The Gauntlet

February 15, 2017
A young hijabi finds herself, her brother, and her friends trapped in a very dangerous game.Upper East Side Bangladeshi-American Farah's having a hard time clicking with her old friends from Queens when they come to her 12th birthday party. But when her trying-but-adorable little brother--he has ADHD--vanishes into a mysterious board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand, white Essie and brown-skinned Alex don't hesitate to join Farah in jumping in to rescue him. Once in the game, they are given three challenges--and failure to win all three will trap them there. Farah's desperation to find Ahmad heightens these deadly stakes. In her debut, Riazi gives readers a Muslim protagonist who resists genre cliches: she's resolute rather than feisty, smart but aware of her weaknesses. Secondary characterization is not so strong; Essie and Alex seem more types than people. The superb worldbuilding offers an ever shifting topography, rather like an Escher vision of the East. Riazi's lush descriptions reject exoticization, Farah's cultural familiarity positioning readers within her perspective: a "sweet sunset pink mosque, beautifully domed and proudly placed," reminds her of buildings she's seen in Bangladesh and India, "sharing a linked history of wide arches and rounded roofs." Riazi combines such tropes as a magic map with the winningly original lizard Resistance corps, offering just the right mix of familiarity and newness. A solid middle-grade fantasy and an auspicious debut. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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March 1, 2017

Gr 3-6-At Farah's 12th birthday party, she mistakenly receives an odd mechanical board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand from her aunt. Despite Aunt Zohra's warnings, Farah and her friends Essie and Alex are sucked into the game and must battle the evil Lord Amari and win in order to save themselves and retrieve Farah's seven-year-old brother, Ahmad. The fast-paced game is structured with three challenges and a timed race from location to location, complete with a map and magical timepiece. The challenges are innovative and based on classic games such as mancala and Scrabble. Although the book is accessible to younger middle grade readers, the characters feel rather formulaic and don't develop much over the course of the story. Readers may find Ahmad's spoiled cheekiness grating (as well as the family tradition of always letting him win at games), but fortunately he is absent for the majority of the work. However, Riazi skillfully incorporates elements of Farah's Bangladeshi culture into the landscape of Farah's real-world New York City home and the magical realm of Paheli, where the game takes place. VERDICT Though die-hard fantasy fans may be a bit underwhelmed with the characterization and world-building, most middle grade readers will appreciate the adventure and embrace a tale with a strong protagonist of color.-Erin Reilly-Sanders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
On her twelfth birthday, Muslim girl Farah receives a board game that sucks her, her younger brother, and her friends inside. There, they must solve timed puzzles or be trapped forever. The fast-paced adventure plot could easily dominate the novel (which is part Jumanji, part Bangladeshi fairy tale) but is instead balanced with Farah's love for her brother and friends and her sense of compassion.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)