Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands
by Alwyn Hamilton

From the publisher:
"Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic.  For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three.  She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power."

Whew, what a ride! This book is a piece of great storytelling and it sucked me in from page one. It has an incredibly original plot - other people have described it as a cross between a western and Arabian Nights - and characters that you will care deeply about. There is great sorrow and hardship for our heroine, and great growth and strength. It ends with quite a bit of closure, but enough still to come to make you want to get your hands on book 2 immediately. I really loved this one, however sometimes some of the First Beings seemed out of place of what was happening. I'm not sure why we needed the Nightmares or the Skinwalkers when the rest of the story was so gripping (were they First Beings? I'm actually not sure about that.). Maybe they will play a more important and necessary role in the coming books. There was enough of a romance in the book to keep it interesting, but it was in no way the main focus of the story. I really enjoyed the world that was created for this story, and that is saying something because I hate the desert. Seriously hate it. But reading this filled you with the mystique and romance of riding a flying carpet through the desert sky (yes, A Whole New World is now going through my head). As much as I would hate to have desert sand all over me - I don't even like having beach sand all over me - I could feel the love Amani had for her desert home. Well done, Alwyn Hamilton, I heartily recommend this one.

Areas of concern:
*There were upwards of about 20 combined swear words.
*A couple of pretty disturbing deaths.
*A very mild romance with a couple of kisses.

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+

School Library Journal - Grades 8+

The Thief

The Thief
by Megan Whalen Turner

From the publisher:
"The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities. 

What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses."

I've been in a YA reading slump lately. It's been a long time since something has reached out and grabbed me enough to keep me reading until I finish. We have a winner! I really liked this book and found it interesting, exciting, surprising, and full of fun. It is with horror that I have realized I don't have the second book of the series in my library. I will be remedying that oversight. This isn't a series that gets checked out a lot, so I will need to start pointing it out to students I know will love it. 

Gen was an interesting main character. There were times when he was obnoxiously cocky, but somehow you still love him. The other characters were a slow burn, but you learn to love them as well. I'm still surprised by a couple of things that come out in the end. Did not see those coming.

The world-building was very cool. I felt like I was actually seeing the dystopia (glad the author explained that) and the river ebbing and flowing, not to mention trying to come down a mountain on loose shale. I found the different countries' governments a little confusing, but I think that will all be explained more fully in the rest of the series. 

I actually liked the stories of the gods. Sometimes those kind of things slow the book down for me, but I felt like it really set things up for the story and helped me understand things better. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it.

Areas of concern:
*The religion in this book consists of several gods, and the term Oh Gods, or gods-damn it is used several times.
*Some violence - nothing graphic.

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 10+

Dark Breaks the Dawn

Dark Breaks the Dawn
by Sara B. Larson

From the publisher:
"On her eighteenth birthday, Princess Evelayn of Eadrolan, the Light Kingdom, can finally access the full range of her magical powers. The light looks brighter, the air is sharper, and the energy she can draw when fighting feels almost limitless.

But while her mother, the queen, remains busy at the war front, in the Dark Kingdom of Dorjhalon, the corrupt king is plotting. King Bain wants control of both kingdoms, and his plan will fling Evelayn onto the throne much sooner than she expected.

In order to defeat Bain and his sons, Evelayn will quickly have to come into her ability to shapeshift, and rely on the alluring Lord Tanvir. But not everyone is what they seem, and the balance between the Light and Dark comes at a steep price."

I liked this book, but didn't love it. People kept referring to it as a retelling of Swan Lake, and I was trying throughout the book to figure out how it was. After I finished I discovered it was like a prequel to Swan Lake, so the next book will probably be more like the story of the ballet. 
I found the world that was created very intriguing, although there was a lot I didn't understand. I enjoyed the characters, and liked reading from the points of view of several of them. It took me quite a while to get into the story, but once I did I liked it. But it was weird because most of the book is leading up to one big event, and then that event is over incredibly quickly. This was no The Two Towers where the battle scene lasts forever. It's hard to say too much about it without giving anything away, but I was very sad at the end and I want to know what happens in the next one, although some things can't be fixed. So, do I recommend it? Sure, I think there are a lot of people who will really love it.

Areas of concern:
*Violence and death.
*Talk of the queen needing to "bind" with someone and procreate quickly to save the kingdom.

Suggested Ages:

Booklist - Grades 7-10

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+