The Tyrant's Daughter Author: J.C. Carleson | Language: English | ISBN:
B00EMXBD9S | Format: PDF
The Tyrant's Daughter Description
THERE: In an unnamed Middle Eastern country, fifteen-year-old Laila has always lived like royalty. Her father is a dictator of sorts, though she knows him as King—just as his father was, and just as her little brother Bastien will be one day. Then everything changes: Laila's father is killed in a coup.
HERE: As war surges, Laila flees to a life of exile in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Overnight she becomes a nobody. Even as she adjusts to a new school and new friends, she is haunted by the past. Was her father really a dictator like the American newspapers say? What was the cost of her family's privilege?
Far from feeling guilty, her mother is determined to regain their position of power. So she's engineering a power play—conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to gain a foothold to the throne. Laila can't bear to stand still as yet another international crisis takes shape around her. But how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations?
- File Size: 1502 KB
- Print Length: 304 pages
- Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (February 11, 2014)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00EMXBD9S
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,896 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #15
in Books > Children's Books > Geography & Cultures > Explore the World > Middle East
- #15
in Books > Children's Books > Geography & Cultures > Explore the World > Middle East
***I shall make a valiant attempt at keeping this spoiler free***
I can easily see this becoming a required reading in US high school English classes - or even in a modern history class for that matter. That said, it's hard to pin down the target audience. They say 12 and up, but I haven't decided if I agree with it or not. I thought it was fantastic, but I'm an adult and a teacher to boot.
Summary: Laila's father is assassinated, so she flees to the US in exile with her mother and younger brother, Bastien. She's used to living like a princess and now she's struggling to adapt to normal suburban life and it's biggest trial, namely high school.
The Things that Could be Better/ Things I think Might Annoy Readers:
Occasionally, the teen drama got old, but the narrators unique perspective often rescued these sections for me. Having less teen-drama sections in need of rescuing would have been nice.
The big end twist was so subtle I think I missed it. Literally. I'm willing to blame this on the fact that I was slightly distracted while reading, but nevertheless, it shouldn't be that easy to miss the huge betrayal.
A few subplotlines are left to rot in that nebulous state of unresolvedness. Generally speaking, that ticks me off, but once again, I find myself defending this book because the themes woven throughout are in part about how life's changes don't always allow for neatness and closure. Still, I can see that being a point of irritation.
There are at least 2 passages I think guys would find awkward.
End Commentary Included: I read it and felt it was okay, but I don't see anybody in the target audience (pre-teen to teen) caring one whit about Dr. Benard's commentary.
I first saw The Tyrant’s Daughter on a list on Goodreads. After reading the synopsis I knew this was a book I had to read. As soon as I started reading, I knew I was right, The Tyrant’s Daughter is definitely a must read. I have a feeling that it’s going to be one of those books that stay with me long after the last page was read.
If you are looking for a light, fun read then The Tyrant’s Daughter isn’t the book that you want to pick up. This book brings a lot to the table. I wouldn’t say that I know what’s going on everywhere in the world. I do try to watch the news but most of what I see are just headlines and not much else. We watch them, we think about them for a few minutes, and then we move on and live our lives. The Tyrant’s Daughter brings those headlines to the front, where we can’t ignore them. J.C. Carleson takes it a step further and these headlines become the life of a fifteen year old girl.
Laila, her mother, and brother, Bastien, have recently fled their country to America after the assassination of Laila’s father. Laila has to figure out American culture while dealing with the death of her father, learning about the man he really was, and trying to figure out what her mother is plotting.
Growing up, most children look at their parents with rose colored glasses. Our father’s are superheroes, and for Laila it’s no different. Her father loved her, and that’s what she knew about him. I think that Laila had to know that her father wasn’t everything she thought he was, and deep down she might of even known that he did awful thing. But after his death she’s almost forced to acknowledge the man he truly was. My heart hurts for Laila, because I don’t know what I would do if I found out that my superhero was actually the villain.
The Tyrant's Daughter Preview
Link
Please Wait...