know if I’d read this book as a young teen, I would’ve felt empowered to enact change and that’s why books this are essential.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
arcs reviewed10 s Shannon5,643 319

This was another FANTASTIC, heartfelt and important YA book about Noor, a young Desi Muslim teen girl who moves to a new small town with her mother and brother after her father divorces her mom and basically abandons the family.

The book deals with the challenges of having a parent going through depression and mental health struggles and also focuses on the importance of standing up for what's right in the face of ignorance, bigotry and racism.

When books in Noor's new school starting getting challenged and removed, she can't stand for it and takes up the cause to fight for all the books by LGBTQ and BIPOC authors, establishing little free libraries around her town that feature the banned books.

Moving and heartfelt and so, so relevant to what's going on all around the country with the increasing numbers of censorship and book banning. This was great on audio and a new favorite for me. Highly recommended for fans of books Ban this book by Alan Gratz or the upcoming Lula Deans' little library of banned books.2024-favorites aapi-books books-about-books ...more5 s Paige- TheBookandtheBoston68

This book feels an important book to read with everything going on in our country lately. The number of books that have been banned in the recent years has risen an unbelievable amount. Per the ALA (American Library Association) website, “ALA reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2023, finding that challenges of unique titles surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022 numbers.” You can find even more astonishing facts there (ALA.org) and the Freedom to Read Foundation’s site too (ftrf.org).

Back to the book, I loved the main character, Noor. She starts out very angry and bitter after her father up and abandons their family. So moving to a new town, a very small, right-winged, mostly white and Christian town, seems the worst possible place for her to be right then. Finding out her new school is banning so many books (mostly from LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors) really sets her off. But she channels her anger into something positive, and through this and her new friends, finds healing and comfort.

The author keeps such a serious subject still fairly lighthearted, with cute humor and a budding romance. (Noor is a teenage girl at heart!) I really enjoyed this one even when I was so frustrated with everything Noor faces, and knowing that book bans aren’t a fictional issue. But books this will hopefully get more people thinking and acting!
have-but-not-yet-read3 s TheNextGenLibrarian2,323 34

“That’s what a library should be—a welcoming place, a place where every kid can feel at home.”

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