by Jasmyn | Mar 20, 2019 | Book Reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Readers, Young Adult
Internment is very scary look into a near future reality that seems to be knocking on our door right now. When politicians vilinize the Muslim community, people begin to view them all with suspicion. A registry is formed. They lose their jobs/schools. And they are sent to camps.
Samira Ahmed does an amazing job showing just how the American public allowed this to happen. Between a mixture of hatred, being uninformed, and people assuming it could never happen here – they allowed it to happen.
We see these events unfold through the eyes of Layal – an American whose country turns on her for committing no crime. Viewing the life of the camp and the small rebellions leading to revolution as she experiences them was so very hard.
I think this book comes at a great time in history to show that “not doing anything” isn’t any better than “doing the bad thing.” Looking the other way or assuming that it can’t happen here is a faulty way of thinking/acting, and Samira Ahmed shows us why. I alternated between anger at what people dared to do and sadness that anyone would be treated in this way.
Thank goodness it’s fiction….for now. I only hope that continues to be the case and we never have to see events like the ones in Internment ever happen.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Internment
Author: Samira Ahmed
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction
Content Rating: PG-13
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Rebellions are built on hope.
Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp’s Director and his guards.
Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.
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by Jasmyn | Mar 19, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Getting to know more about the Marakai and Valkirin was amazing! And I finally found out for sure who these mysterious Talismans are and more about their legacy. I loved the way the various tribes’ cultures are so diverse, and while I see their inspirations, they are still very unique and fun to visit.
Events are unfolding rather quickly in both Nocturne and Solis, and the Vatras are breathing down the doors as they continue their hunt for the talismans as well.
One of the things that stands out the most to me is the depth of the characters. Each stands out on the own and they develop and change, adapting to the story as things change around them.
Nazafareen’s purpose in the grand scheme of things is becoming more clear. And while she seems to be the “main” character, she could never get anything done without her friends and companions. Even friends that no longer travel with her, like Javid, still have major moments to play and I was really excited to see that they stay as a part of the story.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Monstrum (The Fourth Talisman #3)
Author: Kat Ross
Genre: High Fantasy
Content Rating: PG-13
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On the White Sea, realm of smashers and sea monsters, a ship is carrying Nazafareen and Darius to the Isles of the Marakai, where the wise woman Sakhet-ra-katme has guarded the secret of the talismans for centuries. But another is searching too, a daeva born in the brutal prison of the Kiln, who plans to use the talismans to free the Vatras and their mad king. When their paths collide at the emperor’s lavish palace in Tjanjin, Nazafareen and Darius face their deadliest and most cunning foe yet.
In the mountain fastness of Val Moraine, the Pythia’s minions are on the scent of another talisman, this one from the Danai clan. Trapped behind a thick wall of ice, everyone’s going slightly mad—the perfect cauldron of suspicion and betrayal for Thena, who sees a chance to redeem her failure and bring the talisman back to Delphi. Then she’ll be free to indulge her twisted obsession with Darius—and make him pay.
And in Samarqand, Javid is drawn into the treacherous currents of a royal succession. When the old king dies and his son takes the throne, the depths of the prince’s depravity become clear. A journey north reveals the source of the spell dust he’s addicted to—and leaves Javid with an impossible choice.
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by Jasmyn | Mar 19, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Nemesis brings a lot of the Fourth Talisman characters back together again – only to send them off on their own quests once again. I love how Kat Ross keeps her world so large and on such a grand scale but still manages to keep me close to the characters I’ve grown to love.
In Nemesis, I got to travel deep into the Kiln as Nazafareen hunts the leader of the Vatras, a man from the legends with a tie to the realm of Dominions (the underworld). I found it fascinating that we’ve made it into the fourth book and I seem to be just now introduced to the real bad guy – very impressive, as there were plenty of plots and plans along the way to keep everyone busy.
There were some rather surprising twists, including Javid’s life at the palace under the watch of a royal addicted to spell dust (which, btw, ewww gross, but moving on) that has already gone crazy and is only going to get even more so. But all these scattered storylines are coming together in an amazing way, and I really want to see how all the threads come together.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Nemesis (The Fourth Talisman #4)
Author: Kat Ross
Genre: High Fantasy
Content Rating: PG-13
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In the fourth volume of the Fourth Talisman series, Nazafareen risks everything on a desperate gamble to stop the Vatras once and for all…
With Meb safely among her own people, Nazafareen has finally embraced her dangerous fire magic. She is the Fourth Talisman, destined to free the heirs from the wards binding their own extraordinary power. With Nocturne and Solis poised on the brink of war, the choices she makes will decide the fate of mortals and daevas alike.
Determined to confront Culach and make amends, Nazafareen goes to Val Moraine, setting off a chain of events that ultimately leads her deep into the perilous wasteland called the Kiln and the faceless enemy waiting there. But the ancient hatred that shattered the world a millennium before is stronger and far more devious than she and her companions imagine.
Is the Viper truly dead? And can Nazafareen triumph without facing the darkness that lurks within her own heart?
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