The Kingdom Over The Sea

By Zohra Nabi

Star rating *****

Difficulty rating ****

Scariness rating **

What it’s about

This book is about 12 year old Yara who follows a mysterious letter from her mother to a magical country called Zehaira. Zehaira used to be a place of sorcery and magic but now the Sultan has taken over the land and magic had been outlawed so danger lies in the roots of city. Yara must find the sorceress Leyla Khatoun and save the city of Zehaira. But will the Sultan stop her? …

Why I loved it

I loved this book because it was about standing up for what is right. Yara is a brave, kind girl who is determined to get what she needs. The story was full of mystery and it got to the exciting bit in the early pages. I can’t wait too long for the exciting bit because it’s really boring (that’s why I gave up on The Secret Garden because it was on-like-page 202 and they hadn’t even got to the house yet!).

Apart from Yara who is strong and courageous, another interesting character was Mehnoor because she was kind hearted and notices danger.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure, fantasy or mystery.

A few words from Mum

We had this book recommended to us by a friend and colleague because the author is local and went to school in Surbiton. It has been Grace’s first summer holiday read. I haven’t had a chance to read it myself yet but it was exactly the right level of difficulty for Grace: it lasted her a good few days and she was absorbed throughout. So it is perfect for ages 8-11 I would say.

We have also reviewed this book for The Week Junior book awards because Grace is hoping to win tickets to their book festival so she can meet some of her favourite authors.

We can’t wait to see what the Zohra Nabi writes next.