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+