Scan barcode
A review by kathyellendavis
City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What an adventure! I adore all of the RR presents books, but this one just grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let go. I loved Sik from the start, the mystery around Mo, and how quick the adventure started. I don't know too many middle grade protagonists who have jobs, so I loved seeing that represented. It was awesome to read about a Muslim-American family as well.
Sik is happy to help his parents in the deli, but he's jealous his brother Mo got to go back to Iraq so much. Sik's parents and Mo fled Iraq when Mo was little. Sik is grieving Mo, his big brother, his hero, who has been dead for a few years, and Sik's world gets turned on its head when an evil god attacks his family's deli, claims Sik has something he wants, and sets a plague loose in the city that infects Sik's parents first. Sik teams up with a kick butt ninja, a goddess, and some other unlikely heroes to try and save the day.
I loved the emotion that infused itself into this story. Of course every character goes on an emotional and physical journey, but I felt like this one was a bit deeper than other RR presents books I've read. I got swept up in the mythology and stories, but also in Sik's relationships with his friends and family.
I hope there are more coming in the series! It was awesome!
I also appreciated that gay couples were presented in the book as simply existing and being commonplace (like they do/like they are) and not something strange or wrong (like sadly so many people still believe). The main characters also lament how so many people are quick to blame Muslims, or cast them in the role of the bad guy, simply because of who they are. I hope this opens kids' eyes to the injustice of that and inspires them to act to combat that as well.
We need more books with Muslim heroes for sure, and this was such a great one.
Sik is happy to help his parents in the deli, but he's jealous his brother Mo got to go back to Iraq so much. Sik's parents and Mo fled Iraq when Mo was little. Sik is grieving Mo, his big brother, his hero, who has been dead for a few years, and Sik's world gets turned on its head when an evil god attacks his family's deli, claims Sik has something he wants, and sets a plague loose in the city that infects Sik's parents first. Sik teams up with a kick butt ninja, a goddess, and some other unlikely heroes to try and save the day.
I loved the emotion that infused itself into this story. Of course every character goes on an emotional and physical journey, but I felt like this one was a bit deeper than other RR presents books I've read. I got swept up in the mythology and stories, but also in Sik's relationships with his friends and family.
I hope there are more coming in the series! It was awesome!
I also appreciated that gay couples were presented in the book as simply existing and being commonplace (like they do/like they are) and not something strange or wrong (like sadly so many people still believe). The main characters also lament how so many people are quick to blame Muslims, or cast them in the role of the bad guy, simply because of who they are. I hope this opens kids' eyes to the injustice of that and inspires them to act to combat that as well.
We need more books with Muslim heroes for sure, and this was such a great one.