Spice Road
Spice Road Book 1
By Maiya Ibrahim
Publisher: Delacorte Press (January 24, 2023)
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN-10: 0593126963
ISBN-13: 978-0593126967
Reading age: 14 - 17 years
Lexile measure: HL790L
Grade level: 9 - 12
Publisher’s Blurb:
The first book in an epic fantasy series set in
an Arabian-inspired land with secret spice magic. Raised to protect her nation
from the monsters lurking in the sands, sixteen-year-old Imani must fight to
find her brother, whose betrayal is now the country's greatest threat.
In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens
the affinities of those who drink the misra tea.
Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield
a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the
next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading
across the sands.
Her reputation has been overshadowed, however, by her brother, who tarnished
the family name after it was revealed that he was stealing his nation's coveted
spice—a telltale sign of magical obsession. Soon after that, he disappeared,
believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes. Despite her brother’s
betrayal, there isn’t a day that goes by when Imani doesn’t grieve him.
But when Imani discovers signs that her brother may be alive and spreading the
nation's magic to outsiders, she makes a deal with the Council that she will
find him and bring him back to Qalia, where he will face punishment.
Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can
control the minds of falcons, she sets out on her mission.
Imani will soon find that many secrets lie beyond the Forbidden Wastes—and in
her own heart—but will she find her brother?
My Thoughts:
This series opener definitely leaves me wanting more.
Although the immediate problem—find Imani’s brother—is resolved, the door is
left wide open for further problems. The enemy he left to fight still exists,
and the threat to their magically-protected homeland is real.
Imani has been in a dark place ever since her brother disappeared, and her spunky younger sister, Amira, has been getting into trouble. When they discover a djinn who promises that he can help them find Atheer, Imani does the unthinkable, binding him to her sword, and tells the council. They send her on a mission with an elite group of scouts to bring him back, at all costs.
Naturally, things don’t go smoothly. There is conflict
between Imani, born to privilege, and Taha, whose father came from humbler
roots and somehow secured a position as leader of the council. There are many
hints about Taha’s past, though little is stated explicitly, as he and Imani
become closer—but only when no one else is watching. Naturally, the point comes
when Taha must choose between the task his father set him and his burgeoning
friendship with Imani—who had caught definite feelings for him.
Of course, little sister has made herself an unwanted part of
the mission. And the djinn, Qayn, also manages to stir the pot—and help immensely.
His past is painful and complex, and he, too, has some hidden motivation.
Imani begins the book ignorant of her privilege, and ignorant of many of the struggles that others experience. She has blindly believed what she has been told about the world outside Qalia, and struggles to accept the revelations that face her in her travels.
I love the variety of magical affinities, and I love that Imani’s is for metal, changing the form of her sword at will to what will be most useful at the time. She is a fierce and capable warrior. It is her blind spots that hold her back, and we see her constantly shifting her schema as new information is added.
The conflicts here ring true, and seem to follow all the classic ones that English teachers like me teach: conflict with self, conflict with nature, conflict with the supernatural, conflict with other people.
Even Taha’s sidekicks, though the flattest of the characters, have some personality quirks.
I look forward to the next installment!
Possible Objectionable Material:
Magic, multiple gods, non-human creatures. There is
definitely some violence, fighting, and bloodshed. People get drunk. People lie
and mislead others. There is a slight romantic element, but it doesn’t go past
a kiss. Description of a young man’s body—non-sexual.
Who Might Like This Book:
Those who like quest fantasy, magic, Middle Eastern culture.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an
advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim
By Patricia Park
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
(February 21, 2023)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 0593563379
ISBN-13: 978-0593563373
Reading age: 12 - 17 years
Lexile measure: HL720L
Grade level: 7 - 9
Publisher’s Blurb:
The award-winning author of Re Jane makes her young adult debut in a funny, poignant, and powerful novel
about a multicultural teen struggling to fit into her whitewashed school, her
diverse Queens neighborhood, and even her own home as her family reels
from the loss of her father.
Alejandra Kim doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere. At her wealthy Manhattan high school, her súper Spanish name and súper Korean face do not compute to her mostly white "woke" classmates and teachers. In her Jackson Heights neighborhood, she’s not Latinx enough. Even at home, Ale feels unwelcome. And things at home have only gotten worse since Papi's body was discovered on the subway tracks.
Ale wants nothing more than to escape the city for the wide-open spaces of the prestigious Wyder University. But when a microaggression at school thrusts Ale into the spotlight—and into a discussion she didn’t ask for—Ale must discover what is means to carve out a space for yourself to belong.
Patricia Park’s coming-of-age novel about a multicultural teen caught between worlds, and the future she is building for herself, is an incisive, laugh-out-loud, provocative read.
My Thoughts:
I teach in a predominantly Latine school, so the fact that
this book is liberally peppered with Spanish and Spanglish phrases that aren’t always
translated rings true for me.
Alejandra and her mother struggle to get by, and even though she has a 90% scholarship to her private school, she works hard to make up the difference. She dreams of college in an elite school and believes it will be the key to a better future.
As a scholarship student, she tries to lie low and not make waves. She goes along with mispronunciations of her name and assumptions about her background.
And then things change. Despite her wishes, Ale’s best friend brings to light the microagression a visiting teacher subjected her too, and things blow up. Big time. Laurel, ever the social justice warrior, uses Ale’s life as a springboard to—she hopes—her own admission into Whyder.
Sprinkle in high school bullies (some of whom may become friends), the return of an old friend (and possibly more), and the Ale’s own constant self-doubt, and you get a coming-of-age story that rings true. The conversations and conflicts are realistic. So is the resolution of those conflicts.
I particularly enjoyed the epilogue. The endings of some high-school relationships, and the endurance of others, is so natural and well done.
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