The Tyrant's Daughter

by J.C. Carleson Narrated by Meera Simhan, J.C. Carleson, Cheryl Benard

Overview

“Filled with political intrigue and emotional tension, Carleson's riveting novel features a teenage refugee caught in a web of deceit and conspiracy.” -PW, starred review
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When her father is killed in a coup, Laila and her mother and brother leave their war-torn homeland for a fresh start in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
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At her new high school, Laila makes mistakes, makes friends, and even meets a boy who catches her eye. But this new life brings unsettling facts to light. The American newspapers call her father a brutal dictator and suggest that her family's privilege came at the expense of innocent lives. Meanwhile, her mother would like nothing more than to avenge his death, and she'll go to great lengths to regain their position of power.
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As an international crisis takes shape around her, Laila is pulled in one direction, then another, but there's no time to sort out her feelings. She has to pick a side now, and her decision will affect not just her own life, but countless others. . . .

Inspired by the author's experience as a CIA officer in Iraq and Syria, this book is as timely as it is relevant.

Praise for The Tyrant's Daughter:
“Carleson, a former undercover CIA officer, infuses her story with compelling details and gripping authenticity.” -The Boston Globe
*
“Every American should read this book. It's an eye-opener.” -Suzanne Fisher Staples, Newbery Honor-winning author of Shabanu

Editorial Reviews

APRIL 2014 - AudioFile

What’s it like to be caught between cultures? The author, a former CIA agent, knows. So will listeners after hearing Meera Simhan’s portrayal of 15-year-old Laila, who immigrates to the U.S. from an unnamed Middle Eastern country after her father is murdered in a coup. Simhan reads with lightly accented precision, balancing Laila’s conflicting emotions at being “a girl divided”—relief at proffered friendship, horror at discovering her father’s tyranny, worry about her mother’s irresponsibility and her brother’s delusion of becoming king, and, worst of all, confusion about who she really is. Simhan’s involving narration catches listeners in Laila’s web. This audio production includes an author’s note and a commentary by Cheryl Benard, a researcher dedicated to social activism. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly - Audio

03/31/2014
When her Middle Eastern dictator father was killed in a coup, Laila, her mother, and her younger brother flee the country. Now a teenager, Laila must adapt to life in the U.S. as her family tries to recover from its loss of power. Laila is slowly adapting to her new life, but her mother longs to return to the life she left behind. And now, Laila must decide what her future holds. Narrator Simhan turns in a solid performance in this audio edition. She provides Laila an appropriate Middle-Eastern accent and her tone reflects that of a teenager acclimating to a new culture. But Simhan shines brightest during the book’s moments of tension, generating a subtle range of emotions. Add in a fine performance from Benard, and the result is an audio edition that makes for compelling listening. Ages 12–up. A Knopf hardcover (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 11/18/2013
Filled with political intrigue and emotional tension, Carleson’s riveting novel features a teenage refugee caught in a web of deceit and conspiracy. Fifteen-year-old Laila grew up believing she was a princess and that her younger brother, Bastien, was heir to the throne. After her father’s assassination, however, when her family flees to the United States, she learns that the world views her father as a cruel dictator (“ ‘Repressive regime,’ that damning alliteration, chases him throughout the newspapers like a dog nipping at his heels”). Carleson dramatically illustrates Laila’s culture shock in a suburb of Washington, D. C., not knowing whether she can trust her friendly American classmates or if she should befriend fellow refugees resentful of her father’s power. She is even unsure about her own mother, whose secret telephone conversations and sporadic financial windfalls make Laila suspicious. The heroine’s homeland is never named, but readers will find it easy to draw parallels to current events. Raising as many questions as answers about Laila’s fate, the novel challenges social values close to home and abroad. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jessica Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

The Boston Globe, June 21, 2014:
"Carleson, a former undercover CIA officer, infuses her story with compelling details and gripping authenticity."

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, November 18, 2013:
"Filled with political intrigue and emotional tension, Carleson’s riveting novel features a teenage refugee caught in a web of deceit and conspiracy."

Starred Review, Kirkus, December 15, 2013:
“Laila is a complex and layered character whose nuanced observations will help readers better understand the divide between American and Middle Eastern cultures. Smart, relevant, required reading.”

BookPage, February 2014:
"As a former undercover CIA agent, debut author J.C. Carleson has a firm grasp on the world of espionage and power plays. She is able to take her intimate knowledge of this secretive world, an often-avoided gray area of morality, and craft an amazingly gripping and honest tale. Carleson keeps her readers feeling as though they have just returned from traveling in a foreign land, making those faraway issues feel a little more personal—a feat few can achieve with words alone."

Booklist, February 1, 2014:
"This is more than just Laila’s story; rather, it is a story of context, beautifully written (by a former undercover CIA agent), and stirring in its questions and eloquent observations about our society and that of the Middle East."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2014:
"Timely, relevant, and fascinating, Laila’s story offers readers an accessible understanding of the seemingly intractable nature of Middle East politics. An equally fascinating additional note by Dr. Cheryl Benard offers more real-world context for Laila’s fictional but very credible position. Resources for further research are included."

"This story is important on so many levels. It invites readers to contemplate paradox and contradictions in ways that few books do: how a friend’s loyalty trumps her annoying habits; how you can love your country and still be honest about its shortcomings; how betrayal might be justifiable. But mostly it’s a touching, suspenseful story about two children who don’t belong anywhere. Every American should read this book. It’s an eye-opener." —Suzanne Fisher Staples, Newbery Honor-winning author of Shabanu

"It's a story both foreign and familiar, global and intimate. A tense chess game where you'll think you know the final moves only to learn you've been outsmarted.”  —Dana Reinhardt, award-winning author of The Things a Brother Knows

Mashable, June 17, 2014:
"This compelling look at someone fighting desperately against a truth she'd rather not believe challenges you to think deeper."

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2013-11-20
A teenage girl from an unnamed Middle Eastern country attempts to come to terms with her dictator father's bloody legacy in this absorbing character-driven novel authored by a former CIA official. Fifteen-year-old Laila lives in a shabby apartment outside of Washington, D.C., with her mother and little brother. She misses her homeland, but return is impossible since her uncle had her father assassinated and took control of the government. "I'm half Here. I'm half There. I'm a girl divided, which is to say I'm no one at all." While her mother schemes with both American officials and rebels from their country to remedy their untenable situation, Laila reluctantly begins to enjoy the simple freedoms of school and friendships. But worrisome thoughts of her mother's secretive phone calls and the mysterious CIA agent who lurks around their apartment are never far from her mind. And how will she ever reconcile what she now knows about her father the dictator with the loving man who raised her? Carleson shrewdly makes what has become a sadly familiar story on the evening news accessible by focusing on the experiences of one innocent girl at the center of it. Laila is a complex and layered character whose nuanced observations will help readers better understand the divide between American and Middle Eastern cultures. Smart, relevant, required reading. (author's note, commentary, further reading) (Fiction. 13 & up)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172050138
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	02/11/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

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