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Ever since they were forced to flee for their lives and hide in the City of the Dead, Mitra has sworn to protect her younger brother. They have no way to survive living on the streets except to steal, and no way to gain coin for passage to the far-off city of Palmyra, where the rest of her family are rumored to have fled to form a new life — that is, until her brother, Babak, starts having dreams of the future. It’s a magnificent gift that could bring them the profit they need, and Mitra is determined to do whatever is necessary to find her way home.
When Babak is asked to dream for a Magus and receives a mysterious vision of two stars dancing in the night sky, Mitra and her brother are swept away on an arduous journey across the desert. The Magus is determined to solve this prophetic riddle, and he won’t let Babak go until he’s discovered the answer.
Alphabet of Dreams is a simple, cozy coming-of-age story retelling the Nativity story from the viewport of two children who are literally just along for the ride. It’s beautifully written, with a vivid, historical setting, and a compelling bittersweet story about family and belonging. However, this book definitely feels like it’s written for a younger audience, so while an older teen might not find this story too interesting, it would be a good read for middle-grade readers looking to break into the YA genre.
Rated: Mild. A girl goes through puberty and experiences menstruation and her body changing. As in the biblical story, the babies of a village are massacred. The characters witness this in quick backward glances, but descriptions are kept vague.
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