Daughters of the Lamp

by Nedda Lewers

Overview

A USA Today Bestseller · A stunning middle grade fantasy inspired by Arabian legends about a girl who becomes the guardian of Ali Baba’s treasure.

Believe in fairy tales.

Sahara Rashad lives by logic. Loves science. And always has a plan. Except her dad just whisked her away to her uncle’s wedding in Egypt, upending every single plan she had for the summer.

In Cairo, Sahara’s days are filled with family—and mystery. First, Sahara’s cousins claim the pretentious bride-to-be is actually a witch. Then her late mother’s necklace starts glowing—and disappears.

Sahara’s attempts to recover the necklace lead her to the greatest mystery yet. Deep in an underground chamber lies Ali Baba’s magical treasure. Hidden from a line of sorcerers who threatened to use its powers for evil, the treasure was given to Sahara’s ancestor Morgana for safekeeping and passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Now only Sahara stands in the sorcerers’ way.

Can the girl who’s never believed in magic trust the unknown and claim her legacy as the treasure’s keeper?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593619308
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/20/2024
Series:	Daughters of the Lamp , #1
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Nedda Lewers is an author and former teacher. She writes books that take children on fun adventures and feature characters who are trying to make sense of the big, complicated world and their place in it. Even though it wasn’t easy growing up with one foot in America and the other in Egypt, Nedda cherishes how that experience has given her a rich and expansive perspective from which she draws to write her stories.

Read an Excerpt

Home grew farther away with every hoofbeat. Morgana rode west, taking advantage of every hour of daylight to forge as much distance between her and Baghdad as possible. It had been three days since she’d fled with the enchanted treasures. She’d promised her mawlay she would take them far away. Though that had meant disappearing in the middle of the night and leaving the only home she’d ever known, she wouldn’t let him down.

Had Ali Baba foreseen this day? After all, he’d been the one to teach her to ride—a skill most female servants lacked. “There may come a time when you need to run faster than your feet can take you,” he’d told her.

And when he’d returned from India with the enchanted apple, the flying carpet, and a mysterious ivory spyglass, he insisted on keeping them at home where he could guard them day and night instead of in the chamber. “The magic in these treasures must be closely protected from the evil shadows lurking in the darkness, waiting to strike. If given a chance to possess the enchanted objects, they will exploit them for their own greed, with no regard for the costs.”

The prince and princess had feared the same for the lamp. And they’d been right. An evil shadow had struck, and there had been costs, irrevocable ones. Nevertheless, Ali Baba’s foresight to hide the three magical treasures under the stone floor of his bedroom in a woven sack had given Morgana the chance to grab it, stick the lamp inside, and flee with all four treasures before any other shadows came out of the darkness.

She threw a glance at the sack, now tightly tied to the horse’s saddle. Pressing the hamsa to her chest, she prayed Deena could forgive her for leaving without saying goodbye and that she’d found her letter. Otherwise, it was only a matter of time before the emir sent his officers to hunt her down. That’s if he hadn’t already.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2023-11-04
Egyptian American Sahara comes to value her dual cultural heritage when her first trip to her parents’ homeland reveals a magical family history.

Going to Cairo to attend her maternal uncle’s wedding was never on 12-year-old Sahara Rashad’s summer agenda. Since the death of her mother when Sahara was a newborn, she’s had no contact with that side of the family and is unsure how she will be received. Despite her worries, she becomes fast friends with her cousin Naima and feels genuine love from all her relatives, except for her uncle’s fiancee, Magda. Sahara and Naima suspect Magda has sinister intentions that the adults don’t take seriously. Meanwhile, the story of 13-year-old Morgana, a servant of Ali Baba in 10th-century Baghdad, unfolds in an alternate storyline. As the novel progresses, the connection between the two girls takes shape, revealing a centuries-old family secret in danger from malicious outside forces. Sahara’s contemplation of her identity and her search for self-acceptance provide an entertaining and relatable backdrop to her encounters with magical elements. Details of Islamic practices and life in Egypt are peppered throughout the novel, flowing naturally as Sahara asks questions about things she doesn’t understand. Lewers cleverly builds on the folktale of Ali Baba and Morgana to construct a magical origin story with a rich sense of place and an original twist that can be expanded upon in future volumes.

An engaging fantasy inspired by a classic tale that’s guaranteed to leave readers eager for more. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Daughters of the Lamp

An Indies Introduce pick
A Junior Library Guild selection
A Best Book of the Month for Amazon and Kobo

★ "An engaging fantasy inspired by a classic tale that’s guaranteed to leave readers eager for more." —Kirkus, starred review

"This terrific two-pronged adventure [brings] together modern life and classic tales of Ali Baba, with some gratifying twists. . . . A memorable adventure that’s as exciting as it is insightful." —Booklist

"A fulfilling, atmospheric story in which Lewers draws on Arabian myth and Egyptian culture to weave a fast-paced magical tale of family, destiny, and belonging." —Publishers Weekly

“Gorgeously vivid and endlessly exciting, Daughters of the Lamp brims with magic, emotion, and the importance of family.” —Aisling Fowler, author of the Fireborn series
 
“Witty, wondrous, and a mesmerizing glimpse into the magic that’s always hidden in the mundane.” —M.T. Khan, author of Nura and the Immortal Palace
 
“Daughters of the Lamp triumphs as an action-packed journey across oceans and centuries. I couldn’t put down Lewers’s electrifying debut!” —George Jreije, author of the Shad Hadid series

"This magical fantasy adventure infused with Egyptian fairytales is so much fun. . . . Fantasy readers will love this joyful romp." —Book Riot

From the Publisher