Humans and jinn once lived in peace, advancing scientific knowledge through cooperation, but are now at war. Debut author Lough's lovely and lyrical writing fills this fascinating fantasy world with delightful, lush detail." Publishers Weekly, "Debut author Lough introduces two courageous, resilient heroines in this series opener, a historical fantasy set in Baghdad's Golden Age. There's a promise of romance, though it remains slight in this first installment in a planned series, and the focus remains mostly on the intriguing schemes the girls find themselves in. The two girls should be enemies, but when they accidentally meet on the way to the caliph's palace, Zayele makes a powerful wish that switches their lives and points of view, making each girl a linchpin for their respective sides of the ongoing battle. Zayele, a daring young girl set to wed the caliph's son, wants nothing more than to stay with her family. Najwa, the jinn, is still learning the extent of her powers, training under the famous magus Faisal for the Eyes of Iblis corps. This first-time author has created a winning entry in the world of young adult fantasy." Booklist Reviews, J"In this Middle Eastern fantasy reinvention of The Prince and the Pauper (1881), a soon-to-be-princess swaps places with a jinn training to be a spy in the decades-long war between the jinni and the humans for survival and supremacy.
This first book in a series will hook young adult readers who grew up on tales of Aladdin and the Arabian Nights and is sure to entice others looking for a tale of romance and adventure. Besides the lure of beautiful language and a compelling story, she also touches on themes of the desire to truly belong and the discovery of inner strength.
Lough has created a lyrical story resounding with magic, love, and strife. Treachery by the vizier endangers both Najwa and Zayele, who learn they are connected not only by Zayele's wish. As each is catapulted into a foreign world, events unfold showing each young woman's strengths amid unexpected love and intrigue. When Najwa makes a forbidden trip to the surface of the world, she is seen and seized by Zayele, who wishes for them to trade places. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Zayele is living outside of Baghdad in rural Zeb, where she chafes at the restrictions placed on her life, especially when she is unexpectedly selected by the caliph's vizier to travel to Baghdad to wed the prince. But her first time above ground, she is enthralled by the beauty of the human world and intrigued by the human prince she sees in Baghdad's palace. VOYA, June 2014 "In medieval times, during a war between the humans and jinni, sixteen-year-old Najwa lives below the world's surface in the cavern of crystal, fire, and water, training to be a jinni who can spy on the humans living above them.
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