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Zara Houssain is Here is a powerful story exploring race, immigration, and gun violence.

It follows Zara, a bisexual high school student who has faced a lot of bullying and hateful comments over the years due to her race and religion. When things get to an extreme level, she is forced to take a stand and fight back, if not for herself but for another student whose position she has been in and empathises with.

Taking a stand is never easy, and it isn't so for Zara either. As things progress and get much much worse, she is forced to live through some of the worst things that can happen to a person. Her story is full of hardships and reading it is a powerful experience.

Zara's parents are fierce and protective of her and I absolutely adored them and how much they loved her! They've been waiting 8 years to get a green card and it looks like things are about to work out soon but no matter what, they are there for Zara, protecting her even if it could lead to many other problems for them.

These stories represent the truth of the everyday lives of many people belonging to these communities and all the discrimination and vile comments they are forced to experience every day and are unable to speak up against many times, due to the possible effects which were effectively portrayed by this book.

On a lighter note, there is a lovely queer romance featured in the book which absolutely warmed my heart! Chloe is the daughter of conservative Christian parents who are unable to look past their homophobic views to accept her sexuality. She's in a hard place when she meets Zara and I love seeing how the two support each other and are there for each other!

I also loved Zara's friends, Nick and Priya and how they are always there for her, supporting her and giving her love and comfort in any way they possibly can. It was nice to see how their families also banded together to provide support because community is an integral part in South Asian cultures and I loved how that was displayed through these families being there for Zara's.

Overall, this book was important and dealt with some hard topics and I absolutely loved how it explored them all!