Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton - ESSENTIAL

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands, #1) by Alwyn Hamilton, 314 pages.  Speak (Penguin), 2016.  $11.  

Content: Language: PG-13 (57 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

16yo Amani lives with her harsh aunt and uncle and dreams of the day she can escape the hopeless town of Dustwalk.  Amani hopes to disguise herself as a man and use her skills as a sharpshooter to earn money enough to leave, but all it does is earn her the name of the Blue-Eyed Bandit.  When Amani meets a boy named Jin, she finally gets her chance to escape, but her freedom is nothing like she had imagined, and she finds herself awoken to magic and mythical beings.  

Amani is a kick-butt heroine who I loved from the beginning of the book. The chemistry between Jin and Amani is great from the start and the action never lets up.  The world building and explanation of magic was easy to follow, and I can’t wait to read more in the series.  The violence is fighting and blood.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson