Review: Rebels of the Lamp, Book 1: Rebels of the Lamp by Peter Speakman, Michael Galvin

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Ages 10 and up
Life is a blast when you have your very own genie. But when Parker Quarry is shipped from sunny Los Angeles to live with relatives in a quiet New Hampshire college town and releases a 2,000 year-old jinn from an ancient canister "borrowed" from the university building where his uncle works, the biggest blasts comes from the millennia old power struggle he reignites.
Now it is up to Parker, his mild-mannered cousin, Theo, and their wiz-kid classmate, Reese, to stop a battalion of battle-ready jinn from re-starting an all-out war one with humanity in the crosshairs

MY TAKE:
It's been a while since I've read a genie-centric book, so I'm glad I gave this one a try.

In Rebels of the Lamp, Book 1: Rebels of the Lamp, Parker Quarry is sent to live with his relatives in New Hampshire after he causes trouble in Los Angeles. There, Parker unwittingly releases a jinn from its lamp. Fon-Rahm is a good jinn, but he's not the only jinn in existence. A sinister group is determined to release the remaining jinns, all of them evil, from their lamps. It's up to Parker, his cousin Theo, his friend Reese, Fon-Rahm and a reluctant ally to stop the coming of the evil jinns.

If I had to sum up this book in a nutshell, I'd say it's Harry-Potter-meets-Aladdin-meets-The-Kane-Chronicles, but it's a more unique work than what you're probably imagining.

I love the origin story of the jinns. It's certainly something I've never read before, but it's still plausible in a dark, unexpected way. I also liked that the immediate threat is most likely not the greatest villain in the story. It's something you see occasionally in books, but the approach here didn't feel too predictable.

I quite liked Fon-Rahm and the addition of their ally, who is a bit of a wild card. I also really liked Reese. She's a cool girl, and definitely someone I wouldn't mind having as a friend. Theo was just sort of okay for me here, but I think I'll like him even more in the next books. The only one I wasn't too fond of was Parker himself. I didn't hate him or anything, but he was reckless, self-centered and not a good friend. It was a good thing that he became semi-likable near the end of the story, so I enjoyed the outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. It's an interesting take on jinns.
2. There are more than a few exciting scenes.
3. The characters are relatively complex. 

THE BAD:

1. Parker can be annoying sometimes. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like genies.
2. You like new takes on old myths and fairy tales.
3. You like novels with strong characters.

RATING:


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