HopeRoad Publishing – Bookmonitor – news from around the world

Chronicles of Will Ryde...cover image and web link — Buy this book, with free delivery…

Book 1 in The Chronicles of Will Ryde and Awa Maryam Al-Jameel, A Tudor Turk, written by Rehan Khan, is set in Istanbul in 1591 and is a daring mission by Will and Awa.

Along with a band of warriors, they follow their quest to retrieve the staff of Moses which has been stolen from the mighty Sultan Murad the Third. The very same staff that was used by Moses to part the Red Sea.

An elite band of warriors is assembled, including Awa, the daughter of a noble family from West Africa and Will who was kidnapped from a London slum at the age of five. For Will being released as a slave meant that he was willing to travel anywhere.

The journey means that Awa and Will travel from Istanbul to Venice and then to London and the court of Elizabeth the First herself.

This is a stunning tale in Tudor times and being set in Istanbul is really exciting with a very different perspective than many books set around this time.

Buy this great book here…

Author Rehan Khan is an avid historian, based in Dubai, he is intrigued by just how ideas travel through place and time and how legends and chronicles can unite cultures rather than shattering them.

Publishers are HopeRoad Publishing, who promote inclusive literature with a focus on Africa, Asia and the Caribbean and have a really interesting portfolio of books for young adults. A Tudor Turk is published on 21st February 2019.

A story that will keep you gripped into the book and take you on a journey across continents in the Tudor times, much to learn and much to enjoy. We have really enjoyed this book and recommend A Tudor Turk for young people from ages 11- 15 years.

Sue Martin

Bookmonitor is our news source for reviews and project information.

Books go Walkabout is our international books and literacy project - connecting authors and illustrators with children and young people around the globe.

We use Stripe to handle your e-purchase. Buy with confidence from BgW. Customer FAQ's here.

Jamal lives away from a village in West Africa, he is different, people are afraid that his twitching and strange behaviour may be linked to black magic. His Mum has died and his grandfather disappeared with the remains of the palm wine.

The villagers believe Jamal is marked by spirits, which meant that when the village is attacked by terrorists he is left alone and saved. But he is totally alone. Along with his kit bag and copy of The Koran, which was given to him by the Imam who is friendly to him, Jamal sets off away from the village.

Although Jamal finds his grandfather, he sends him away and throws stones at him as he scrambles down the mountain. He is taken in by humanitarian workers who do their best to help and provide him with pills for his epilepsy, but their solution is to send him to an orphanage.

Jamal’s journey goes on, with each place being hard to live in, children knowing Jamal is not quite the same as them. Slowly it appears that Jamal is also autistic. Children and adults in the places where Jamal finds himself, usually end up trying to trick or abuse Jamal, who always has a sense of this but unable to defend himself properly, that is until the end of the story.

This is a great book, quite challenging at times, and brings you directly to life in West Africa and the challenging time for anyone with autism or epilepsy. The concept of bad spirits is pretty frightening and an awareness grows that a sudden epileptic attack could leave Jamal in a very bad place.

But it doesn’t and the surprise at the end of the book is terrific!

The Ghosts and Jamal is written by Bridget Blankley, who spent most of her early life in Nigeria and has an autism spectrum disorder. It is published by HopeRoad Publishing, who work with a focus on West Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, supporting neglected voices.

Sue Martin