Blog Tour: This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed

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?

---

Book banning is not a new idea. In Ireland, at one point, having your book banned was a sign of pride - you were no one, in literary circles, until you had at least one banned book. More recently, and more in the spirit of this book, groups led by figures such as Andy Heasman and Ross Lahive are protesting books they deem inappropriate, often violently. And in America, it seems that every day brings the news that another school district has removed books from its shelves after complaints, usually from people who haven't even read them.

But luckily, as in this book, there are usually people like Noor and her friends who are willing to stand up. Their increasing game of cat and mouse with the school authorities was amazing to watch, and Noor's deep sense of morals and refusal to back down kept me reading. I adored the relationship between Noor and her sister Amal, and how each of them changed during the book, both individually and in how they were towards each other.

Some people will be frothing at the mouth about this book, missing the whole point of it entirely. But those of us who get it? Come on in. Let's be friends together. And hopefully this will encourage a few people to start fighting back against book bans. We all need to stand up to them.



Book Info: This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Contemporary
Publishing Date: May 7, 2024


Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198493806
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/This-Book-Wont-Samira-Ahmed/dp/0316547840/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-book-wont-burn-samira-ahmed/1144029930
IndieBound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/this-book-won-t-burn-samira-ahmed/20589530


About the Author: Samira Ahmed is the bestselling author of Love, Hate & Other Filters, Internment, Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know, Hollow Fires, and the Amira & Hamza middle-grade duology, as well as a Ms. Marvel comic book mini-series. Her poetry, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies including the New York Times, Take the Mic, Color Outside the Lines,Vampires Never Get Old and A Universe of Wishes.She was born in Bombay, India, and grew up in Batavia, Illinois, in a house that smelled like fried onions, spices, and potpourri. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Samira has taught high school English in both the suburbs of Chicago and New York City, worked in education non-profits, and spent time on the road for political campaigns.


Author Links:
Website: https://samiraahmed.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sam_aye_ahm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sam_aye_ahm
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8345582


Tour Schedule: