The River She Became

Gr 8 Up–Tired of seeing her people suffer under the oppressive Empire, scholar Yaseema secretly uses her magic to reclaim the powerful artifacts the Empire seeks. Attempting to combat the Empire’s stranglehold for good, Yaseema travels to the fae realm to steal the most powerful artifact in existence. As she infiltrates the kingdom, she feuds with the ruthless captain of an evil tyrant’s militant guard, who is also harboring secrets, and together they’ll join a desperate hunt that demands Yaseema reckon with if she can save anyone, even herself. Varga crafts an intricate, Pakistani-inspired world that illustrates the impact of erasure as a tool of colonialism in a powerful way that transcends fiction. The tone is unsurprisingly dark, but it takes some patience with slow pacing before readers experience some lighter moments of relief. However, with a bookish, endearing heroine; a strong, wry hero; and several trap-laden vaults, this book can easily be compared to The Mummy. Readers may be tripped up by some plot inconsistencies and awkward prose but will ultimately find a sweet romance amidst adventure. ­