YA Book Pick: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir

Once a month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors.

This month's book is AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Highlights:  I put off reading this book for a while, and I wish I could go back in time and slap myself.  My main hesitation was the amount of press the book was getting--I'd been similarly lured into reading another recently-released fantasy book that was garnering a lot of attention, only to be way waaaay waaaaaay let down. Thankfully, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES was nothing like that book that will remain unnamed, and deserves every ounce of attention it has received and then some.

The story is told in alternating perspectives: Laia and Elias.  After witnessing her grandparents slaying and her brother arrest, Laia seeks the help of rebels, hoping they will rescue him. As payment for their help, they send her to Blackcliff, the Empire's military training center, where she poses as the Commandant's slave.  Elias is a student at Blackcliff and the son of the Commandant, training to become one of the brutal soldier/assassins known as Masks. Except Elias doesn't want to be a Mask.

Things I loved:

1) The setting.  The Rome-like empire felt very different from many of the fantasies I've read as of late, and the world-building was stellar.  

2) The Commandant.  She is hands down one of the best villains I have read. She is brutal and yet totally believable. I also loved that the bad guy was not a guy at all.

3) Elias. While I loved both Elias and Laia's stories, I found Elias' the most intriguing.  The juxtaposition of his desire to escape Blackcliff while at the same time being one of the best and brightest soldiers makes for a very compelling read.  

4) The plot. This is not your classic slave-meets-royalty story as I'd originally thought when I read the description. This is a twisty, turny, you-won't-want-to-put-it-down read. 

In short, Tahir is a genius, and I really hope we hear more from her in the very, very near future. So go read it, K?

A good read for: fans of fantasy who are looking for something unique and different.  Writers looking for world-building inspiration. And well, everyone. Everyone should read this book.

Happy reading!

Book-Lovers' Holiday Shopping List

If you're like me and love giving books as gifts, here are some of my top picks across the age-lines:

YA

 (most of our picks are found here http://thinkingtoinking.blogspot.com/p/ya-book-picks.html, but I added a couple of extra nods to the books that were hot commodities in my classroom with my reluctant readers last year):

Our very own Stacy Stokes' Where the Staircase Ends is a juicy and drama-filled story of friendship while also taking readers on the philosophical quest for what happens after we die/ how that knowledge affects how we live now. My class of reluctant readers nabbed this book right away and passed it around for reading.

Another favorite of my reluctant readers was The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu. This multi-perspective story was honest and haunting about the ways bullying affects a community.


Picture Books

My 5 year old niece is going wild over anything Elephant and Piggy, but really any Mo Willems will do. 

She also can't stop laughing over Josh Funk's Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast

Her sister thinks that The Ghost of Karl Marx is a hoot, delighting her Economics-teaching mother. I'm inclined to agree that it's wonderful. 

Adult Books

While most of us are so deeply entrenched in the YA book world, we may not get outside to see the adult reading offerings so I'm dedicating most of my referrals here. 

For the creative friend you want to get a pick-me-up: Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. Jennifer
recommended it to me as read by the author. I agree.

For the cozy down-home literary reader/foodie: Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal. It makes even the unlikable of us more lovable.

For the community-minded: Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me was thought-provoking and a beautifully nuanced letter to his son about his thoughts on race in America today.

For history-lovers and feisty feminists: Meg Waite Clayton's The Race for Paris, the story of the female reporters who broke the rules and laws forbidding them from front-line action in order to tell the stories of WWII. Fast-paced and inspiring.

For hard-core literary fans: Adam Johnson's Fortune Smiles A warning: this book is sad. It's a collection of short stories that takes an honest and surreal eye to the struggles man faces day in and day out, but somehow Johnson leaves the reader feeling both empty and full at the same time. It's easy to see why it won the National Book Award.


***And though it's not out this year, a bonus recommendation to the talented mother/son duo whose blog postings you love, for your MG needs: a story of adventure set amidst the National Parks of America. Mason Davis and the Rise of the Storm Makers by Karen and Mitchell Clayton is always a winner.