From the Publisher
SLJ Best Book of the Year
ALA Booklist Top 10 Scifi/Fantasy Book for Youth
ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults List
Children’s Africana Book Award Honor Book for Older Readers
ABA IndieNext Pick
Junior Library Guild Selection
Amazon Editors’ Favorite Books of Fall
“Superb...a refreshing and unique coming-of-age story. The way Amani uses her heritage to facilitate her survival makes Mirage a beautiful and necessary meditation on finding strength in one’s culture.” —Entertainment Weekly, Top Pick of the Month
“Daud’s debut novel has the flair of an Arthurian drama, the lavish sensory detail of a Nizar Qabbani poem, and the sleek technical flair of a sci-fi series...this audacious combination is so skillfully done that it’ll shock breath into your lungs. If you loved The Wrath and the Dawn and Children of Blood and Bone, Mirage will captivate you.” —The Christian Science Monitor
“This poetically written novel will appeal to many, particularly fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Verdict: This debut novel has what it takes to be the next big thing in sci-fi/fantasy.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“This gorgeously written, immersive, and captivating series starter is sure to have fans eager for a sequel.” —ALA Booklist, starred review
“Prepare yourself for a story that’s enriching, thrilling, and captivating.” —BuzzFeed
“Mirage is smart, sexy, and devilishly clever. Somaiya Daud has penned a tale worthy of all the stars in the sky, and I can't wait to read what she writes next.” —Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn
“Daud is a masterful storyteller. Mirage gives readers an exquisitely wrought world with deft characters, death-defying stakes, and an aching romance. Bound to linger in your dreams.” —Roshani Choksi, author of The Star-Touched Queen
“Somaiya Daud’s Mirage reads like the lushest of fantasies, set in an unforgettably immersive world that is both dangerous and impossibly lovely. The characters are complex and nuanced, and the story is by turns romantic, harrowing, climactic and hopeful, though the unresolved ending paves the way for an even grander sequel. I didn’t want it to end, and I can't wait to return to the world Daud has created.” —Rosalyn Eves, author of Blood Rose Rebellion
“Mirage is full of my favorite things: secrets, intrigue, gorgeous mythology, and complicated characters. It will break your heart and fill you with hope.” —Kat Howard, author of An Unkindness of Magicians
“A rich, dazzling, powerful debut. Somaiya Daud is an author to watch.” —Tahereh Mafi, author of the Shatter Me series, Furthermore, and Whichwood
“Lush and dangerous, Mirage had me entranced. Amani’s journey—from rural innocent to calculating young woman, from village girl to royal impersonator—is galactic. Daud’s novel asks, ‘what does it mean to impersonate your enemy?’ And the answer she provides here is nothing short of thrilling. I was here for all of it, and I desperately need to know what happens next.” —Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Beasts Made of Night
“Mirage is full of characters who feel like they existed long before the story began, and a rich world that is as beautiful as it is cruel. Somaiya Daud is a rare talent. A smart, romantic, exciting debut.” —Veronica Roth, author of Divergent and Carve the Mark
“Mirage reads as an impossible trick of the light, a feather that carves words into stone, a banquet of longing and loss. Every page comes roaring to life in a way that overwhelms and transforms you. This isn’t a debut novel so much as an heirloom, and the work of a master storyteller.” —Margaret Stohl, coauthor of Beautiful Creatures and author of Black Widow: Forever Red
“Mirage had me enthralled from its first page to its last. It’s a heart-wrenching, romantic, and exhilarating page-turner. Begin preparing yourselves for it now. Somaiya Daud is a brilliant writer and she has written a brilliant book.” —Courtney Summers, author of Sadie
“With its breathtaking worldbuilding and characters who grabbed me from the first page, Mirage is by turns thrilling and ruminative, sexy and heartbreaking. Somaiya Daud has written a moving and unforgettable debut.” —Sabaa Tahir, author of An Ember in the Ashes
Kirkus Reviews
2018-05-15
Abducted from her small village, Amani finds that her survival depends on being the perfect body double to an arrogant and cruel princess. Amani lives with her family in an impoverished village on Cadiz, a moon of the planet Andala that has been occupied by the Vathek Empire. At her coming-of-age ceremony she is violently stolen away to the imperial palace, Ziyaana, where she is shocked to find that she looks exactly like the princess Maram vak Mathis, known to be as cruel and ruthless as her Vathek father but with the visage of her Kushaila mother. In response to increased rebel attacks, Amani is groomed as a body double and must navigate the complexities of court, including the charms of Maram's fiance, Idris. Daud's debut, set in a Moroccan proxy world, addresses colonialism, appropriation, suppression, and erasure, along with orientalist tropes. Readers may recognize a possible reference to William Beckford's gothic orientalist novel Vathek, used to describe invading colonizers. In addition to a cast of characters of color, Daud also introduces concepts specific to the Indigenous Amazigh of Northwest Africa, including the warrior queen Dihya, who serves as a symbol of feminism and anti-colonialism.Though the machinations of politics and identity create a slowly burning narrative, readers will appreciate the rich world and prose built by a much-needed diverse voice. (Science fiction. 13-adult)
