missprint_'s review against another edition
4.0
So fun. Such adventure. An obvious comp for Jumanji (duh) but also a great less well-known title for readers who have already gotten everything they're going to pull from the Rick Riordan presents properties.
zaheerah's review against another edition
5.0
Barely adjusting to her new home in the Upper East Side, Bangladeshi-American kid Farah finds herself sucked into the game of The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand after her younger brother, Ahmad, vanishes into the game. Alongside her friends, she must complete three challenges and failure to win will trap them- and Ahmad- forever.
I've been anticipating this book since Salaam Reads was first announced. And I can definitely confirm that this book was so worth the wait.
I really, really enjoyed the world building and game design. The way the story is mapped out is really brilliant. I hope to, maybe, see a graphic novel of this series somewhere down the line because of the Middle Eastern and South Asian influences Raizi had made a very dazzling and creative world. The way the world moves in pieces like a game was so pretty to imagine.
Farah is pretty headstrong and a loveable lead who is very aware of her own weaknesses. She's constantly struggled with her want to ditch the challenge in search of her brother versus her need to navigate her and her friends out of the game. And she works alongside her friends to complete each challenge. Their friendship is very cute and they work well together, recognising each other's strengths and weaknesses. They're all very intuitive and logical in situations that would have me in tears. (ahah)
I think the only downside was the lack of characterisation for Essie and Alex. Farah's character comes out really strongly and the other two do come across as being more archetypes rather than their own persons. Also, its cultural aspects were so adorable and great to read. While the world seems almost alien to her friends, Essie and Alex, Farah finds familiarity in it and so did I. I wished this book existed when I was a kid.
Overall, it's a solid fantasy debut in an exciting game world. At its heart, a story of family and friendship, making it a great for any young readers.
I've been anticipating this book since Salaam Reads was first announced. And I can definitely confirm that this book was so worth the wait.
I really, really enjoyed the world building and game design. The way the story is mapped out is really brilliant. I hope to, maybe, see a graphic novel of this series somewhere down the line because of the Middle Eastern and South Asian influences Raizi had made a very dazzling and creative world. The way the world moves in pieces like a game was so pretty to imagine.
Farah is pretty headstrong and a loveable lead who is very aware of her own weaknesses. She's constantly struggled with her want to ditch the challenge in search of her brother versus her need to navigate her and her friends out of the game. And she works alongside her friends to complete each challenge. Their friendship is very cute and they work well together, recognising each other's strengths and weaknesses. They're all very intuitive and logical in situations that would have me in tears. (ahah)
I think the only downside was the lack of characterisation for Essie and Alex. Farah's character comes out really strongly and the other two do come across as being more archetypes rather than their own persons. Also, its cultural aspects were so adorable and great to read. While the world seems almost alien to her friends, Essie and Alex, Farah finds familiarity in it and so did I. I wished this book existed when I was a kid.
Overall, it's a solid fantasy debut in an exciting game world. At its heart, a story of family and friendship, making it a great for any young readers.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
I've always loved those gateway-to-another-world type books, and this one does a great job of putting together a new world and peoples in game format. The diversity of the characters doesn't feel at all forced or heavy-handed but just as another commonplace, another nice aspect. Of course, for me, the best part is that this is a one-off, not part of a series, and that the world of the Gauntlet won't be easy to replicate.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
jess_segraves's review against another edition
4.0
Such a fun, action-packed middle-grade book with diverse characters! I think fans of Jumanji and the first Harry Potter book would love this really imaginative story. It felt pretty young to me in that it doesn't feel like the kind of middle-grade book that is also geared towards adult audiences, but I hope to pick this up for younger cousins and friends' children when they're a bit older.
hilaryistired's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
As soon as I heard this being compared to Jumanji, I was 100% in. I'm a huge fan of the original story, and I was excited to see what sort of story this would be. And while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Jumanji, it was a fun story and one hell of an adventure that I have no doubt will be a huge hit with the middle grade crowd.
The Good Points of The Gauntlet:
The games and puzzles within the Gauntlet are brilliant. The adaptions of board games and guessing games are so much fun and they way that the game plays against Farah and her friends is a lot of fun.
I loved all of the characters in this book. Farah, Essie, and Alex are all unique, fun kids, and the author doesn't shy away from giving them positive and negative traits, even with how short the book is and how little time Riazi has to develop them. The inhabitants of the Gauntlet and the adults in the story are also all realistic and well developed.
This is one of the best depictions of ADHD I've seen in a story for youth. While everyone with ADHD is different, I felt that this was a reasonable depiction of how it manifests at Ahmed's age, based on my work with people with it.
The world building in this book is brilliant. It was so easy to imagine the places that Farah and her friends went and the descriptions were beautifully done with the perfect amount of detail.
The Downsides of The Gauntlet:
The games felt a little too easy for the kids. I know that it's a middle grade book, and that it's short, and all that, but I would have liked to see them struggle a little more. They're three kids, and they succeeded without too much effort in a game that's been around for ages. It felt a lot like Harry Potter and his friends solving a bunch of puzzles designed to keep out adults in the Philosopher's Stone: just a little too unrealistic.
The writing is fine in terms of being clean and proper grammar and all that, but I had the hardest time getting into it. I liked the story, but the writing style just didn't work for me.
As mentioned above, I think it would have been better if Farah and her friends had gotten frustrated with Ahmed and his ADHD. It's just not that realistic for them to be so accommodating. Maybe Farah would have been, because she's so used to it, but her friends likely wouldn't be so easy about it. It just didn't seem realistic in this sense.
All in all, The Gauntlet is a fun, adventurous read. It has some really incredible world building going on, and I loved all of the games and challenges within the book. Riazi has put together a great book for middle grade-aged kids. If you're a fan of board games, amazing descriptions of food, great world building, and smart-as-heck kids, you'll likely enjoy the Gauntlet.
As soon as I heard this being compared to Jumanji, I was 100% in. I'm a huge fan of the original story, and I was excited to see what sort of story this would be. And while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Jumanji, it was a fun story and one hell of an adventure that I have no doubt will be a huge hit with the middle grade crowd.
The Good Points of The Gauntlet:
The games and puzzles within the Gauntlet are brilliant. The adaptions of board games and guessing games are so much fun and they way that the game plays against Farah and her friends is a lot of fun.
I loved all of the characters in this book. Farah, Essie, and Alex are all unique, fun kids, and the author doesn't shy away from giving them positive and negative traits, even with how short the book is and how little time Riazi has to develop them. The inhabitants of the Gauntlet and the adults in the story are also all realistic and well developed.
This is one of the best depictions of ADHD I've seen in a story for youth. While everyone with ADHD is different, I felt that this was a reasonable depiction of how it manifests at Ahmed's age, based on my work with people with it.
The world building in this book is brilliant. It was so easy to imagine the places that Farah and her friends went and the descriptions were beautifully done with the perfect amount of detail.
The Downsides of The Gauntlet:
The games felt a little too easy for the kids. I know that it's a middle grade book, and that it's short, and all that, but I would have liked to see them struggle a little more. They're three kids, and they succeeded without too much effort in a game that's been around for ages. It felt a lot like Harry Potter and his friends solving a bunch of puzzles designed to keep out adults in the Philosopher's Stone: just a little too unrealistic.
The writing is fine in terms of being clean and proper grammar and all that, but I had the hardest time getting into it. I liked the story, but the writing style just didn't work for me.
As mentioned above, I think it would have been better if Farah and her friends had gotten frustrated with Ahmed and his ADHD. It's just not that realistic for them to be so accommodating. Maybe Farah would have been, because she's so used to it, but her friends likely wouldn't be so easy about it. It just didn't seem realistic in this sense.
All in all, The Gauntlet is a fun, adventurous read. It has some really incredible world building going on, and I loved all of the games and challenges within the book. Riazi has put together a great book for middle grade-aged kids. If you're a fan of board games, amazing descriptions of food, great world building, and smart-as-heck kids, you'll likely enjoy the Gauntlet.
mcnugt's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I felt that this book was written okay. Nothing severely wrong with it. However, it's biggest flaw is the lack of detail in main sequences. I felt they were skimmed over. Also, it felt like this book was a little over-stuffed with too many different ideas. Lots of potential though!
Spoiler
My biggest issue is that the whole concept of the book is the game, right? Puzzles? When those scenes come up, there's practically no detail. The characters have solved the challenge before I even have a full picture of the setting. It got very muddled toward the end. Took the idea of Jumanji and other than changing the setting, everything else was very much the same. Down to the characters and the way the game behaves. I felt this book had a lot of potential to be more concise, descriptive, and original.manmac12's review against another edition
1.0
It was not good to me it was to much like jumanji but in a bad way and it did not keep me excited.
heisereads's review against another edition
4.0
A fun fantasy adventure in an delightfully imagined Jumanji type world full of Middle Eastern influences. Keeps the reader on their toes along with the three main characters as they race to solve puzzles and beat the game in time. A quick, solid early middle grades read from Salaam Reads.
violet_primroses's review against another edition
4.0
This was the very first book I've read with a Muslim character. This book was amazing and I should probably read the sequel soon. This was a magical experience and it's great for anyone who loved Jumanji. The writing style wasn't for me when I first read it, but if I reread it I think I'd like it more