Hope Ablaze: A Novel

Ages 13 to 18

All My Rage meets The Poet X in this electric debut that combines powerful prose and verse to explore a Muslim teen finding her voice in a post-9/11 America.

Nida has always been known as Mamou Abdul-Hafeedh’s niece - the poet that will fill her uncle’s shoes after he was wrongfully incarcerated during the war on terror. But for Nida, her poetry letters are her heart and sharing so much of herself with a world that stereotypes her faith and her hijab is not an option.

When Nida is illegally frisked at a Democratic Senatorial candidate’s political rally, she writes a scathing poem about the politician, never expecting the letter to go viral weeks before Election Day. Nida discovers her poem has won first place in a national contest, a contest she never entered, and her quiet life is toppled. But worst of all, Nida loses her ability to write poetry. In the aftermath of her win, Nida struggles to balance the expectations of her mother, her uncle, and her vibrant Muslim community with the person she truly wants to be.

Told through alternating prose and verse sections, and with a touch of magic, Sarah Mughal Rana's Hope Ablaze is gripping, heartbreaking, often funny, and ultimately uplifting. In her unforgettable exploration of poetry, society, and self, Rana not only celebrates the Islamic faith and Pakistani culture, but simultaneously confronts racism and Islamophobia with unflinching bravery.

About the Author

SARAH MUGHAL RANA is a Muslim author and student from the University of Toronto, now pursuing her MPhil in Asian studies at Oxford. She works at the intersection of human rights and Asian policy. She is a BookTok personality and the co-host of On the Write Track podcast. Outside of school, she falls down history rabbit holes and trains in traditional martial arts.