Bashir Boutros and the Jewel of the Nile

Gr 4 Up–On the final day of his family summer trip to Lebanon, 11-year-old Bashir’s cousin pushes him into the Mediterranean Sea, only for Bashir to come out wearing a mysterious golden ring. He discovers the ring contains Yani, a jinn whose magical aura brings power to those who wield it. By wearing this magical artifact, Bashir attracts trouble from demons, including Ali Adin, a powerful demon lord who kidnaps Bashir’s parents. Ali Adin is after Yani’s power and won’t return Bashir’s parents unless he has it. Bashir can’t let the demon lord take over the world, so he finds himself teaming up with a mysterious ancient society sworn to protect the world from evil. This is a fun, action-packed fantasy featuring elements of Middle Eastern culture. Jreije puts a fun twist on a familiar tale as Ali Adin is an evil version of Aladdin and Yani the genie. While the story begins in Lebanon and moves to Massachusetts, it becomes a globe-trotting adventure, including one to other realms, as Bashir and the others try to stop Ali Adin. Readers will enjoy the humor that the author expertly includes, such as Alina and Ziad calling Bashir a kid when he is just a year younger. Readers may take a few pages to get into the story, but once they do, they won’t want to stop, especially when they get to the plot twist.