Play Book Tag discussion

In New York City, Nour's beloved father dies after a sudden illness and leaves his wife and three daughters with decisions to make. Nour is the youngest at 12 and the only one in her family born in the USA. Her parents and older sisters emigrated from Syria. Her mother is a map-maker who paints unique maps and feels that her talents will sell well at home in Syria. She doesn't realize how much things have changed there but when their home is bombed, their choice is to try to rebuild there under the increasing pressure of war or seek sanctuary with other family members in an attempt to get "home". This requires them to travel across several countries and each one in the Middle East is fraught with danger.

Nour's father was a storyteller and Nour's favorite story is the one of Rawiya, who is the only daughter of a struggling widow. Rawiya cuts off her hair and sets off (without telling her mother) to apprentice herself to a renowned map maker. Although the story of Rawiya takes place 800 years before Nour's journey, they follow much the same route without the mythical beasts that Rawiya comes across. Nour does not have to become the warrior that Rawiya does but she does need to show great courage in this exciting story of survival.

The audio is very well done, no struggling to decide how to pronounce names and words I've never heard before. I love that part of the audio when the settings are foreign to me. This was a fast read, I looked forward to picking up the book each time. What was difficult, however, was the sudden switch from Nour's story to that of Rawiya. There might have been print clues in an actual or even a digital book. That was a minor issue however.

I loved this too - a treasure of a book

One of my all time favorites

Total forever favorite!!!!! Five unforgettable stars for me!

So glad you enjoyed this as much as I did, Barbara!

I really liked this book - I've also got another by the same author on my TBR, but just not got round to it yet.

Hannah, is the book The Thirty Names of Night I have that one on my tbr

Joanne wrote: "Hannah, is the book The Thirty Names of Night I have that one on my tbr"

Joanne, yes, that's it.

I also really liked this book. Great review, Barbara.

Joanne wrote: "Hannah, is the book The Thirty Names of Night I have that one on my tbr"
I have that one on my TBR too.

I think I'll add that one to my TBR