Jessica Khoury

“Little Cambridge” or “Little Cam” is a secret laboratory hidden in the Amazon rainforest, where Mad Doctors seemingly fresh off a stint at Auschwitz are laboring to create immortal beings. So far they have made just one: almost-seventeen-year-old Pia. But a plan to make more is simmering on the back of their Bunsen Burners.

Pia is told by everyone she is “perfect,” which Pia takes to mean: without fault. What the doctors actually mean is: you can’t die, and we want that too. show more There is only one dissenting voice (at first) in the group: “Uncle” Antonio (Pia calls all of them either “Uncle” or “Aunt”) who always admonishes her: “Perfect is as perfect does, Pia.” Taught to be quite full of herself, it takes her a while to get the message.

On the night Pia turns seventeen, a storm creates a small hole in the electrified fence around the compound, and Pia sneaks out. In spite of her pride at being “almost” a full scientist like the others, Pia has a dearth of curiosity; she even calls the part of her that wants to see the outside “Wild Pia.” But if she had only known! For once she gets in the open, she literary runs smack into Eio, a buff almost-eighteen-year-old member of the local native tribe, the Ai’oa.

Pia and Eio fall in love in NANOseconds based entirely on each other’s looks, and in spite of the fact that Eio converses in a stilted patois we might call Pubescent Colonizer-and-Native Speak, or P-cans. Here’s a little taste of pecans (so to speak):

"Eio: ‘I lied when I said you were ugly. It is not true. You… are in fact very beautiful. More beautiful than any girl I know. Because I lied to you, I must give you a gift. It is the Ai’oan way. I took the truth away from you; now I must give something back.”

Pia, meanwhile, is busy channeling Naomi Watts. Take Pia’s reaction when Eio takes her to see “The Three”: [cue up King Kong music]

"The first is a man elaborately garbed in a heavy collar of parrot feathers, animal teeth, and beads. He holds a spear taller than himself with feathers tied around it. Next to him is a plump woman with intricate facial tattoos and piercings in her lips and nose. Her arms are also tattooed. She is so elegant and confident that I hardly even notice she is naked from the waist up. Beside her is a man so old he is bent double, and the skin on his face hangs in folds. … I know instinctively that these must be the leaders of the Ai’oa.”

Forrest Gump has nothing on Perfect Pia for brains!!!

Perfect Pia also has some abominably inaccurate ideas about science that are expressed without challenge. As she struggles to reconcile the desires of Wild Pia with the obedience of Perfect Pia, she thinks:

"Before the hole in the fence and the boy on the other side …. I saw like a scientist. Everything was black and white. Reason and chaos. Progress and regress. … Where am I now?”

Wow, in school I hope! Ouch!

No matter: the appeal of science even as it is in Pia’s mind can’t compete with “this jungle boy.” Also, the fact is that the “scientists” are getting more overtly crazy, probably because in The Wild Jungle it is easier for people to experience folie à plusieurs.

Pia and Eio have to decide: do they brave the jungle, what with wild natives and anacondas and such, or do they brave Little Cam, with TOTALLY INSANE NAZIFIED “scientists”?

Discussion: It was a bit wince-worthy to read the patronizing ethnocentricity of this book, and even more so to think that it was possibly done in the interest of making a variation on the nice-girl-loves-bad-boy trope. (wild dark jungle native = bad boy!) The ideas in this book about the superiority of Western civilization and the immorality or amorality of science were also disturbing. Although the author makes a bit of an effort to subvert some of the more obvious Eurocentric assumptions about Westerners versus aboriginals, most of it remains unexposed, and possibly not even at a level of awareness to be subverted. (It should be noted that Eio is only half-native; he is taller and lighter than the other Ai’oans, and has blue eyes. Ipso facto, this makes him more attractive than he would otherwise be.)

There is also no reference whatsoever to what would be the quite relevant history of the centuries-long tradition of extermination of “savages” by Westerners in fulfillment of their economic and/or racist agendas (sometimes abbreviated by the phrase "Manifest Destiny"). (While it is made clear that Pia was not allowed to study history, presumably the others in Little Cam and the author suffered no such constraints.)

Evaluation: The writer is not without talent; her descriptions of the Amazon rainforest are very well done, and she did a good job with pacing the action and “thriller” aspects of the story. However, the voices of the protagonists seemed a little too young, and some of the plot assumptions were disturbing to me (see Discussion section, above.) She also could have benefited from better editing (especially for plot inconsistences). show less

I love Disney movies, but I never really watched Aladdin when I was growing up. A travesty I know. It’s only been in the last year or so that I’ve come to love Aladdin and appreciate it’s amazingness. I had high expectations going into this adaption and I was not disappointed. Aladdin and Zahra are as compelling and entertaining as you’d expect and bring new life and history to a cherished duo.

Pros:
-Jinn Mythology. I LOVED everything about the Jinn and their magic. It was so unique show more and well crafted. The fact that each wish comes with a price is so compelling. It gives some power back to the enslaved Jinni crafting the wishes and acts as a punishment of sorts for those who make the wishes. It seems like it’s acting as a balance so no wish grants may too much power - the magic may be used and shaped, but not controlled or bound.
-Writing. The writing was so descriptive and colorful. The words weaved a beautiful story that pulled you in and enchanted you. Like Zahara’s smoke magic, the words crafted a reality you longed for.
-Zahara. This may be an Aladdin retelling, but Zahara is the star. A once powerful and arrogant queen, Zahara sacrificed herself to secure her kingdom’s safety and was made into a Jinn. Zahara has kept humanity in her heart and continually defies the Jinn’s highest law: Do not fall in love with a human. Zahara’s love for both Aladdin and Roshana allow her to become more that a pawn to be used by Nardukha; she become her own master and it’s very inspiring to see.

Cons:
-Flashbacks. I wish there was more flashbacks to establish Zahara and Roshana’s relationship. I did believe that they loved each other, but I wished we saw more of their interactions. We saw a handful of their moments together and then how their relationship was torn apart. We get just enough to buy their relationship, but I would have liked to see more to their development. It would have made Zahara’s actions more impactful and her history more tragic.
-Time Confusion. This is two-fold. Sometimes in the story it seemed like only a few hours had passed, but then a character mentioned days had passed - or vice versa. I don’t know if I was just not paying enough attention or if it was actually unclear. The other issue I had was in the action of the final battle. When Zahar is battling Nardukha and pulls on the threads of time, I couldn’t tell if she actually went back in time, or if she just sent the ring back in time to be found and set the events of the story into motion. There was so much action happening at one time it was a little overwhelming, but I did appreciate the cyclical structure her actions created.

The Forbidden Wish is a story full of magic, action, and romance. We see characters fight for what they believe in, defy what is expected of them, and strive for happiness when they are surrounded by darkness. The action and magic blend near seamlessly and the romance enhances and empowers the characters and story. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves fairy tales, fairy tale retellings and stories full of action, magic and hope. show less

Sometimes you find a gem with the monthly free titles from Audible. The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury is one of these gems. I went in expecting a musical Harry Potter and got so much more. The story is absolutely charming, told with a lot of heart and has a strong message about believing in yourself. Here's the official blurb:

Amelia Jones has always dreamed of attending the Mystwick School of Musicraft, where the world’s most promising musicians learn to create musical

show more

magic. Unfortunately, Amelia botches her audition and her dream comes crashing down—until the school agrees to give her a second chance. Amelia vows to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true.

Initially it was hard not make Harry Potter comparisons. Thankfully Mystwick is vastly different from Hogwarts so my brain was able to stop comparing them fairly early on and I was able to absorb myself into this magical, musical world. Amelia is highly likeable and relatable. Her aspiration to attend Mystwick as a way to connect with her late mother definitely tugs at the heartstrings. She also has some growing to do, as both a musician and a person, and I think people of all ages will be able to identify with Amelia's feelings of inadequacy and self doubt as she learns to believe in herself. There is a fun cast of supporting characters, especially Jai Kapoor, with plenty of entertaining magical hi-jinks and mischief for the kids to get into.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Suzy Jackson and with musical performances by the NJSO Youth Orchestra. The music blends seamlessly in with the story making for a unique and magical listening experience. There were times I rewound the audio just so I could listen to the musical portion a second time. I highly recommend it!

Here's hoping that there will eventually be a sequel. show less

Although this novel started slowly, "The Ruby Code" ended up being a very entertaining read. Thirteen-year-old Ash is unhappy both at school and at home. His escape is virtual reality games. One night he saves a stranger who gives him a copy of a fantasy game called The Glass Realm.. While exploring this virtual world Ash meets Ruby, a powerful AI with feelings.

Ash and Ruby share the narrative and when they embark on a quest to discover who Ruby really is, and her link to the man who gave show more Ash the game, the action ramps up. It was exciting, and fast-paced, and I enjoyed the world of virtual gaming - something I know nothing about. It also made me think about how technology will be used in the future. Hopefully, AI will never have the power that is depicted in this novel.

Ruby and Ash were fabulous characters, especially Ruby, and while I don't think there will be another book starring the two of them, Variel, the milkmaid, could be the next AI to have an adventure in both the real and virtual world. I hope so because "The Ruby Code" was a refreshing read. show less