The Scorpion Queen

Gr 8 Up–In imperial Mali, in the city of Timbuktu, Aminata Aqit has lost everything. Betrayed and blamed for an act that her sister actually committed, Amie, 16, has been disowned by her wealthy merchant family, forbidden from marrying her rare love match, Kader, and given over to work in the palace as a chambermaid to Princess Mariama. The princess’s hand in marriage is the prize for the winner of her father the Emperor Sulyeman’s impossible challenge, which has led to 99 suitors being boiled alive. It’s Amie who bonds with her and comforts her as she reels over their deaths. It’s also Amie who discovers a magical map that could lead to a solution at the home of a god deep in the Sahara. Will she survive the perilous journey? Will she succeed? These are the questions that keep pages turning. At just 320 pages, this stand-alone is more accessible as a shorter fantasy compared to the more voluminous epics of the genre; it’s a nail-biting ride to the end.