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A review by phyrre
The War to Save the Worlds by Samira Ahmed
4.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Overall
I am all about these diverse middle grade adventures that seem to be booming right now. So when I saw one based on Islamic folklore and legend, I was 100% going to jump on that. It’s something I haven’t seen before and something I don’t know as much about, so heck yes! Plus, not gonna lie, I read the first two pages and really enjoyed the slightly snarky narrative style.
The Amira & Hamza series blends science with Islamic legend and folklore in a fast-paced adventure filled with relatable characters, humor, sibling bonds (and rivalry), and lots of exciting creatures and places.
I had a lot of fun with these books! The folklore is intriguing, as are the creatures, and like nothing I’ve ever seen. I absolutely love jinn in books, and this was no exception. This makes for a nice middle-of-the-road middle grade book. The writing and conflict is a bit more simplistic, with large font, even though the page length is a bit longer. Some of the conflicts were resolved kind of easy, but that’s not unexpected. I sure hope there will be more in this series, because I’ve enjoyed adventuring with Amira and Hamza!
My Thoughts
- Meet Amira and Hamza, who aren’t technically to blame for the moon splitting apart and crashing towards Earth . . . but they’re not exactly helping, either. So if you’re wondering if there are stakes in this book . . . yes. Rather big, end-of-world, cataclysmic type stakes. Which you might argue is a lot for a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old to handle, and yes, Amira and Hamza would definitely agree with you there.
The conflict in this is actually worse than just the moon splitting apart (as if that wasn’t bad enough). The moon is actually a prison for a really powerful jinn (magical beings made of a smokeless flame) whose son is currently trying to stage a prison break, as it were. Large stakes, bad baddies . . . what more could anyone ask of an adventure book?!
- Enter a world of jinn, filled with magic and danger and all sorts of interesting creatures. I am a sucker for any and all books that involve jinn, in any and all incarnations of them. I’ve been fascinated by the folklore behind them since I first heard it, especially since everyone interprets it slightly differently in fiction. So I wasn’t at all disappointed to read Ahmed’s interpretation. In this world, jinn can be good or bad, just like people. Unlike people, they also possess magic. Oh, yeah, and they’re sort of made of fire.
While the book doesn’t dive too deep into the world of jinn, it’s just enough to dip your toes into. It’s filled with magical creatures (most of which you probably won’t expect, so I won’t ruin it for you), among other things. It’s a rather interesting world that I was sad to leave when the book ended.
- Amira and Hamza aren’t the heroes we need, but . . . well, they’re the heroes they have. And they’ll make it work. Somehow. Probably. Amira has her logic and sub-part (if we’re honest) karate skills, which serve her pretty well. Especially her penchant for science, which helps her solve more than one predicament they’re able to get into. Hamza, while not so great on the “thinking things through” tactic, is brave and doesn’t hesitate to get the job done. Together, they’re an unlikely pair of heroes, but it’s not like they could really say no (they asked).
While there are certainly unbelievable moments in terms of the kids’ abilities, nothing that was too far-fetched for this sort of middle grade book. What I particularly enjoyed are all the little ways they mess up or make mistakes, because saving the world is a big, dirty job and they’re ill-prepared for it. I enjoyed the little bit of realism in that, especially knowing that everything doesn’t always go the way they plan it to.
- This world is based on Islamic and Middle Eastern mythology, folklore, and legend, which is super interesting if you’ve never been exposed to it before. From the idea of jinn (and even different types of jinn) to the Urdu language, Rumi, and plenty of other concepts, this book will introduce the reader to some of the finer parts of Islamic and Middle Eastern culture. I was already familiar with some of it, but I found the rest incredibly interesting! It’s not something I see a ton of outside of contemporary middle grade, so having the chance to interact with the culture through an adventure fantasy was exciting!
I received a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Overall
I am all about these diverse middle grade adventures that seem to be booming right now. So when I saw one based on Islamic folklore and legend, I was 100% going to jump on that. It’s something I haven’t seen before and something I don’t know as much about, so heck yes! Plus, not gonna lie, I read the first two pages and really enjoyed the slightly snarky narrative style.
The Amira & Hamza series blends science with Islamic legend and folklore in a fast-paced adventure filled with relatable characters, humor, sibling bonds (and rivalry), and lots of exciting creatures and places.
I had a lot of fun with these books! The folklore is intriguing, as are the creatures, and like nothing I’ve ever seen. I absolutely love jinn in books, and this was no exception. This makes for a nice middle-of-the-road middle grade book. The writing and conflict is a bit more simplistic, with large font, even though the page length is a bit longer. Some of the conflicts were resolved kind of easy, but that’s not unexpected. I sure hope there will be more in this series, because I’ve enjoyed adventuring with Amira and Hamza!
My Thoughts
- Meet Amira and Hamza, who aren’t technically to blame for the moon splitting apart and crashing towards Earth . . . but they’re not exactly helping, either. So if you’re wondering if there are stakes in this book . . . yes. Rather big, end-of-world, cataclysmic type stakes. Which you might argue is a lot for a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old to handle, and yes, Amira and Hamza would definitely agree with you there.
The conflict in this is actually worse than just the moon splitting apart (as if that wasn’t bad enough). The moon is actually a prison for a really powerful jinn (magical beings made of a smokeless flame) whose son is currently trying to stage a prison break, as it were. Large stakes, bad baddies . . . what more could anyone ask of an adventure book?!
- Enter a world of jinn, filled with magic and danger and all sorts of interesting creatures. I am a sucker for any and all books that involve jinn, in any and all incarnations of them. I’ve been fascinated by the folklore behind them since I first heard it, especially since everyone interprets it slightly differently in fiction. So I wasn’t at all disappointed to read Ahmed’s interpretation. In this world, jinn can be good or bad, just like people. Unlike people, they also possess magic. Oh, yeah, and they’re sort of made of fire.
While the book doesn’t dive too deep into the world of jinn, it’s just enough to dip your toes into. It’s filled with magical creatures (most of which you probably won’t expect, so I won’t ruin it for you), among other things. It’s a rather interesting world that I was sad to leave when the book ended.
- Amira and Hamza aren’t the heroes we need, but . . . well, they’re the heroes they have. And they’ll make it work. Somehow. Probably. Amira has her logic and sub-part (if we’re honest) karate skills, which serve her pretty well. Especially her penchant for science, which helps her solve more than one predicament they’re able to get into. Hamza, while not so great on the “thinking things through” tactic, is brave and doesn’t hesitate to get the job done. Together, they’re an unlikely pair of heroes, but it’s not like they could really say no (they asked).
While there are certainly unbelievable moments in terms of the kids’ abilities, nothing that was too far-fetched for this sort of middle grade book. What I particularly enjoyed are all the little ways they mess up or make mistakes, because saving the world is a big, dirty job and they’re ill-prepared for it. I enjoyed the little bit of realism in that, especially knowing that everything doesn’t always go the way they plan it to.
- This world is based on Islamic and Middle Eastern mythology, folklore, and legend, which is super interesting if you’ve never been exposed to it before. From the idea of jinn (and even different types of jinn) to the Urdu language, Rumi, and plenty of other concepts, this book will introduce the reader to some of the finer parts of Islamic and Middle Eastern culture. I was already familiar with some of it, but I found the rest incredibly interesting! It’s not something I see a ton of outside of contemporary middle grade, so having the chance to interact with the culture through an adventure fantasy was exciting!