No matter what the verdict is. No matter how long they would serve. They’re alive. Jawad isn’t. We might get accountability, but it won’t be justice. What’s justice for a murdered kid?
I picked this book up after reading Internment, since I wanted more by the author. Also, it was free! What’s not to love about free books?
Hollow Fires tells the story of Safiya Mirza, who dreams of becoming a journalist. Through her job as editor of the school newspaper, she has learned that journalism is about facts and that personal biases must be left out. However, that changes when she finds the body of a murdered boy, Jawad Ali. Jawad was 14 when he built a cosplay jetpack which a teacher mistook for a bomb, something that got him arrested, labeled as a terrorist, and later killed. Safiya, driven by Jawad’s ghost, or at least his haunting voice, tries to tell the whole truth about his death due to hate, and make sure he is remembered as more than just “Bomb Boy.”
This book was really enjoyable. I’m not sure if I enjoyed it more or less than Internment, but it was still just a good book. It tells a story and sends a message that is becoming ever more important, but it does that through an interesting, well written, and heartfelt story. It is a murder mystery and a social message rolled into one, and I strongly recommend. This book needs to be read and remembered, especially in the modern world.