HOLLOW FIRES

Narrators Soneela Nankani and Amin El Gamal deliver the alternating voices of the two narrators in this audiobook. Nankani shows the determination and intelligence of Indian-American Safiya, who courageously takes on the Islamophobia in her Chicago private high school. Safiya feels the privilege of the other students, scorn for being on scholarship, and the curious attention of a popular white classmate. El Gamal portrays Jwad Ali, an Iraqi refugee who is murdered early in the book. His voice is haunting as it reaches from the grave to urge Safiya to seek justice for his death despite mounting danger. At the conclusion of the fast-paced mystery, author Samira Ahmed adds a stirring note urging Americans to face the truth of "all we are." S.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]