Adiba Jaigirdar

Adiba Jaigirdar
Born
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Alma mater
OccupationWriter
Notable workThe Henna Wars
Websiteadibajaigirdar.com

Adiba Jaigirdar (Bengali: আদিবা জয়ীগিরদার) is a Bangladeshi-Irish writer. Her debut novel, The Henna Wars, was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 Best YA Books of All Time.[1]

Life

Jaigirdar was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh,[2] then alternated between living in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh as a child.[3] At age ten, she and her family immigrated to Tullamore, Ireland;[3] she has lived in the Dublin region ever since.[2]

After immigrating to Ireland, Jaigirdar attended an all-girls Catholic school.[4] She has a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from University College Dublin, as well as a Master of Arts in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent.[2][4] She has described how she has often been in her life been in situations among only a few people of colour, an experience that has shaped her writing.[3] Jaigirdar is queer and Muslim.[4][5][6] Like characters from her novel Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating, she "has been told that parts of her identity cancel out others and couldn't exist in the same person."[7] Her writing is inspired by her history and aims to help young Muslim people of colour embrace their queer identities.[7][8]

Career

The Henna Wars (2020)

Main article: The Henna Wars

The Henna Wars was published May 12, 2020 in the United States and October 2021 in the United Kingdom. The book follows Nishat, a Bangladeshi teenager who comes out as a lesbian while in high school.

The novel deals with a number of themes, including racism, homophobia,[9] Islamophobia, and coming-of-age. The intersection between Nishat's cultural identity and her sexual identity is a central theme of the novel. Lana Barnes of Shelf Awareness described Nishat's struggle as "the dichotomy of wanting to break from the constraints of tradition while still maintaining strong ties to culture and beliefs."[10]

The Henna Wars has received generally positive reviews, including starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Shelf Awareness.[11][10] Time included The Henna Wars on their list of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.[1] It was listed as one of the best young adult books of 2020 and 2021 by Teen Vogue, American Library Association, The Irish Times, Autostraddle, and NPR.[12][13][14][15][16]

Other work

In addition to writing young adult novels, Jaigirdar has written for Book Riot.[17] She also teaches English as a foreign language to recent immigrants to Ireland.[4]

Her middle grade debut, Nadia Islam, On the Record, was published in January 2026.[18]

Publications

Anthology contributions

  • 200 CCS: Year One, edited by Paul A. Hamilton (2017)
  • Momentum, edited by Gabriela Martins (2018)
  • Keep Faith, edited by Gabriela Martins (2019)
  • Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, And Trying Again, edited by Dana Alison Levy (2021)
  • The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power, edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker (2024)

References

  1. ^ a b "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time". Time. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Media Kit". Adiba Jaigirdar. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Narang, Nimarta (30 June 2020). "Author Interview: Adiba Jaigirdar of 'The Henna Wars'". Brown Girl Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Simeon, Laura (25 May 2020). "Writing To See Herself Reflected in a Book". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  5. ^ Ahmed, Natalia (22 May 2021). "Adiba Jaigidar's newest novel made me re-think my past". The Tempest. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. ^ Als, Amal (26 June 2020). "Navigating queerness & tradition in YA fiction with Adiba Jaigirdar, author of "The Henna Wars"". The Tempest. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b Khan, Mariam (16 June 2021). "'I didn't know Asian people could be queer - I hope my book helps other Muslims'". Metro. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. ^ Bussel, Rachel Kramer (23 June 2020). "5 LGBTQ Authors On The Inspiration Behind Their Young Adult And Middle Grade Books". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. ^ Gutterman, Annabel (11 August 2021). "The Henna Wars". Time. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. ^ a b Barnes, Lana (26 May 2020). "The Henna Wars". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  11. ^ "The Henna Wars". Kirkus Reviews. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  12. ^ Paxson, Caitlyn (30 June 2020). "Mermaids, Werewolves And Witches: Welcome Summer With These 6 New YA Novels". NPR. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  13. ^ NGILBERT (14 January 2021). "2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. ^ Hennessy, Claire (24 February 2021). "Young adult fiction: Picks for February". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  15. ^ Stepaniuk, Casey (11 December 2020). "67 of the Best Queer Books of 2020". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  16. ^ Clarendon, Dan (9 June 2020). "20 LGBTQ+ Books for Teens Coming Out in 2020". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Adiba Jaigirdar, Author at BOOK RIOT". BOOK RIOT. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Nadia Islam, on the Record". HarperCollins. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
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