Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate

Zargarpur, Deeba. Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate
July 2, 2024 by Labyrinth Road

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Because her parents weren't married when they had her, and this is considered less than optimal in Muslim culture, Farrah only sees her father once a year. He's a judge in the UAE, and her mother lives with her parents in Philadelphia. Farrah usually is fine with this, but when her father is visiting on her birthday, they have some squabbles when they are rock climbing at Wissahickon Valley Park. Farrah impulsively wishes that her fate would be rewritten and she would be a part of her father's world. A ring he has given her glows oddly, and before she knows it, her father is changing into a jinn with blue skin and disappears. Of course, no one believes her, and her mother and grandparents don't want to talk about it. There is some mention of leaving Philadelphia and living with an aunt in New York so that Farrah's father can't find her. Since some odd things have been happening to her, Farrah decides to run away to try to find her father. Instead, she is chased by creepy shadow jinn and helped by the mysterious Idris. He lets her know that she is part jinn, and offers to take her to the Qaf mountains to talk to the jinn kings who  might be able to help get her father back, since he is one of them. The two magically fly there, but their meeting with the kings doesn't go smoothly. One hundred years ago, there was a rule made that any part human jinn would be banished, and since Farrah's father is the judge, the kings don't want to accept Farrah at all. She eventually meets with Yaseen, whose father is another of the kinds, and he tells them that in order to revoke her wish, she'll need to travel to the Realm Beneath the Unseen and meet with Azar, an ancient jinn who made the ring. It's not as easy place to get to, but Yaseen is willing to help... because he's Farrah's half brother. He attends a school of magic for royal children, and uses his knowledge to try to make an amulet of protection so that they can travel to the realm beneath. Nothing goes right, and the trio ends up traveling back to Philadelphia to try to get help from Farrah's mother. Instead, they run into Farrah's best friend Arzu, who joins their quest. This takes them into the countryside near Lancaster, has them travel on a train, and sends them back into the magical world. There are secrets from Idris' past that come to light, and Farrah and Yaseen both struggle with their identities as well. Will they be able to free Farrah's father from the ring before figuring out how to deal with their jinn identities? 

Strengths: There are very few books that have characters that are Afghan American, and this is the first fantasy I have read that seems to involve Persian jinn. Farrah's parentage is interesting, and her desire to be closer to her father will resonate with many readers. Idris and Yaseen are interesting characters who bring an extra element of tension to the travels, and all of the complicated relationships and secrets will keep readers turning the pages. There's plenty of fun magical traveling, and an evil nemesis in Azar. This is the first book in a series. 
Weaknesses: Having the trio travel back to Philadelphia didn't seem to have much purpose other than to add Arzu to the group, and just made the quest more complicated. Perhaps Arzu could have run away with Farrah from the beginning. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough magical adventures, like Steadman's Skandar and the Unicorn, or culturally connected fantasy quests like Brown's Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting or Villanueva Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors.