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What Members Thought
This book does offer a fascinating plot premise. The story revolves around Laila, the daughter of the ruler of an unnamed Arab country. Her father has been assassinated and now she and her mother and brother are living in the US, near D.C. She realizes that her mother is hatching a plot to return them to power and will use anyone to accomplish this goal. One of the emigre families that opposed her father is now working with her mother and she doesn't understand why. She finds herself torn betwee
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Am I the only one feeling uncomfortable with the refrain of Laila's assimilation equating to it's better in the West? There's a lack if nuance or something and a whiff of cultural appropriation. But everyone else is raving. Also I don't really need the Ian story line.
ARG! Edited and GR ate it. Powerful. Original. Flawed. Will reread if any award traction to better assess. ...more
ARG! Edited and GR ate it. Powerful. Original. Flawed. Will reread if any award traction to better assess. ...more
After Laila's father was killed in a coup, she, her mother, and her little brother Bastien have narrowly escaped from an unnamed Middle Eastern country, relocated to Washington, DC by the CIA. All her life, Laila has been told that her father was a king and her family was royalty, but her new American friends and newspapers tell a different story about tyranny, human rights violations, and gross injustices. Laila cannot equate these statements with her loving father whose murder is still fresh i
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Interesting imagining of the world from the pov of a dictator's child. Layla has little information about the state of her country and when her father is assassinated she has that to grapple with, as well as the cross-cultural challenges of being resettled in suburban DC. Written by an ex-CIA covert operative.
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Nov 03, 2013
Jennifer
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult-teen
Read for review.
Read for HVLA bookgroup.
Rather simplistic, but an easy read. A decent recommendation for as young as 7th or 8th grade.
Rather simplistic, but an easy read. A decent recommendation for as young as 7th or 8th grade.
Great premise, excellent research, believable characters. I liked it. However, it didn't grab me and pull me in as I expected.
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A quick read - the pacing is a bit off, but otherwise an interesting and enjoyable read.
Nov 17, 2013
Jenna
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
edelweiss-netgalley
Jan 06, 2014
Liz
marked it as to-read
Jan 07, 2014
Brandi
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Jan 10, 2014
EL
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Feb 12, 2014
Dana Duffy Backs
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Apr 30, 2014
Bethany Miller
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Aug 29, 2014
Donalyn
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Aug 29, 2014
Kathy
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Dec 02, 2014
Whitney
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Oct 19, 2015
Amber
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