Hi guys!  Here I am.  I just found out who’s coming to the Texas Book Festival; here’s who I’m going to see: GORDON KORMAN, LEMONY SNICKET, ADAM GIDWITZ, APRILYNNE PIKE, JUDE WATSON, and MATT DE LA PEÑA!!!!!!!  SO excited!  For today I have a review of Rebels of the Kasbah, sent to me by the wonderful Christie Clarke, and an In My Mailbox!  Enjoy:-)

Four kids; Aseem, Tariq, Margaret and Fez have all been kidnapped, and sold as slaves to an incredibly ruthless man Caid Ali Tamzali, who owns a magnificent kasbah and forces his slaves to be competitors in camel races.  On the journey to the kasbah, the foursome unite and form an unbreakable alliance and friendship that distances when they get to the kasbah.  Margaret is taken to be in the harem, while the boys are put with the other boys to be camel jockeys.  As they start racing, Aseem and Tariq get beat up for continuously placing in last, and Margaret is being saved for the Caid’s son.  As they start giving up hope for an escape, an unexpected rescuer comes to take them from the kasbah.  Their rescuer is a martial artist named Sana’a, who is a friend of Tariq’s guardian.  In a tale of mystery and suspense,  four kids all  from different backgrounds unite to escape enslavement in 1912 Morocco, with fierce enemies breathing down their necks.

What I thought about this book:

I absolutely LOVED this book.  I’m not going to lie; when I got this book, I didn’t know what to expect.  When I started reading it though, the first chapter had me hooked.  The setting is portrayed very vividly, and I really loved the stories of where each of the kids (and Sana’a) came from.  The villains were very well written, as was the entire story.  I love the cover; the colors look great together, and it looks like a camel is taking over the city:-)  Overall, this was an incredible book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

XanderStars:

Action: 9 out of 10 XanderStars

Suspense: 8 out of 10 XanderStars

Well-Written: 9 out of 10 XanderStars

Overall: 9.25 out of 10 XanderStars

Information about the book:

Author: Joe O’Neill

Publisher: Black Ship Publishing

Page Count:

Published: April 2, 2012

Hope you liked the review!  My next review will be A World of Trouble by T.R. Burns.  Here’s my In My Mailbox.  I am starting to do them by video, so come back soon to see some other videos!  You can see what IMM is all about at the bottom from The Story Siren’s blog.  Enjoy!

What is In My Mailbox?

In My Mailbox was started in November of 2008. It was inspired by one of my fellow book bloggers and friends, Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. That and several other elements. What it all came down to was this: I get books to read and then ultimate share my thoughts about with my readers. As much as I want to, I can’t possibly read every book I receive. Yet, I still wanted a way to feature those books on the blog, even though it might not be in the form of a review. Problem solved!

In My Mailbox has evolved since its start. It started out with a few cover images and a synopsis…. then to actual pictures of the books and finally to vlogs!

Initially In My Mailbox was something I did myself, but ultimately I thought it would be even better if other bloggers shared in the idea… thus the craziness of IMM was born! In My Mailbox is a great way for bloggers to socialize and network their blogs, it’s also a great way for bloggers to share upcoming releases!

Xander