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booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
MIRAGE is a story of a girl forced to be the body double for the princess assumed to be the next monarch of her colonized planet. As Amani adjusts to the strict requirements of her new role, she starts connecting with others who are trying to end the occupation.
I love the worldbuilding in MIRAGE. It’s concerned with language, culture, and class dynamics reinforced through colonization. Its suffuses everything from Amani's life with her family to the Vathek court and everything in between. It was obvious to me that many parts of the language are based on Arabic, and the interview with the author which is included in the audiobook clarified for me that it was specifically influenced by Moroccan culture. Even before I knew which specific country's history had contributed to the worldbuilding, there were so many wonderfully detailed moments which filled this picture of a people who went to space and have been living on this moon for so long that their culture references a long history on that moon and not their arrival from somewhere else.
This deals heavily with the cruelty of colonizers, and the difficulty of Amani trying to stay alive when everything she does to preserve her life also helps her oppressors. The Vathek colonizers are quasi-European, culturally and aesthetically different from those they’re subjugating. Long stretches in the middle are a bit more hopeful, as every time Amani is sent somewhere instead of the princess it’s more time that she can interact without a harsh gaze upon her. One complication is that the princess is engaged to be married, so Amani interacts with her fiancé, Idris, who isn't supposed to know about the body double. I like Idris, his dynamic with Amani is really sweet. I especially love the way that they slowly begin discussing more of their history and shared culture together, since Idris was made to forget his first language years ago but Amani still can read and speak it.
As the first book of a trilogy, this establishes Amani's transformation away from who she was before she was kidnapped. There's more of a focus on Vathek culture because Amani has to become familiar with the Vathek court to survive. The ending was a dramatic shift and I'm excited for how the next book handles things.
I love the worldbuilding in MIRAGE. It’s concerned with language, culture, and class dynamics reinforced through colonization. Its suffuses everything from Amani's life with her family to the Vathek court and everything in between. It was obvious to me that many parts of the language are based on Arabic, and the interview with the author which is included in the audiobook clarified for me that it was specifically influenced by Moroccan culture. Even before I knew which specific country's history had contributed to the worldbuilding, there were so many wonderfully detailed moments which filled this picture of a people who went to space and have been living on this moon for so long that their culture references a long history on that moon and not their arrival from somewhere else.
This deals heavily with the cruelty of colonizers, and the difficulty of Amani trying to stay alive when everything she does to preserve her life also helps her oppressors. The Vathek colonizers are quasi-European, culturally and aesthetically different from those they’re subjugating. Long stretches in the middle are a bit more hopeful, as every time Amani is sent somewhere instead of the princess it’s more time that she can interact without a harsh gaze upon her. One complication is that the princess is engaged to be married, so Amani interacts with her fiancé, Idris, who isn't supposed to know about the body double. I like Idris, his dynamic with Amani is really sweet. I especially love the way that they slowly begin discussing more of their history and shared culture together, since Idris was made to forget his first language years ago but Amani still can read and speak it.
As the first book of a trilogy, this establishes Amani's transformation away from who she was before she was kidnapped. There's more of a focus on Vathek culture because Amani has to become familiar with the Vathek court to survive. The ending was a dramatic shift and I'm excited for how the next book handles things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Slavery
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Medical content, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
At the end of this audiobook, there is an interesting interview with the author about how she developed the book and some places and history that inspired her. (Places like Morocco) They mention it’s part sci-fi, part fantasy and has some historical fiction elements - all of which I agree with.
It’s an interesting premise - a girl who is kidnapped at her coming of age party to be a body double for Madam - a potential future Queen who is hated by the countries she would rule. Amani is forced to be mean and react like princess Maram.
I read this for the #cozybookclub22 bc I don’t read a lot of ya or sci fi and this one looked interesting.
“I was still frightened, I still understood that Maram could hurt me. But something inside of me had changed; I knew now that she could change my body but she had no power over my spirit. And more satisfying, I knew that she had a weakness—she was not so different than me. She was not untouchable.” Ch 8
“I watched her as I would watch a viper…” Ch 12
“I had the feeling he was seeing me as I’d seen him—as me, not the person I had to be as Maram, not the girl in between.” Ch 17
“Was this how our fates were decided? By cold High Vathek directors who were not interested in the planet itself but the resources we might yield?” Ch 27
It’s an interesting premise - a girl who is kidnapped at her coming of age party to be a body double for Madam - a potential future Queen who is hated by the countries she would rule. Amani is forced to be mean and react like princess Maram.
I read this for the #cozybookclub22 bc I don’t read a lot of ya or sci fi and this one looked interesting.
“I was still frightened, I still understood that Maram could hurt me. But something inside of me had changed; I knew now that she could change my body but she had no power over my spirit. And more satisfying, I knew that she had a weakness—she was not so different than me. She was not untouchable.” Ch 8
“I watched her as I would watch a viper…” Ch 12
“I had the feeling he was seeing me as I’d seen him—as me, not the person I had to be as Maram, not the girl in between.” Ch 17
“Was this how our fates were decided? By cold High Vathek directors who were not interested in the planet itself but the resources we might yield?” Ch 27
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
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