Tag Archives: Sabaa Tahir

National Book Festival 2022

Yesterday, I attended the National Book Festival in DC. This festival is local for me, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to see countless extraordinary authors over the years. I began attending when the celebration of books took place outdoors on the National Mall, but it has since shifted to the Washington Convention Center. The past two years have been virtual due to Covid-19, but the 2022 Festival moved back to in-person at the Washington Convention Center. (Side note: I have not been around so many “mask wearers” in months. My ‘guesstimate’ is that 80% of attendees were masked. Which I consider proof that readers are some of the most empathetic people you’ll meet, and I was glad to be among “my people.”) Below I’ll share brief highlights of the sessions I attended, but I will also link the full video from the Library of Congress’ YouTube Channel. All sessions were streamed live, making the event a ‘hybrid’ for those who wanted to watch at home. Note, these pictures are mostly my own, captured on my old iPhone 8. Pardon the photo quality. Jason Reynolds’ photo was captured by my friend and co-worker, Liz Campbell.

Panel: Meet Me in the Winner’s Circle: Award-Winning Writers with Donna Barba Higuera, Darcie Little Badger, and Malinda Lo

This panel was expertly moderated by fellow author, Dhonielle Clayton. All of these recent award winners shared what inspired these stories and whether bans/censorship has affected their desire to tell the stories they want to tell. I personally loved the portion of the talk where Higuera discussed science fiction as a genre. Her sci-fi book, Newbery winner The Last Cuentista, will be in my September recap as I am reading it now!

Panel: You’re Such a Nightmare: Horror Novels with Tiffany D. Jackson and Ryan La Sala

This panel was such fun! I have not (yet) read books by either author, but went home with a book by each of them! Both authors touched on the concept of horrors happening by the light of day. But these two authors were the opposite of scary, and had the audience repeatedly laughing. I highly recommend watching their session (which I will link at the bottom of this post), and I am so looking forward to discovering their books!

Panel: Rage Against the System: Teens Who Don’t Back Down with Samira Ahmed and Sabaa Tahir

The highlight of this panel was the banter between the two authors. They are clearly close friends, and seeing how they can mess with each other and at the same time support each other was delightful. The theme of the panel crossed over to how today’s teens can stand up to power and have an impact on their communities.

Panel: Jason Reynolds Talks About His Latest Books

Jason Reynolds was the final author of the day on the Young Adult stage. He discussed his role as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and his latest book Ain’t Burned All the Bright. But for me, the real highlight was when he took questions from the audience. Each answer was filled with metaphors and gems of knowledge that will stick with the audience well after the 45 minute talk concluded.

Panel: The All-Stars of “Blackout” with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

The highlight and my own main reason for attending this year’s festival was this panel, which took place on the Main Stage. Moderated by Librarian of Congress herself, Carla Hayden, was a panel with 5 of the 6 New York Times Bestselling authors of the novel Blackout, celebrating Black teen love. I think the picture to the right captures the pure joy of this panel. It was so much fun to hear their stories of how this book came to life, witnessing their camaraderie, and ultimately coming to the conclusion that we need more of this kind of collaboration in our world.

Here are links to video recordings of the Young Adult Stage and “Blackout” on the Main Stage, as well as a link to the full schedule from the 2022 National Book Festival. There were a lot of authors that I did not get to hear, and I’ll definitely be watching the video recordings over the coming week.

PDF of the 2022 National Book Festival Schedule:
https://www.loc.gov/static/events/2022-national-book-festival/documents/NBF22-Printable-Program.pdf

Ember in the Ashes and Torch Against the Night

Ember Series Covers

Series Review (Books 1 and 2)
An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night
by Sabaa Tahir

Published by: Razorbill
Form: Hardback
Big Themes: Freedom, Brutality, Power, Rebellion, Duty

Goodreads Summary (Book 1/Ember in the Ashes):
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Ember in the AshesWhat I Loved:
Fresh feel. This is fantasy unlike other fantasy. I loved the desert setting. The diverse cast. The magic, creatures, and legends I hadn’t seen before.
Parallel Characters. Both Laia and Elias are fighting against their lack of freedom, despite the fact that their situations are very different. This parallel was fun to think about and unified the story.
The Overall Characterization. There are several characters that grow and develop in unexpected ways as their layers are revealed. Helene in Torch Against the Night is fascinating. The Commander is an intriguing and layered villain.
Plot Twists. Excellent foreshadowing, but I still didn’t see many of the plot twists coming. This is the kind of book that is fun to re-read to see how everything came together.

Overall:
Fresh, unpredictable, well-written, dark but with characters who bring hope. Highly recommend!

Side note: I love the new covers so much! Sabaa Tahir was so excited that they remade the covers to feature a brown girl for Laia. I’ve purchased the new covers for my classroom library because I know some girls who will love seeing someone who looks like them on the cover of a fantasy book!