MMGM: The Battle (The Gauntlet #2) by Karuna Riazi

It's been four years since Farah Mirza proved that "there is no one who knows how to play - and win - a game better than a Mirza" in The Gauntlet. And if you read The Gauntlet, you will no doubt remember her younger brother Ahmad, and Farah's quest to rescue him from the game world of Paheli that he found himself in or remain there until another game player comes along and wins.

Ahmad is now a 7th grader at PS 52 on New York's Upper East Side. He's not the star student his sister was, he still has difficulties paying attention in school and always drawing an elaborate game world called Paheli. Ahmad has not recollection of actually being in Paheli, thinking his drawing are inspired by family trips to India and Bangladesh, instead. But he really gets in trouble when a mysterious package arrives at school, addressed to Ahmad and sent by Farah, now a student at Princeton. And thanks to the smartest girl in class, Winnie Williamson, the school lets him have the package, which turns out to be a game cartridge called The Battle.

Almost as soon as they load it, New York freezes, Ahmad and Winnie find themselves in the world of Paheli and the game begins. The first person in hologram form that they meet is the MasterMind, master coder and rebuilder of Paheli "all new and upgraded for the twenty-first century." She's working for the game master known simply as the Architect. The object of the game is to win the three challenges the MasterMind and the Architect set up and New York along with all its occupants will be unfrozen.

After they learn the object of the game, Ahmad and Winnie make their way to teashop of Madame Nasirah, the gamekeeper. Her job is to guide and help players with the game. She gives them each a knapsack with several items to help them: a map, a water bottle, a lantern, and snacks. Fortified, they are ready to face their three challenges and unfreeze New York.

Along the way,  Ahmad and Winnie meet some Paheli residents from Farah's game, besides Madame Nasirah and Lord Amari the Architect. Vijay Bhai, who was 12 when he was left behind in Paheli after his friend Zohra Bhuiyan was ejected from the game by the Architect (see page 214 in The Gauntlet). And Titus Salt, former controller of Paheli, moving the city with clockwork precision, now haunting alleyways since the MasterMind took over Paheli. 

The three challenges are as action packed as any video game, all the more so because the MasterMind keeps tweaking the code. Unfortunately, she's tweaked the life right out of Paheli, as T.T., a giant mouse explains "The code doesn't allow for life." For example, the souk used to be a place teeming with vendors, shopkeepers, shoppers, and good smells, now they have repetitive conversations while repeating the same actions over and over. The excitement and activity in the souk was one of the things I really liked about The Gauntlet, and I missed here.

In all fairness to the character of Ahmad, I found him to be super annoying in The Gauntlet and even in the beginning of The Battle, but he did grow and change by the end of the book for the better. Winnie, who is black, is a nice character, smart and kind. She reminded me a little of Farah, but she could have been fleshed out just a bit more.

On the whole, The Battle was a fun book to read, and although I have referred to The Gauntlet a number of times, I do think that this sequel would stand alone. Bottom line: I was very excited when I heard there would be a sequel to the first book, and while I wasn't totally disappointed by this book, it pains me to say that I didn't really love it as much as the first book - and I totally blame it on the MasterMind.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was received from Salaam Reads

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi

Moving from Queens to the Upper East Side of Manhattan has been a hard adjustment for Bangladeshi American Farah Mirza.  She is the only Muslim girl in her school, and she misses her best friends Alex and Essie. Now, it’s Farah’s 12th birthday and Alex and Essie are at her house, but things feel very strained. But when Aunt Zohar tells Farah that her present is in another room, her little brother Ahmad, 7, beats her to the gift. Ahmad has ADHD and is accustomed to getting whatever he wants and Farah has to let him win all games that they play together. When the gift turns out to be what looks like a sophisticated game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand, Ahmad is banished from the room and Farah, Alex, and Essie begin to play. 

The game commences when players utter the words “We are ready for the Gauntlet.” To Farah’s dismay, Ahmad has snuck back in her room and, when he says those words, he is transported into the game. Realizing she must get her brother back, Farah and her friends quickly say the same words that transport them to the city of Paheli a world of sand storms, of stunning palaces, a glowing minaret in the center, and a busy marketplace or souk, in which they will play the game. 

The idea of the game is that they must win all three challenges they are faced with and destroy Paheli; lose even one challenge and they must remain in Paheli until future gamers attempt the challenges. The first person they meet is Madame Nasirah, the gamekeeper, whose job it is to help and guide players. She gives them several items to help the along: a three dimensional map that never gives the same images twice, a magical hour glass that times each challenge, money tokens, a talisman that is a set of intertwining rings, and the knowledge that if they lose a challenge, they may never see home again. 

Farah’s main interest is, of course, to find Ahmad, who is too young to play the game, and who is only an image on the ever changing map that keeps proving to be a distraction controlled by the Architect, the game master.

As they play the game, Farah, Alex, and Essie run into all kind of imaginative obstacles. It seems the Architect isn’t above cheating, but they also meet some very helpful, very large lizards headed by Henrietta Peel and her League of Extraordinary Resistance, and an old friend of Aunt Zohar’s, as well as the fearsome enemy Sand Police. 

But can these three experienced board gamers win all the challenges set before them, find Ahmad and return home after destroying Paheli?

There is nothing quite a entertaining and fun than a rousing board game played by players who really enjoy the challenge. I find board games so much more exciting than video games. And in The Gauntlet, I personally found the descriptions of all the action so clear and easy to imagine, I almost felt like a player myself. Plus, I could practically hear the sounds of the busy souk, taste the chai that Madame Nasirah served Farah, Alex, and Essie, and the wonderful smells coming from Farah’s mother’s kitchen made my mouth water. 

Riazi incorporated lots of Farah’s Bangladeshi culture into The Gauntlet, and although Farah wears her hijab throughout the novel, but it is just a part of who she is. What I could have totally lived without is Ahmad. I really feel the story could have worked without him. Fortunately, he is not present for much of the novel. On the other hand, I did love finding out who the Architect is and was completely surprised by it.

And I laughed when I saw the name Paheli. In the novel, it is described as a riddle, a question that needs to be answered. I knew the word from my Kiddo's love of Bollywood movies. 

This is Riazi’s debut middle grade novel and she has really created a winning fantasy. Her world building is spot on, and her characters totally believable (yeah, I had a younger brother who always had to win, too), and the adventures and challenges she sends them on are real nail-baiters, but make for solid fantasy.  

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL