A review by julian7
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

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

4.0

This was a great book! I loved the characters, especially Dalila, Raksh, Jamal, and ofc Amina. I really loved  the island of the peris because it was so weird in a fantastic way. It reminded me of the Abarat series a bit. I loved the bit about the spooky cave as well, because for some reason mysterious doors always scratch a very specific itch in my brain. I also enjoyed the humor and political commentary. Franco was an interesting villain and it was so funny how Amina couldn’t pronounce his name. 
I only have two complaints about the book. First, I wish we had gotten more of the side characters! I feel like there was so much focus on them in the first part of the story, when Amina was “getting the band back together,” only for them to disappear into the background once Raksh showed up. I enjoyed Raksh, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved to learn more about the other characters, like Tinbu and Majed, who seemed so interesting. 
My other complaint is that the first third of the book went by very slowly, and the last two thirds felt much more fast-paced and a little too busy. A medium pacing throughout the whole book would have felt more cohesive. 
I’ll probably read the sequels, and I hope we get to learn more about the side characters and Raksh returns eventually. 🤭
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