Hey beautiful readers! I hope you're having a wonderful day and that you're ready to get to this because I so am? I have been so ready to share with you this post the day Cake Literary asked me to host this lovely Q&A with author Karuna Riazi. I have been so excited because I love Karuna and her books and I simply wanted to share the love about this new title she has called The Battle. So let's not delay this and get to it, right?

The game begins again in this gripping follow-up to The Gauntlet that’s a futuristic Middle-Eastern Zathura meets Ready Player One! 

Four years after the events of The Gauntlet, the evil game Architect is back with a new partner-in-crime—The MasterMind—and the pair aim to get revenge on the Mirza clan. Together, they’ve rebuilt Paheli into a slick, mind-bending world with floating skyscrapers, flying rickshaws run by robots, and a digital funicular rail that doesn’t always take you exactly where you want to go.

Twelve-year-old Ahmad Mirza struggles to make friends at his new middle school, but when he’s paired with his classmate Winnie for a project, he is determined to impress her and make his very first friend. At home while they’re hard at work, a gift from big sister Farah—who is away at her first year in college—arrives. It’s a high-tech game called The Battle of Blood and Iron, a cross between a video game and board game, complete with virtual reality goggles. He thinks his sister has solved his friend problem—all kids love games. He convinces Winnie to play, but as soon as they unbox the game, time freezes all over New York City.

With time standing still and people frozen, all of humankind is at stake as Ahmad and Winnie face off with the MasterMind and the Architect, hoping to beat them at their own game before the evil plotters expand Paheli and take over the entire world.

The Book Voyagers: Hi Karuna! So happy to have you here and thank you for coming to my blog. Let’s talk about The Battle. Can you tell us a little bit more about this book? What can we expect and are there more dangers than in the first installment? 

Karuna Riazi: Hi Sil! Such a pleasure to be on the blog! The Battle picks up a few years where The Gauntlet left off, and with a different Mirza as our protagonist: Ahmad, Farah's precocious younger brother who got sucked into Paheli previously. He's now a middle schooler himself and will face down the Architect and his new ally, The MasterMind, alongside his classmate (and, he hopes, friend) Winnie. You can expect a video game twist instead of the traditional board game, more scheming from the Architect and other cool things like flying rickshaws and holographic shops!

TBV: One of the things that I found fascinating in the blurb is that this new novel is more futuristic! The evil game Architect has a new partner in crime a.k.a. The MasterMind. And they rebuild Paheli with lots of new things like robots *chef kiss* Tell me a bit more about your inspiration for this book.

KR: Well, as you know, Jumanji was part of my original inspiration for The Gauntlet. Jumanji's sequel is Zathura, which - particularly if you are considering film canon - is more futuristic than Jumanji. We decided to go for video games as the futuristic aspect instead of outer space, and I went from there! (I'm a video game fan myself so this was a lot of fun for me.)

TBV: I love board games and as you said The Gauntlet is inspired by Jumanji. Which board games are your favorite now and which were your favorite when you were a kid? And if you had the chance, would you go into the game like Ahmad and Winnie? 

KR: My favorite board games as a kid were Clue, and these two really educational ones (I was homeschooled). One was called Take Off, and it was dedicated to teaching geography, so you had a fleet of airplanes and you had to get them to a certain airport - if I recall correctly - before the opposing players' planes did. The other was Herd Your Horses - yes, I was a horse girl in middle school, down to the riding classes - and my sister and I used to carry it to our local stables for summer day camp so everyone could take a turn playing it. In terms of going into a game, I'm...a very anxious person. I think all of Alex's nerves in the first book were very autobiographical. I would spend most of my time in a game just like him: worrying, wondering if we'd made a huge mistake and freaking out over every little surprise. So I think I would honestly not want to go into a game!

TBV: Friendship is so important in your books. Can you tell me about the creation of these characters, Ahmad and Winnie, and how they form the perfect partnership? 

KR: Of course, readers will be familiar with Ahmad from The Gauntlet - but, in the way authors often do with hindsight after the book is released, I realized that Ahmad was not given as much of a chance to show his inner spirit and character as his sister was. A lot of readers described him as bratty or difficult for no reason. So, in this book, once I knew he was going to be the protagonist, I wanted to show another side to him: the boy who wants what his sister has, good friends, but is not sure of how to do that or where to even begin. I wanted Ahmad to have a friend he deserved, even if he didn't know it: someone fun, and smart, and loyal, and also another kid of color who believes strongly in sticking together and facing the world together. I think Winnie is all that and more and I love her and hope that I've been able to do her justice and make her spirit shine as strongly as his. (I will also note that, even if he doesn't realize it yet, Ahmad has all those same characteristics, but he's less confident in them than Winnie is, which is why she's the perfect partner to draw it out of him!)

TBV: As a last question, I would love to know which books would you recommend reading for fans of your books! 



KR: Hmm, this is a very good question. As a kid, I loved The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and I still want to write a book with as much depth and mystery as that book - so readers, if you haven't, get on that! If you want to understand me as a person in general, read Ella Enchanted and Howl's Moving Castle because those titles are the reasons I write. In general within middle grade, I love my Cake sister Anna Meriano's Love Sugar Magic titles, Anne Ursu's middle grades (like, every single one of them) and anything by Mike Jung. I'm sure I'm forgetting people!

Karuna Riazi is a born and raised New Yorker, with a loving, large extended family and the rather trying experience of being the eldest sibling in her particular clan. She holds a BA in English Literature from Hofstra University, and is an online diversity advocate, blogger, and educator. She is a 2017 honoree on NBC Asian America's Redefining A-Z list, featuring up and coming talent within the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and her work has been featured on Entertainment Weekly, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Book Riot and Teen Vogue, among others.

Karuna is fond of tea, Korean dramas, writing about tough girls forging their own paths toward their destinies, and baking new delectable treats for friends and family to relish. The Gauntlet (S&S/Salaam Reads, March 28, 2017) is her middle grade debut, with a forthcoming companion, The Battle.

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100% scary. 100% amazing. Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh is a fabulous story about a Korean-American girl who moves to a new house with her family after a series of events that happened in her past town. Suddenly weird stuff start happening in this new house and she finds out that the house is known as a haunted and scary house that actually people have died there. It's a perfectly good scary story for younger kids.

This is a book about family but also about friendships. I love every single member of the Raine family, especially Harper, our protagonist. She knows stuff are happening in the house. She doesn't know that happened in her past; she lost her memory a while ago about some events in her life and she can't seem to recall them. So she writes these diary passages and Ellen put them in the book and it's a really good way to cut between chapters.

Also Harper's brother, Michael, he is such a sweetheart but oh my god so many things happen in this book and you will feel for him and the family and get scared and you lit will not know what to do with so many emotions inside of you. This book is such a perfect example that Ellen Oh is an amazing author and her stories are unforgettable.

I'm very happy with the middle grade books I've been reading, all of them have been ARCs and I can happily say that all of them are on their top of their games. Middle grade is ON POINT this year, it's even better than YA to be honest. Between Spirit Hunters and so many awesome titles like The Gauntlet or Hello, Universe, kids are going to be so happy this 2017 to have so many books from different genres that have characters that are racially diverse and can see themselves represented in it. Because Spirit Hunters does have a Korean-American MC but not only that. Harper befriends a girl, and this girl is Jamaican which it's all the levels of amazing and 10 more reasons to get this book as soon as it comes out.

If you like ghosts, haunted houses, delicious food, great family dynamics and new friendships that feel so natural, this book is right for you.

Hi, voyagers! Today I'm bringing you something super exciting and fabulous. Because THE GAUNTLET just released in the US yesterday, I'm doing a guest post with the lovely Karuna Riazi, author of the Middle Grade novel. I've already read this amazing novel (YES, it's the greatest and I recommend everyone to go and buy it) and I love love this post. I hope you all love it as well.

Meet the Book

Title: The Gauntlet

Author: Karuna Riazi

Publisher: Salaam Reads
Genre: Middle Grade / Fantasy

Pages: 384 

Synopsis: 

A trio of friends from New York City find themselves trapped inside a mechanical board game that they must dismantle in order to save themselves and generations of other children in this action-packed debut that’s a steampunk Jumanji with a Middle Eastern flair.
When twelve-year-old Farah and her two best friends get sucked into a mechanical board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand—a puzzle game akin to a large Rubik’s cube—they know it’s up to them to defeat the game’s diabolical architect in order to save themselves and those who are trapped inside, including her baby brother Ahmed. But first they have to figure out how.
Under the tutelage of a lizard guide named Henrietta Peel and an aeronaut Vijay, the Farah and her friends battle camel spiders, red scorpions, grease monkeys, and sand cats as they prepare to face off with the maniacal Lord Amari, the man behind the machine. Can they defeat Amari at his own game…or will they, like the children who came before them, become cogs in the machine?

One of the questions I’ve heard most from friends since announcing my book deal is, “I have no clue where to start with reading middle grades. What do you recommend?” To me, the great thing about middle grades – like YA! – is how much variety there is within the category. You have sweet contemporary, sweet but also prepare to mop your face after you’re done contemporary, and then the incredible, profound fantasies that I personally grew up on and still crave. 

So, that being said, I’m going to do my best to present five of my favorite middle grade titles that you can start out with and may serve as a gateway for more great reads and new discoveries.

1. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu 

Anne Ursu is, arguably, the Queen of MG (well, I may be the only one who calls her that, but still). In this compelling take on the classic fairytale The Snow Queen, she exercises her craft in a way that you simply can’t look away from. I actually picked it up when I first heard about it because of the little girl of color on the cover (representation matters, guys) but stayed for the lyrical writing, the very real and human characters and the thrilling arc that made a familiar childhood favorite new and wondrous all at once.

2. Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen 

This book is everything. It also has tremendous YA crossover appeal, if you are the type who needs a little reassurance before you broaden your reading horizons. It’s a fairytale retelling, but also explores the repercussions of a family curse in beautiful and haunting ways, and has the most incredible writing that turns me into a silver-seeking raven every time I turn back to it.

3. Greenglass House by Kate Milford Okay 

I grew up on The Westing Game (which, if you haven’t read, you should because it is a classic and everything and will haunt you for years for good reason) and Greenglass House is 100% a comparative title, or at least harbors the same aesthetic of family, incredible mystery and watery eyes when you least expect it. It would also make an incredibly good movie with a Wes Anderson aesthetic, if anyone is asking.

4. Wildwood by Colin Meloy 

Yes, this is written by the Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, a.k.a. the perfect band to listen to if you like moody autumn afternoons and mutiny aboard antique whaling ships. This is wonderfully thick, richly adventurous and gets that woodland fantasy aesthetic down so perfectly that I still writhe in envy every time I re-read it.

5. The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill 

This is actually the latest Newbery Award winner, and with good reason. Kelly’s writing is wonderful, and powerful, and imaginative. It might be hard to find on shelves right now, considering that it’s still holding a lead position on the NYT Bestsellers list, but when you can reach for it, it’s absolutely worth it.

(Okay, I lied and will add a bonus. If you want gorgeous, weighty middle grades that leave magic lingering on your tongue and wistfulness for the same understanding in everything you read wrapped around your heart, read Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand. And then read everything else she’s written, ever. Thank me later.)