Mirage by Somaiya Daud Review

Mirage is a YA sci-fi novel based on Moroccan history and culture and I absolutely loved it. It follows Amani, a girl who is taken from her home in order to be a body double for a princess due to rising concerns of rebellion. She's forced to learn how to behave exactly like the princess and must perform perfectly if she wants to prevent anymore harm from coming to herself or her family.

While Mirage has a sci-fi setting, I would also absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels. The overall worldbuilding and many of the tropes present were much more reminiscent of fantasy than sci-fi. It actually reminded me a bit of the Star Wars approach to sci-fi worldbuilding, in which it was sort of imbued with themes and tropes popular in other genres. The world is also very easy to understand, thanks to a clear use of labels and maps, as well as the overall integration of the world with the plot and characters (more on that below).

What I enjoyed about this book:

- The characters! Each of the characters are well linked to the overall plot and worldbuilding and each have clear goals, motivations, and character arcs. There were a few characters at the beginning that I didn't really care for, but by the end I found myself hoping they would find a way to make things work out. That, to me, is a mark of excellent characters.

- The worldbuilding! In sci-fi and fantasy books especially, it is so important the there is a balance of making the world feel complicated enough that the reader can be fully immersed in it, but not so complicated that they feel confused. Mirage strikes this perfect balance incredibly well, in part because the worldbuilding is an integral part of the characters and plot.

- The plot! I don't want to say too much because I'd like to avoid spoilers, but the plot is wonderfully paced and takes a lot of interesting turns. There are many tense moments, but they're sprinkled with really lovely moments of character development, which I thought was a really interesting and unique structure. There's also a substantial amount of foreshadowing and it's so satisfying looking back on the story as a whole once you reach the end.

Aspects of this book that weren't for me:

- This is a really small note, but there were a lot of descriptions between each major event that sometimes felt a little redundant. There's a part of me that enjoyed this because I think it helped the world feel more immersive, but near the end of the book all of the descriptions started to blend together a bit for me.

This book was an instant 5 star read for me. The pacing is perfect, the characters are incredible, and the worldbuilding was incredibly vivid and unique while also integrating real world elements. I can't recommend this book enough, especially to anyone interested in YA sci-fi and fantasy novels.

TW: Themes of colonization, imperialism, and racism. Scenes of violence, death, murder, and starvation.