Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Becoming Jinn! Today I have my review of the book to share with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.
Synopsis:
Forget everything you thought you knew about genies!
Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks
around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit.
To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny.
Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters,” Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.
Becoming Jinn is the dazzling first book in a sensational new young adult fantasy series. The story follows our main character - Azra - who turned into a mature genie on her sixteenth birthday. Azra knew her whole life that this would happen and when, but she doesn't have to like it. In fact - she pretty much hates the fact that she'll be spending the rest of her life in servitude, granting wishes and doing what other people tell her to. There's no stopping the change that happens on her birthday, so Azra begins to train with her mother on how to use her new powers and to get her magic under control. Along with all of this, Azra must also live amongst humans as one of them - which means dealing with being a teenager: school, a job at the beach, and her very first crush. Azra's life has been turned completely upside down, and she's still trying to get the hang of everything, when she begins to suspect that her magic isn't quite like the other Jinn women in her circle. She must learn how to use and control her powers before things go seriously wrong.
I have to admit that the trend of genies and Jinn going on right now hasn't sucked me in - this is only the second book I've read containing them. The first sentence of the description says it perfectly - "Forget everything you thought you knew about genies!" I had an unfounded notion that books about Jinn would be set in the past and/or would take place in a desert-type landscape. Honestly, I think that's what made me hesitant to give this trend a try - and I'm so incredibly glad that I did! This novel was the perfect one to introduce me to the mythology behind genies and Jinn and gave me a taste of what I may have been missing out on. I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book - aside from the couple of notions I mentioned above, which is funny because the novel was about as far from those ideas as you can get! It's set in modern times and in New England - which squashed my ideas right away. There are so many aspects of the book that are amazing - and they all come together to create a truly original and mesmerizing story.
Azra was a great main character for the story. She's a teenager - so she has the whole teen attitude going on, with plenty of sarcasm and wit. She's smart, down to earth, and determined to find a way around her whole genie "problem." She's very close with her mom and will do anything for her - even if it means endangering herself. We get to see a good amount of character growth in Azra throughout the book. She begins as a girl who just turned sixteen and is very unhappy with the life she now has to live as a genie - her "fate" as people call it. During the book, Azra has to overcome some serious obstacles and trials - and she comes out the other side a stronger, more mature character. The book is told in a first person point-of-view with Azra as the narrator. I've said many times before in reviews that this is my favorite POV style because the reader gets to know the character in a much more intimate and personal way. We get to learn so much about Azra - her fears, hopes, memories, dreams, private thoughts and inner dialogue - to name a few things. I was able to immediately connect with Azra from the beginning of the book, and having an inside look into her mind and heart made me empathize with her even more. The writing style is done at a normal and effortless pace, and done in a conversational type tone - which made it feel like either Azra was telling me her story personally, or that I was right beside her throughout the entire story and experienced everything that she did. Being that connected to a character makes it almost impossible not to slip inside the world they live in - which is exactly what happened with me within the first paragraph of the book. There was such great attention to detail - vivid imagery and descriptions that made the author's world come to life around me.
The plot itself was fascinating and unique - at least for me, due to my lack of reading in this genre. I loved to watch Azra learn what powers she had and how to use and control them. I also loved learning as much about the Jinn as I could - their history, culture, the Afrit, their powers - basically anything about the Jinn in general completely intrigued me. I really hope that we get to learn even more about the Jinn, their history, culture, and other information in the rest of the series. The story was phenomenal in pretty much every way possible, and I was entirely taken by surprise when I found out that this is the author's debut novel. I never would have guessed it was a debut because the book was so well written and rounded. It showcases the author's amazing writing ability and talent to the point that it could have been done by a veteran author - which makes it all the more amazing that it's a debut! This is one author to seriously keep an eye on - I know I will be. I can't wait to read the next book in the series to see what will happen next. I very highly recommend this novel to fans of Jinn and genie fiction, fantasy, mythology, and magic - along with those looking for something fresh and new in the YA genre. Almost anyone who reads this book will be just as enamored and enchanted as I am - you're definitely going to want to get your hands on a copy of this one!
Click here for more information about the Pre-order giveaway hosted by Lori Goldstein.
My debut novel, the Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy Becoming Jinn, is a modern spin on the traditional tale of wish-granting genies. It will be released on April 21, 2015, by Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s. The sequel will follow in Spring 2016. I am represented by Lucy Carson of The Friedrich Agency.
Giveaway:
Grand Prize: (1) winner
will win a finished signed book, signed bookmarks, and an
infinity necklace like the girls in Becoming Jinn (US Only)
First Prize: (2) winners
will win a full Jinn swag pack of bookmarks, magnets,
plastic bracelets, temporary tattoos and a genie charm (INT)
Second Prize: (2) winners
will win bookmarks, magnets, and wristbands (INT)
US Only & International | Must be 13 or older to enter
Born into an Italian-Irish family (hence the short temper and the freckles), Lori Goldstein grew up in a small town on the Jersey shore and now makes her home outside of Boston in a place close enough to the ocean that on the right day, she can smell the sea from her back deck, and yet it still takes an hour to get to the beach. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and worked as a writer, editor, and graphic designer before embracing her love of fictional people. When not writing or reading (preferably from a sandy local), Lori can be found chatting books, obsessing over The Vampire Diaries, and perfecting the art of efficient writing through Twitter. www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com
