Review: An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For this book, you can picture it as kind of The Hunger Games in a setting that's closer in appearance, military, and technology to the ancient Roman Empire on which Panem was loosely based. This book has just about everything you can expect in a dystopian - an oppressed young woman, a young man who's stuck in the system, evil overlords, an evil Commandant (ugh, the Commandant.) And yet, for all it does that's familiar, Sabaa Tahir's debut slips in a few additional elements under the radar - most notably the fact that the two main characters, Laia and Elias, provide some excellent PoC rep and complex characterizations. I see a lot of people thinking Laia, especially, would make a great Gryffindor, and they're not exactly wrong...but as a Gryffinpuff, I recognize a sort of kindred spirit in Laia, perhaps more so than any YA heroine since Tris Prior. And certainly even more than Tris, too!

I first read this book about two years ago, shortly after its publication, but now I'm rereading it and its sequel in anticipation of Book 3. And let me tell you, An Ember in the Ashes absolutely measures up better on the second read. I initially rated this book four stars, but I'm now bringing it up to five because I'm realizing just how intricate Tahir's writing really is, loaded with details that are all too easy to miss the first time around, but on the second read make much more sense. Especially if you've been learning more and more about the sort of mythology Tahir weaves into the background of this world - not just Roman either, but Middle Eastern and South Asian too!

Bottom line, if you haven't picked up this book yet, I highly, highly recommend it for its unique blend of cultures past and present and its gripping, unputdownable tale of spycraft and revenge and love. And for its subtle nature as a potential YA/NA crossover. And for the glorious new paperback cover, which really should've been the official one from the get-go. Behold!



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