An Andalus Adventure

Product Information

The year is 711 CE, 92 years after the Hijra of the Prophetﷺ and seventy-nine years since hisﷺ death. Leaving his sleepy village of Tlemcen, a young Berber, Qasim joins Tariq's men and is swept away on an amazing quest. We recommend that the parcel is packaged securely to prevent any damage whilst in transit and that proof of postage is retained. The first few pages grip you, the last 50 bring it all together, but the middle 250 were hit and miss in this lower YA/upper MG book. My teen and tween son couldn’t get past 38 pages or so, and I’ve asked around and no one I know that started the book, finished it.

Filed under 5th grade and up, Historical Fiction, islamic fiction, middle grades, Middle School, Muslim Author, Muslim Character, OWN Voice, ramadan, Uncategorized and tagged 2022, adventure, An Andalus Adventure, Andalus, battle, berbers, boats, clean, Eid, friendship, Historical Fiction, horses, Iberia, Islam, islamic fiction, islamic historical fiction, jews, liberation, Middle School, northern Africa, Oppression, ramadan, S. I loved the teasing about being a shepherd, Jacob coming to love Islam, Bella not wanting to marry, but it seemed to always stop short of sweeping me away. Siblings Ben and Bella live under constant Visigoth scrutiny, forced to lead a double life of secrets and deception. I appreciated the updates on the characters and it showing Muslims and people of other faiths coexisting and being accepting even within families, but the connection to the story was a little lost. You could read a chapter Monday, and then pick it back up on Thursday and not worry that no one remembers anything because it is focusing on new characters anyway.It set up to add depth regarding Old Mother Magda, the Cave of Secrets, and the unverified death of the king, but after being stated it was never mentioned again or resolved for any real purpose.

Jalali’s books explore the Islamic faith through the tradition of storytelling – entertaining with adventurous, humorous and memorable characters to fuel the imagination. The book opens with two young siblings Ben and Bella, overlooking the coast, dreading their lives under Visigoth oppression, and hiding their Jewish culture and faith. N. Jalali is an author of works of fiction for older children and YA, from boarding school adventures to her newest adventure packed novel; a historical fiction for Young Adults inspired by real-life historical events of the birth of Muslim Spain. Siblings Ben and Bella live under constant Visigoth scrutiny, forced to live a double life of secrets and deception. Jacob, captured in Julian's raid on Iberia, is tied up and thrust upon a galley boat bound for North Africa.I love that the book is clean, although, I do wonder if more information about Lady Florinda would have helped the reader understand her father’s desperation, I do understand the vagueness, but it is a glaring omission that keeps the reader curious. Her childhood was spent in Wales, and after graduating, having travelled widely in the Muslim world, she lives in London with her husband and three children. I don’t know that I could get middle school students to read the book for a book club, it would have to be motivated by a grade to get through it in a classroom setting I’m afraid. Depending on the nature of the fault, we may ask for you to send the faulty item straight to the manufacturer, who has the ability to repair and replace the item. Similarly, I love that it mentioned Abbas Ibn Firnas, but I don’t know that most kids know enough about him to know what is being hinted at and what the outcome was of his flight at the end.

The book would naturally lend itself to the students keeping character journals, the supplements and backmatter would allow for references and insight in to real history, and I think the book would do really well in this set up to connect with the audience. The climax is nice but ultimately rather lackluster, and the beauty of characters taking shahada, Jews being freed, Solomon’s table, an old lady with a premonition, and a character dying are just not enough to keep the story in reader’s hands, unfortunately.It then jumps to the Governor of Ceuta, Count Julian (Ilyan), awaiting to meet with Umayyad leader Tariq ibn-Ziyad. Jacob, captured in Julian’s raid on Iberia, is tied up and thrust upon a galley boat bound for North Africa. In a middle school, or upper elementary the book would be a great crossover between History, English, and Islam classes.