The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

Daniel Nayeri

Levine Querido/Chronicle, 2023

205 pages

Grades 3-6

Historical Fiction/Adventure

Our hero is in trouble, big trouble. The kind that comes from a group of angry monks chasing you with rocks intending to kill. Luckily for our hero, a merchant from a caravan along the Silk Road spots the conflict and bargains for the boy's life. The merchant Samir names the boy "Monkey" and the two travel along with the band of fellow fortune seekers to reach distance Samarkand hoping to make a big profit. It doesn't take Monkey long to discover that his silver-tongued master deals more in stories than actual goods and is quick to talk his way into the best end of the bargain. For this reason, Samir has many enemies among those he has swindled. Around every turn there appears to be some sort of disaster leading to the loss of stock and safety and assassins seem to be everywhere. Monkey manages to help Samir out of many jams and is working towards his freedom by saving his master's life repeatedly. The trio (including their decrepit donkey) learn who to trust, avoid pitfalls, and manage to pivot their plans again and again. Will they ever survive the journey?

Printz winner, Nayeri, pens a very different book from his autobiographical heartbreaking tale Everything Sad is Untrue, yet still reflects his Persian culture. As explained in an author's note in the back of the volume, the story is set in the late eleventh century in the Taklamakan desert, which is the stuff of fantasy and legends. Nothing magical happens in this story, yet it reads like a fairytale and one expects Samir to jump on a magic carpet any minute. He is a believable and interesting character and the reader will understand why Monkey can't help but save him even though he is less than trustworthy. The action in the story never stops and there are surprises along the way--with a big payoff at the end, which had me holding my breath. Beautiful full-color illustrations by Daniel Miyares introduce each chapter and will help to draw-in readers. Terms and historical background is offered at the end of the volume, as well as a bibliography. This is a tightly written, lyrical tale that does not insult young readers. It feels like it is an old story, yet is highly original and of the best quality, which unusual in these Dogman days.

Rewind

Rewind
Lisa Graff
Philomel, 2023
256 pages
Grades 4-7
Fantasy

Twelve-year-old McKinley is excited for this year's Time Hop, a yearly event celebrated in her sleepy Pennsylvania town. Against her strict single dad's orders, McKinley designs an outfit for the yearly fashion show and is determined to participate. Further complications ensue when she has a fight with her best friend and must find help caring for her ailing grandmother. Once the show is underway all heck breaks lose and McKinley finds herself traveling back in time to the year of this year's Time Hop: 1993. After throwing off her disorientation, McKinley does the only thing she can think of to do. She finds her best friend's mother, now twelve years old, and throws herself on Jackie's mercy. Luckily, Jackie believes her crazy story and becomes determined to help McKinley find out what happened and get back to her own time. The new friends discover that others have time traveled during the Time Hop, some bringing unexpected results. McKinley learns about friendship and family, especially after meeting her obnoxious tween dad and healthy grandmother, and tries not to cause too much damage in the past. Will McKinley ever get back to her own time?

Lisa Graff always writes interesting books and this one is no exception. I am a sucker for time travel and, therefore, had to crack into this one. Rewind felt very Back to the Future in that McKinley meets her current adults as young people. We see the rough edges and immaturity of the folks that present McKinley relies on and realize, just as McKinley does, that our parents are actually "people". The cover felt dated to me, but that is because it is set to reflect 1993. I don't know if this will help or hurt the book, but it does make it stand out. Having lived through 1993 (as an adult!), I think that Graff did a great job nailing the time period. Each chapter heading is a song from the year, which is a fun addition and cultural references abound. Today's readers will have a hard time wrapping their heads around a world with no cellphones or internet. The setting of the present is actually 2018, which I thought was weird, but Graff pops in a surprise detail at the end that brings it all full-circle. There is a lot of humor, crazy situations, and gentle fantasy in this story. Kids will think about what their own parents were like as kids and it could lead to a great conversation starter or a great choice for a parent-child book club. Loads of wacky nostalgic fun!

The Dark Lord's Daughter

The Dark Lord's Daughter

Patricia C. Wrede

Penguin Random House, 2023

368 pages

Grades 3-7

Fantasy

Kayla is at the State Fair with her adopted mother Riki and brother Del when the small group is whisked off to another realm. They are greeted by a stranger named Waylan, who informs them that they are in the magical land of Zaradwin and that Kayla is the heir to the dark throne. She was sent to another place (present earth) by her aunts and it was her late father's wish that his trusted knight Waylan find his offspring and deliver her back to her fulfill her destiny. All of the modern technologies have been converted to other things and Kayla's tablet is now a strange animal familiar, who helps her to navigate this strange new land. The small party journeys to the castle, picking up others along the way, and eventually reach their destination, only to find it in a dilapidated shape. Kayla is introduced to other members of the family, that she didn't know existed, as well as other castle and town folks. She learns who to trust as she taps into her magic and figures out how best to proceed. Should Kayla be as evil as her father in order to hold onto power? How can she prove herself to the rest of the kingdom? Most of all, will Kayla and her family ever return home?

Here is a welcome new title from fantasy geru Wrede of Dealing with Dragons fame. Much like in her other titles, Wrede offer a strong female protagonist, lots of magical elements, and gentle humor infused with the action to lighten the mood. And yes--there are dragons, though not the fly-through-the-air traditional types. Young readers will enjoy fantasizing about their own lives if they were also transported to a magical world, where they inherit the Dark Throne. Kayla puts her own spin on the title and has the presence of mind to stay true to herself even though there are expectations on all sides pressuring her about the next step. The premise alone will draw in readers and make the story instantly relatable. My complaints are that there a lot of characters to keep straight and the story felt a bit long. The journey to the castle seemed like a completely different book from Kayle's adventures once at the castle. This story could serve as a stand-alone or a series starter, in which case maybe it could have been broken up into two adventures. I like that there are mysteries to be solved, such as the identity of Kayla's birth mother. Readers will love to fantasize about their own "dark" adventures and maybe look around for their own knights to whisk them away to their own dark destinies.