Rightfully tipped for greatness.

Unflinchingly honest but tempered by its humanity, this is a novel for our times...

An extremely readable and fascinating dual narrative about the expulsion of East African Ugandans under Idi Amin in the 70s and the journey taken by Sameer, born in modern day Leicester, to understand his familial legacy.

[A] sprawling and epic dual narrative, spoke of her lived experience, but that which she'd seldom seen in the books she read: a story of cross-generational divides, and being both Black and South Asian ... It's woven together with gentle urgency; sensitive and with a rare perspective on how our mixed race backgrounds can help form feelings of both internal power and conflict.'

The issues and subjects it takes on are big ... All are explored with great intelligence and sensitivity ... Zayyan's writing finds the lightness and fluency of a much more experienced novelist ... It is an epic novel in terms of historical, geographic, and cultural scope. It has much to recommend it: the tone, the structure, the ambition, and the clarity that enables the story to cover so much ground without ever becoming confused or lost during its 360-pages.

This moving tale of love and loss ... is well worth the wait.

What's distinctive is the modern, multi-ethnic vision of masculinity she presents and the solidarity that emerges from it ... the romance that evolves between Sameer and Maryam reads like a miracle, something good that might yet be salvaged from trauma. But Zayyan won't allow such easy relief: the anxieties that have simmered throughout the novel finally surface at its end, taking a sinister shape in the shadowy last lines. It's a daringly indeterminate way to end, and undeniably powerful too.

[A] powerful debut exploring migration, identity and racial prejudice.

It was stunning and took me on a journey that I didn't know I needed to take. A book that will stay with me for a long time.

Sure to be a best-seller, this debut novel looks set to make big waves and is the perfect read for people looking to hear a familiar story told from an entirely new and fresh perspective.

If you've been looking for a novel that spins its plot around history, love, racism, ambition, faith, friendship and the sometimes crushing expectations of family, call off the search ... I've struggled with my attention span when it comes to reading during the third lockdown but this had me absolutely hooked ... incredibly skillful. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Zayyan brings attention to a period of history that many may be unaware of and reckons with some of the real world consequences of colonialism in an interesting and personalised way. It is a brave book in those terms ... we also witness some very believable and relatable instances of modern day racism as well as a strong and interesting account of how he struggles to balance his way of life with the wishes of his parents ... Zayyan writes very well ... in Sameer she writes a complex, interesting character who makes sense as a product of his life circumstances ... We Are All Birds of Uganda does tell stories that I haven't often read before, and brings attention to parts of history that really need to be focused on in our current climate.

Rapper Stormzy's favourite debut soars by asking: Who are we - and how do we belong?

On the evidence of this book, which is set in England and Uganda, [Zayyan] is an exciting new literary talent.

[A] tender, beautifully written read ... This remarkably accomplished debut is a moving tale of love and loss, told between two continents over a troubled century.

Zayyan's novel is emotive, multi-layered and makes for necessary reading.

From the moment the Afrori Team saw this book we were captivated. It is one of the most remarkable debut novels we have come across. A book you will not forget.

...It's a complex and delicately flavoured dish to be savoured and digested slowly.

Impressive and admirable.

Beautiful.

So brilliant, moving and just prescient for today that I just want to keep on waffling about it.

A truly thought provoking novel which makes you wonder and question yourself and the world long after putting it down. A real success.

A stirring exploration of love and displacement.

A remarkably accomplished, polished debut.

There are flashes of brilliance throughout, reminiscent of John Berger.

Acts of Desperation creates an immersive experience of toxic romance through a suffocating and addictive narrative.

Painful, sharp and absorbing.

A reflection on compulsion, addiction and what it's like to exist as a young woman in a world that is hostile to you. Read the first page and you won't be able to stop.

Nolan...stakes out thrilling new territory in an intense, unflinching novel that is always intelligent and utterly unafraid of ugliness.

A devastating stripping back of the gendered and politicised conditions that shape desire, a revelation of the unnerving ways we are made vulnerable to others in unequal systems. Its crisp, knowing prose is unparalleled, its anger remarkable.

Nolan's intelligent, elegant first novel, a gripping portrait of love turned toxic.

The star feature of Nolan's narration is her ability to cut through received ideas about women, relationships and even rape. Her headlong, fearless prose, feels like salt wind on cracked lips. You wince and you thrill.

A raw read of vulnerability, desperation, and most definitely a new voice in fiction

A thrilling read...if you want a visceral, honest, unputdownable summer read then this is it. You'll devour it in a day.

A very elegant novel, with coercive control at the core. She has such a strong voice and not a sentence is extraneous

I read this in one go... I found it raw, honest, brutal and real.

Written with acerbic style and wit, this is an intoxicatingly good look at romantic obsession, delusion and desire.

Beautifully written…and the short chapters keep things moving at an addictively fast pace. Most importantly, it’s shamelessly real