Mirage: A Novel

By Somaiya Daud

“A refreshing and unique coming-of-age story...a beautiful and necessary meditation on finding strength in one’s culture.” —Entertainment Weekly, Top Pick of the Month

“A YA marvel that will 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 debut fantasy has what it takes to be the next big thing in sci-fi/fantasy.” —SLJ, starred review

“Immersive, captivating.” —ALA Booklist, starred review

In a world dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated home.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Aug 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781250126443

Somaiya Daud

Somaiya Daud is the author of Mirage and holds a PhD from the University of Washington in English literature. A former bookseller in the children’s department at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., now she writes and teaches full time.

Reviews for Mirage

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

diverse teen sci-fi/adventure/fantasy with a little romance (brown-skinned people in a Moroccan-inspired civilization rebelling under the oppression of another brown-skinned people from another planet).
I feel like I have maybe read a similar book before, but I am digging the strong, multi-layered (and diverse!) cast. I could easily recommend this to people looking for their next fun read.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in the Mirage series and was pretty standard YA sci-fi/fantasy fare. It's beautifully written but the story itself isn't all the unique. This is a science fiction story but the planet the story is set on has a very Middle Eastern feel to it.The main heroine, Amani, is kidnapped because of her similarity in appearance to the Princess Maram and forced to become the princess's double. Of course, then sparks fly between our heroine and the princess's fiance'. Additionally Amani finds herself dealing with the rebels who would seek to overthrow Princess Maram and her father. It's all very predictable.The world building is interesting. The whole book is set in a sci-fi world, however it's not built out very well beyond the immediate world where Amani lives. The story itself has a very typical YA fantasy feel to it. Lots of intrigue, rebellion, and romance.I wasn’t all that pleased with the ending. The book ends on a cliffhanger and doesn't really resolve anything. Again, I expected this but was a bit disappointed that my expectations were met here. Overall this was a beautifully written book and I enjoyed the writing style, but the predictability of the story offset that some for me. I probably won't continue with the series because my main reaction at the end was; "Huh, I thought that was what was going to happen...on to the next book." This book is a YA novel that is very much focused on intrigue and romance in a setting that is lightly science fiction.

[redheadedfemme · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was dubious about this book at first--it's very much a first novel, with the associate telling instead of showing, at least in the beginning. The SFF element is pretty lightweight and a bit derivative. The author mentions "phasers" and "blasters," making me wonder if she was cribbing from Star Trek, Star Wars or both, and she treats space travel with all the seriousness of hopping in the car to drive down the block. But this was forgivable in the end, at least for me, because it wasn't the point. The weight of this story is in the lush setting, the fully-realized cultures, and the characterizations, with a tragic romance at its center. Whether you like this story will depend a lot on how you feel about that central romance, but it is a good one (even if it is a bit insta-lovey, for those who don't like that trope). The author also delves into the evils of colonization, with the story being told from the point of view of the conquered. By necessity, there's a lot of court politics here, and rebellions and spies, including our protagonist, Amani. She has been kidnapped to serve as the body double of Princess Maram, the hated daughter of the conquerer, and because of this she is dragged into a frothing stew of scheming and manipulation as she struggles to survive. The author does a fairly successful job of humanizing the spoiled, nasty Princess Maram, revealing her to be a sad, lonely girl caught between her Vathek father and Andalaan mother, reviled as a half-breed. This book is shot through with the grief of the conquered, and the determination not to let their culture and way of life fade away. The first-novel syndrome is the reason I'm not rating this higher, but I certainly hope the author works through those kinks. Once she is more in command of her craft, I think this will be an excellent story.

[kerilynned · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting something totally different from this book and really didn't think I would like it. It turns out it is pretty good! I thought it would be more science fiction but other than it being set on a different planet it didn't have much other science fiction elements in my opinion. I really enjoyed Amani, she wasn't the typical main character for this type of book. Most of the time they get pretty annoying but she manages to get through some tough situations with a level head and perseveres. I enjoyed the ending as well since there will be another book. It didn't end on a huge cliffhanger but enough of one to make me want to read the next book.

[ellegato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh I loved this book so much!!

We've all read so many palace intrigue/rebellion against cruel overlords/secret identity stories. The trope is popular because there are so many different ways to explore it, so many plots to be fashioned. And Somaiya Daud puts such an amazingly unique and effective spin on the trope. Her MC experiences the full breadth of colonial violence from the privations her family faces in response to imperial destruction to her treatment in the palace when she becomes the princess's body double. But the MC's perspective is so incredibly nuanced, so carefully constructed that this book truly becomes an important story about how colonialism/imperialism really work.

Amani's faith is an important aspect throughout the story, and it's handled with beauty, respect, and care. Her understanding not only of the rebels plotting against the imperial monarch but of the princess who, in her own way, is also trapped by the cruelties of colonization, is so deeply and wonderfully explored. Amani's decisions and choices all make so much sense even if they are heartbreaking, or come with devastating consequences. Her inner conflicts, her self-doubt and her self-affirmation, her defense of her people, her culture, her heritage, her language is all so poignant and courageous. She is such a well-written character I found myself lost in her world and sad to leave her point of view once the story ended.

All the characters are well-written, even minor ones. The worldbuilding is layered and fascinating and the bits of history and culture are beautifully given. The world feels real and solid, not just a backdrop for the main character. It feels lived in. And I have to admit, I fell instantly in love when I read Amani's home moon is called Cadiz because I live in the province of Cadiz in Spain, and so much of this story brought to mind al-Andalus, the Moorish/Arabic kingdom that held much of Spain during the middle ages.

This is a wonderfully diverse story written by an author who understands imperialism, marginalization, political subjugation, and the impact of empire on local cultures and systems. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy, sci fi, or just great character work

[karenvg3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a fun adventure Into a new world. The story follows Amani as she is kidnaped and then forced to be the body double to the princess Maram. There is adventure, angst, passion, love and intrigue all rolled together in a captivating debut novel. I will be looking forward to more from this author in this story line. 4?