Reviews

I'm really picky with YA nowadays, and this just didn't tick all my boxes -- it seemed competent, but a little generic. Also, the reverse racism threw me for a loop and I'm not sure I want to read more about that.

hobbithopeful's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Khadija wants nothing more then to fly away in a hot air balloon to freedom, away from her Father's expectations that she marry and stay home being docile. She finally has enough and jumps on an hot air balloon that is floating off. She soon finds that freedom is much more different then she imagined, as her world view and beliefs are questioned when she meets Jacob, a hāri. Hāri are treated like dirt in this country, after a failed attempt at takeover many years ago. Their light skin and hair make them stand out, and they are forced to live in slum conditions and beg for work and food that no one wants. This book follow very strong themes of extremism, terrorism, and the different choices people will make when pushed to the brink. Reverse racism is a heavy topic used in this book, and while other didn't like it, I thought it was very well done. Sometimes it takes having the roles reversed for people to understand the absurdity of their bigotry and racism. So many characters were raised with certain beliefs and twisted racism shoved down their throat, they don't know any other way. Khadija wants freedom, she wants to be able to make her own choices and not be forced to marry. I love how the hot balloon represents that, and when she finally runs away and gets one she has absolutely no idea what to do with herself. All the different characters in the book While the writing style wasn't for me, and it wasn't a book that I can say I loved, I can say it is one of those books that is important to read.
The magic system and how the author depicted Jinn was really interesting, and I found the whole concept really cool. There are several different ways that the abused people in the book seek rights and a voice, some do it through peaceful protests, while others take a more extreme and violent approach. We get to see the consequences of their actions and how it impacts innocents around them.
The Cover
The cover is one of my favorite things about the book, and what initially made me want to read. It's absolutely gorgeous and one of the best covers I've seen this year hands down. I love how the flames seem to lick up around Khadija, while she sternly gazes at the viewer. The colors work so well, bold and stylized just enough to give it character without taking away from the composition. The title font works so well, not just in the illustration, but it matches the tone of the book perfectly. The little blurb at the top does get lost a bit with the chosen font, but I do still like it.
Jacket illustration © 2023 by Hanifa F. Abdul Hameed Jacket design by Keirsten Geise

Content Warnings

kellioneill's review against another edition

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hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Pretty good writing; decent diversity; and the concept of balloon travel was so fun and cool. The rest of the book fell flat though. I wasn’t invested in any of the characters or the plot, which took a direction I did not expect or particularly enjoy after reading the blurb. It felt much more educational (regarding bigotry) than I expected, and was heavy handed in doing so. Maybe a young teen would enjoy it more than I did. There’s an author’s note at the end explaining what she hoped to achieve with this story, and I do think she succeeded. It just wasn’t done in an engaging way.

thenomadicenby's review against another edition

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Too many overt themes of “reverse racism”.

cadybooks's review

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Too middle grade for me.

amandap93's review

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bookwormbullet's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

you know, reading a book by a Muslim British Pakistani author that features a world with reverse racism in which white people are oppressed by brown people and are sympathized for experiencing racism caused by brown people (which literally cannot happen irl and is extremely dangerous rhetoric) wasn't on my 2023 bingo card, but here we are 🥴

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