Name: Amira and Hamza: the War to Save the Worlds
ISBN: 9780316540469

Samira Ahmed

A genie informs twelve-year-old Amira and her younger brother Hamza that they are the chosen ones who must defeat a monstrous demon of Islamic folklore to save the Earth and a parallel dimension.

Amira and Hamza: the War to Save the Worlds

Disclaimer: I received a finished paperback copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Amira and Hazma: The War to Save the Worlds

Diversity: Desi American MC and characters and Desi characters

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, fantasy, mythology, Desi mythology, science fiction, Percy Jackson like, HP replacement

Age Relevance: 10+ (racism, violence, poisoning, gore, climate disasters, human trafficking, kidnapping)

Explanation of Above: There are mentions of racism, violence, poisoning, and vomit gore. There are some climate disasters that happen in this book. There is a vague reference to human trafficking. There is some shown kidnapping.

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: On the day of a rare super blue blood moon eclipse, twelve-year-old Amira and her little brother, Hamza, can’t stop their bickering while attending a special exhibit on medieval Islamic astronomy. While stargazer Amira is wowed by the amazing gadgets, a bored Hamza wanders off, stumbling across the mesmerizing and forbidden Box of the Moon. Amira can only watch in horror as Hamza grabs the defunct box and it springs to life, setting off a series of events that could shatter their world—literally.

Suddenly, day turns to night, everyone around Amira and Hamza falls under a sleep spell, and a chunk of the moon breaks off, hurtling toward them at lightning speed, as they come face-to-face with two otherworldly creatures: jinn.

The jinn reveal that the siblings have a role to play in an ancient prophecy. Together, they must journey to the mystical land of Qaf, battle a great evil, and end a civil war to prevent the moon—the stopper between realms—from breaking apart and unleashing terrifying jinn, devs, and ghuls onto earth. Or they might have to say goodbye to their parents and life as they know it, forever.…

Review: I thought this was an adorable read! The book is about two siblings who accidently open up a mystical box that puts everyone around them to sleep and starts some very cataclysmic events. I loved the action and the mythology in this story and I love how science was at the forefront of this book with one of the MCs being a science lover. I loved the story and the writing was phenomenally done. The world building was amazing and the characters were very well developed. I also want to point out the siblings acted very sibling like. The book is very Percy Jackson like and it’s an excellent HP replacement.

The only issue I had with the book is that I thought it was a bit too fast paced in some places.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received a finished paperback copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

 

Book: Amira and Hazma: The War to Save the Worlds

 

Author: Samira Ahmed

 

Book Series: Amira and Hazma Book 1

 

Rating: 5/5

 

Diversity: Desi American MC and characters and Desi characters

 

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, fantasy, mythology, Desi mythology, science fiction, Percy Jackson like, HP replacement

 

Publication Date: September 21, 2021

 

Genre: MG Fantasy

 

Age Relevance: 10+ (racism, violence, poisoning, gore, climate disasters, human trafficking, kidnapping)

 

Explanation of Above: There are mentions of racism, violence, poisoning, and vomit gore. There are some climate disasters that happen in this book. There is a vague reference to human trafficking. There is some shown kidnapping.

 

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

 

Pages: 368

 

Synopsis: On the day of a rare super blue blood moon eclipse, twelve-year-old Amira and her little brother, Hamza, can’t stop their bickering while attending a special exhibit on medieval Islamic astronomy. While stargazer Amira is wowed by the amazing gadgets, a bored Hamza wanders off, stumbling across the mesmerizing and forbidden Box of the Moon. Amira can only watch in horror as Hamza grabs the defunct box and it springs to life, setting off a series of events that could shatter their world—literally.

 

Suddenly, day turns to night, everyone around Amira and Hamza falls under a sleep spell, and a chunk of the moon breaks off, hurtling toward them at lightning speed, as they come face-to-face with two otherworldly creatures: jinn.

 

The jinn reveal that the siblings have a role to play in an ancient prophecy. Together, they must journey to the mystical land of Qaf, battle a great evil, and end a civil war to prevent the moon—the stopper between realms—from breaking apart and unleashing terrifying jinn, devs, and ghuls onto earth. Or they might have to say goodbye to their parents and life as they know it, forever.…

 

Review: I thought this was an adorable read! The book is about two siblings who accidently open up a mystical box that puts everyone around them to sleep and starts some very cataclysmic events. I loved the action and the mythology in this story and I love how science was at the forefront of this book with one of the MCs being a science lover. I loved the story and the writing was phenomenally done. The world building was amazing and the characters were very well developed. I also want to point out the siblings acted very sibling like. The book is very Percy Jackson like and it’s an excellent HP replacement.

 

The only issue I had with the book is that I thought it was a bit too fast paced in some places.

 

Verdict: I loved it! Highly recommend!