Shelf Awareness--Spice Road

YA Review: Spice Road

Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim (Delacorte Press, 464p., ages 13-up, 9780593126967)

Spellbinding magic, lush description and whirlwind action define Maiya Ibrahim's YA debut, Spice Road.

Seventeen-year-old Imani, Qalia's youngest Shield, is tasked with defending her country's walls from a "never-ending onslaught of monsters," which include djinn, ghouls and sand serpents. Shields awaken their magical abilities by imbibing misra (the Spice gifted by the Great Spirit) in a daily tea ceremony. But misra and the city of Qalia itself are meant to be kept secret from the outside world. When Imani learns brother Atheer, whom she thought dead, may have shared the existence of both with outsiders, she knows she must find him. Rival Shield Taha, with a mysterious directive to protect Qalia's secrets, leads the mission, from which Imani fears Atheer will be brought home in chains. Imani will need to use her magical affinity for steel, as well as the djinni she has--illegally--bound to her dagger, to find Atheer before Taha does. Secrets have been at the core of Imani's worldview but, like her brother before her, the farther Imani journeys, the closer she believes she is getting to truth.

Ibrahim's addictive fantasy takes place in an Arabian-inspired land and depicts a close-knit society that clings to solitude and a strict adherence to rules. In Imani, she crafts a sheltered warrior whose worldview expands philosophically as it does geographically; readers will find much to admire in this powerful young woman who learns that thinking for herself is as vital as the magic she wields. This first book in a series should attract Black Panther fans and readers of epic fantasy alike. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.