Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

Reviewed by Nané K.
Grade 10

One day, an English teacher’s Islamophobic judgment sparks a fire that sends 14-year-old Jawad Ali down a road which ends in his kidnapping and murder. At the same time, high schooler Safiya Mirza, who is an aspiring journalist, faces racist and Islamophobic attacks that threaten the school newspaper she works on. 

Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed is based on the true story of Bobby Franks’ murder in the 1920s. It takes a look into the horrific inner workings of racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, using one liners about what is truth and what is fact to set the tone for a chilling page turner. Certain aspects of the true story Hollow Fires is based on are very similar to what happens in the book, but the events have been modernized and changed, adding a new level of insidiousness to a tough story. 

Hollow Fires is non-linear and told in a split perspective between Jawad (as a ghost) and Safiya. It jumps back and forth between Jawad’s reflections after his death, and Safiya investigating his murder. In the beginning, Safiya finds that her school newspaper column was hacked and replaced by alt-right sentiments, which puts the newspaper in jeopardy. As she deals with more discrimination at school, such as anonymous texts and threatening posters put around the school, an Amber Alert about Jawad’s disappearance goes out. As the story progresses, Safiya navigates the increasing threats against her, a budding romance with jock Richard, and uncovering the mystery behind Jawad’s kidnapping, and eventual murder.

The author’s writing is generally solid, with a strong character voice for main character Safiya. However, my immersion was constantly broken by the unrealistic dialogue and interaction between characters, which to me was a big contrast with the dark themes throughout the story. Additionally, I felt that the romance subplot was out of place for most of the book. When it was first introduced, it was a harsh difference from the previous chapters, which had been dark and depressing. It did end up being plot important in a shocking twist--which brings me to my next point. There is a big reveal of the murderer’s identity in the climax. However, by the time the twist comes around, I had already predicted who it would have been a hundred pages ago. It was not a surprising twist, but it was emotionally intense.

One thing this book does well, and what makes it such an engaging read, is the inclusion of different forms of media, from court reports, podcast transcripts, and interviews, to news articles. The journalism theme matched well with the “Fact/Truth/Lie“ one liner at the start of each chapter. The culture of the main character, being an Indian Muslim, made it interesting as well as educational for me, because I had not read a book with a Muslim main character before.

Overall, Hollow Fires is a gripping and compelling story, one in which I was so engrossed that I finished it in a single sitting. I got emotionally invested in the story, and felt sympathetic for Jawad’s unjust fate. I would recommend this book to readers because of its well done story, and to raise awareness about Islamophobia.