An Andalus Adventure

Product Information

N. Jalali is an author of works of fiction for older children and YA, from boarding school adventures to her newest adventure packed novel; a historical fiction for Young Adults inspired by real-life historical events of the birth of Muslim Spain. It set up to add depth regarding Old Mother Magda, the Cave of Secrets, and the unverified death of the king, but after being stated it was never mentioned again or resolved for any real purpose.

Depending on the nature of the fault, we may ask for you to send the faulty item straight to the manufacturer, who has the ability to repair and replace the item. Siblings Ben and Bella live under constant Visigoth scrutiny, forced to live a double life of secrets and deception. The climax is nice but ultimately rather lackluster, and the beauty of characters taking shahada, Jews being freed, Solomon’s table, an old lady with a premonition, and a character dying are just not enough to keep the story in reader’s hands, unfortunately. Similarly, I love that it mentioned Abbas Ibn Firnas, but I don’t know that most kids know enough about him to know what is being hinted at and what the outcome was of his flight at the end.After centuries of unrest under the rule of tyrant Visigoth kings, a desperate cry breaks free and carries over the Straits to reach the shores of North Africa, to the land of the Umayyads. Jacob, captured in Julian's raid on Iberia, is tied up and thrust upon a galley boat bound for North Africa. Leaving his sleepy village of Tlemcen, a young Berber, Qasim, joins Tariq's men, and is swept away on an amazing quest. It is extremely well written and I loved the way the author integrates perspectives from three different viewpoints, following their adventures with different timelines that come together in an incredible finale. Filed under 5th grade and up, Historical Fiction, islamic fiction, middle grades, Middle School, Muslim Author, Muslim Character, OWN Voice, ramadan, Uncategorized and tagged 2022, adventure, An Andalus Adventure, Andalus, battle, berbers, boats, clean, Eid, friendship, Historical Fiction, horses, Iberia, Islam, islamic fiction, islamic historical fiction, jews, liberation, Middle School, northern Africa, Oppression, ramadan, S.

The summary might make the book seem fast paced, and while it does constantly move forward to a clear destination, it isn’t a “buckle your seatbelt and hang on” type of story.

Her childhood was spent in Wales, and after graduating, having travelled widely in the Muslim world, she lives in London with her husband and three children. We recommend that the parcel is packaged securely to prevent any damage whilst in transit and that proof of postage is retained.

I love that the book is clean, although, I do wonder if more information about Lady Florinda would have helped the reader understand her father’s desperation, I do understand the vagueness, but it is a glaring omission that keeps the reader curious. I loved the teasing about being a shepherd, Jacob coming to love Islam, Bella not wanting to marry, but it seemed to always stop short of sweeping me away.

The first few pages grip you, the last 50 bring it all together, but the middle 250 were hit and miss in this lower YA/upper MG book.

The book would naturally lend itself to the students keeping character journals, the supplements and backmatter would allow for references and insight in to real history, and I think the book would do really well in this set up to connect with the audience. Are there any safe spaces where your package could have been left or could it have been delivered to one of you neighbours. In a middle school, or upper elementary the book would be a great crossover between History, English, and Islam classes. Leaving his sleepy village of Tlemcen, a young Berber Qasim, joins Tariq’s men, and is swept away on an amazing quest.All that aside, I think the book has value, it is just really dry in spots, a lot of spots, and given the vocabulary, the changing narrators, the choppiness between chapters, and the history, it is hard to keep reading or be anxious to pick up once you have put it down. You could read a chapter Monday, and then pick it back up on Thursday and not worry that no one remembers anything because it is focusing on new characters anyway.