City of the Plague God

I couldn't get into to this because author has this little quirk where the character's thoughts are detailed without describing what's actually occurring physically. DNF as there's too many other reading options in my world.

This book was absolutely stunning! One of my favorite reads of the year Sarwat Chadda crafted a beautiful tale of a Muslim American teenager, struggling with loss of his brother and intense responsibility he feels to be there for his parents. The story is gorgeous and captivating! I never wanted to put it down. It carried me from emotion to emotion, and left me with a deep warmth. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone

This book was a lot of fun and fits in perfectly with the Rick Riordan Presents line–I'd definitely feel comfortable that any kid who liked Percy Jackson would also like this story steeped in Mesopotamian mythology. I liked the side character Daoud, an actor who is frustrated that the only roles he's offered are terrorists–he's a funny, vain character but also a good way to gently open the eyes of young white readers to think a bit about stereotypes in media, while validating some of the experiences and frustrations of brown readers.

I do have one quibble: the reveal that Daoud and Sik's late older brother, Mohammad, had actually been a gay couple rather than the platonic friendship the family had assumed, was actually so vague that I think a lot of kids might miss it? I know Rick Riordan has had openly queer characters and relationships in his books so I don't think this is a case of the author trying to sneak something in past a disapproving publisher. Why not just have them say "boyfriends" or "dating" or "in a relationship" or something?? Maybe (hopefully) they'll dig a bit more into that in the inevitable sequel.