I adore Karuna Riazi's adventurous fantasy, and her spin on a Jumanji-type adventure addresses the single thing most Van Allsburg fans (myself included) wanted to see firsthand...what it would be like to be sucked into the book! Highly recommended.

The Gauntlet is for sure one of my most anticipated 2017 books.

I saw a bit of Jumanji and a bit of Wizard of Oz to be honest too. I loved loved this book and how it was written. It is 1000% adventures and action and games and all of these wonderful things everyone will love.

This book is filled with delicious descriptions of food that made my mouth watered and made my tummy growled.

And let's not forget our main character, Farah, and her two best friends, Alex and Essie. This book is all about friendship and family and bonding and teaming up with new friends. It's just a wonderful MG book that for sure kids will love and I'm sure teens/adults will be in wonder of such a magical world Karuna created

I really wanted to love this one, but just don’t. I’m sorry. 

The Gauntlet is a Middle-eastern Jumanjii without the problematic jungle nonsense. The challenges are interesting, the downtime between is short and well done keeping it realistic, the setting is fascinating, and the characters are charming. I did not see the twist with The Architect coming.

There’s really nothing wrong with The Gauntlet, it just didn’t hold my attention and keep me engaged. I wish I knew why. There is a slight nagging feeling like something bothering me, but I can’t figure out what it is?

Given everything, I’m going to say it’s me. I’ll absolutely check out the next book when it’s out!

In The Gauntlet, Farah Mirza is forced to play a larger-than-life board game in order to save her younger brother from being taken by the game’s Architect. It is such a fun book that really engages the senses, especially sight, smell, and taste. Loaded with loving and vivid references to Bengali, desi, and Middle Eastern cultures, it’s an adventure that you can’t miss. As someone who loves games and puzzles, it was a treat to read about Farah’s three game trials, especially the one involving Mancala, which I played with my sisters when we were young. There were colorful characters and interesting twists and a setting that literally shifts and changes to keep me engaged and delighted throughout.

This is a fantastic middle grade book, Jumanji meets Labyrinth. I loved the diversity, loved the characters, and love that this book exists for kids out there. The rep is fantastic, I can totally relate to the South Asian household. Wonderfully fleshed out characters and brilliantly plotted. Can't wait for more of Karuna's work in the future.

I enjoyed this one. It's a lot like Jumanji in a chapter book, with some cool twists. Farah loves to play games, despite the fact that she always has to include her younger brother, Ahmed. It's her 12th birthday party, and friends and family are gathering in her new apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. Things with her friends are a little strained, but she's hoping they get better. Her aunt gives her a gift of a mysterious game. When Ahmed impulsively goes into the game, Farah and her friends Alex and Essie must go in after him and beat the game in order to make it back out...alive.

I am a big fan of diversity in books, and so I was excited to read this offering from Salaam Reads. I think Riazi does an excellent job of setting the groundwork for a game in a world different from others. I had to do a little research to picture everything, but it was fun to do. I do think the actual world of the Gauntlet was hard to picture, I was imagining clockwork and minarets together but trying to get all the different levels was a little hard. I did find the games intriguing. Overall, I liked it a lot.

I think of this one like a darker version of Jumanji. We've got an elaborate fantasy world contained in a mystical game board, though clearly with dark intentions of trapping players forever.

Store blurb:

When Farrah and her friends find the game her aunt brought her for her birthday, they're thinking about escaping the bustle of the party, not saving her brother from the game's tyrannical creator. But when he runs past them into the game, that's what they have to do, through their wit and determination in this fast-paced adventure story. As soon as you start reading The Gauntlet, you can see the minarets, taste the Bangladeshi sweets, and hear the bustle of the market.

4.5 Stars

This was a really fun middle-grade novel full of thrills and adventures and puzzles and games! The comparison to Jumanji is pretty spot-on, though it's definitely got some other elements that make it unique. Farah, Alex, and Essie are great and I certainly wouldn't mind going on other adventures with them; they all had distinct personalities that made them fun to read and also made it clear why they're such good friends. I also appreciated that the challenges they went through in the Gauntlet weren't watered down or "easy" just because they're kids; some of the things that happened in their challenges were pretty scary to read about even for an adult like me. The secondary characters were intriguing as well; I'd love to know the backstory for many of them, especially Madame Nasirah <spoiler>also did she escape the Gauntlet?! The lizards of the Resistance and Vijay got through but they didn't mention her so now I'm worried that she's stuck in the crumbling Gauntlet all alone :'(</spoiler>. All in all this book was great and I'll definitely be on the look-out for more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Legends of the Hidden Temple was one of my favorite game shows as a child and Jumanji was one of my favorite picture books. Both of these came to mind when I saw the cover and heard the synopsis for The Gauntlet, a novel in which Farah and her friends must rescue Farah's little brother from the clutches of an insidious mechanical board game.

The visuals in this novel were amazing. There were terms I wasn't wholly familiar with, particularly with regards to Farah and her family's traditional clothing such as a salwar kameez, but a quick Google search helped me put these images into my mind and helped me visualize an even more beautiful story. I liked learning the different Bangladeshi terms for family as I read as well; Karuna Riazi made it easy to pick these up and learn how important these family members were to the main character, Farah.

The intricate details that described the buildings, the mosques and the minarets, the archways, were exquisite. Added to these mental images were the scents of the various foods and perfumes: the jasmine and bougainvillea on the third level of Paheli, the cinnamon, chili, clove, and roasted meat of the souk (an Arab marketplace, in this case within the Gauntlet). This attention to detail by the author made the world of the novel come even more to life and made my mouth water as well as my nose prickle with the mere thought of these scents.

Farah and her family were well introduced and fleshed out. They were introduced as a large and loving family, well versed in a great many board games. I envy that kind of closeness. At the beginning of the novel, Farah is at her birthday party, the first in her new home, and is celebrating with her two best friends from the old neighborhood and a crowd of unfamiliar faces. I was glad that these friends, while they didn't have much characterization to them at first, began to open up once the game, The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand, made its move and presented itself to them.

The care for Ahmad was obvious and it was felt from the very first moment he was introduced. Farah talks about him, his ADHD, and what this means for her and her parents. It was easy to see how easily Farah could have been made into the kind of character that would lash out and resent her baby brother for needing more, but I never felt that in this case. She was an incredibly caring sibling that did everything in her power to make sure he was alright, including going into the Gaunlet to save him.

The pacing for this book impressed me because I've been finding a lot of books where I thought that, due to their adventure book nature, would be fast paced but ended up dragging and being boring. I did not experience this feeling with The Gauntlet and found it easy to breeze through it. It didn't take long for the game to suck the participants in and, then, for the children to find the challenges and whatever allies or enemies lay in wait for them within the game.

I liked the little allusion to Labyrinth that Karuna Riazi included in this book, considering that The Gauntlet has at least a little in common (little brothers being whisked away to lands from which their sisters must rescue them) with this classic 80's film:

For a second, Farah thought his disappearing wouldn't be such a bad thing: calling down a goblin king to whisk him off into the deep, dark depths of a fairy labyrinth...

This is a middle grade book, but I never felt like it would only be enjoyed by that target audience. I think that the adventure, the detail, the characters, all were written well enough to be enjoyed by readers of all ages. There may be some people that won't enjoy it for whatever reason, but I don't think it will be their age that gets in the way. If you're looking for a good book to get lost in for awhile, whether it takes you a few hours or a few days to read, The Gauntlet is a stunning debut by Karuna Riazi that is a great addition to the literary world and hopefully means we will have more to look forward to from this author soon.

Unfortunately my ARC expired on my Adobe Flash Player, therefore I don't have the acess to the ARC to actually go and review it. Which is honestly a bummer because I was genuinely excited to read this. I deeply apologize for my mistake.

Farah Mirza must always invite her little brother to play games with her and worse than that, she must always let him win. Always. When she mistakenly receives a board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand from her reclusive aunt, she and her two best friends, Alex and Essie, attempt to play without Ahmad but he jumps into the game before they can even start. The problem is, this is no ordinary game. The Gauntlet magically sucks you in to another world. Farah and her friends must play the game and complete the challenges presented to them while also searching for Ahmad. The stakes are high in this magical game, for it they lose they'll all be stuck in the game forever.

If you enjoyed Jumanji, whether as a picture book or as a movie, you'll love this! It has a very similar concept, in that the characters are sucked into a game that is alive in a sense. If you like games in general, you'll love this because it's more than just one 'game', so to speak. The MC grew up playing games and a lot of the challenges in the Gauntlet mimic much-loved games like Mancala, marbles, and more.

I don't always read out of my comfort zone but when I do, I hope to learn new things about different people, places, and cultures and this was a wonderfully fun look into a world that I didn't know much about. Even though this is set in Manhattan, the game itself is representative of the Middle East and the main character's family is originally from Bangledesh. I may have originally been drawn to this book by the Jumanji comparison but I loved it for it's diverse characters and the beautiful family dynamics and friendships portrayed in it.

This was a ton of fun to read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys magical adventures with a challenge.

This book was so fun. If you liked Jumanji, this book is for you! An adventure like no other, you will feel like your there! Can't wait to see if they make another one. For sure want to check out the authors other books!

I am not Muslim so I will not speak about the representation. What I can say, is that I absolutely loved this book. The Gauntlet is a fun, fast-paced, somewhat adventurous read. The Gauntlet is a game similar to Jumanji, the only way out is to win all the challenges. When I was reading, I felt like I was in the game with Farrah and her friends. I really love when I can put myself in the books that I'm reading. Another thing that I loved was that Farrah's younger brother has ADHD. I knew he had ADHD before it was mentioned in the book, and ADHD was represented well. I loved the descriptions of the food, and I definitely want to try some of the ones that were mentioned in the book. There were very important themes in the book that I loved and really appreciated. Family, friendship, and teamwork were at the forefront. There was a lot of love in this book. I really loved the author's writing as well, it was bright with vivid descriptions. I definitely recommend this book, and I can't wait to read more of Karuna Riazi's books!

This book was so much fun to read. Jumanji meets Labyrinth with Middle Eastern flair. I absolutely loved it and I honestly wish they'd make it into a movie because I would watch the crap out of a proper film adaptation of this.

I am kind of bumming about this book because I loved the way it started - I was thinking it was so Jumanji(ish) and was really getting into it. But then it fell apart for me. The challenges didn't seem that challenging, I never really got a big sense of danger, the brother was found too easily and I just felt some descriptions weren't thorough enough. I had trouble visualizing everything and in the end had trouble caring. Then near the end the scene with the blood - ew and the actual ending just seemed like a comedy of errors and not realistic in any way.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This was such a delightful read! I loved the Middle Eastern folklore, and the games they played. I wanted to jump in and play too. It really felt like I was in the game with such beautiful descriptions. And the food! All the different foods that were mention made me hungry. I want to try everything, especially the sweets!! I really liked the three friends Farah, Essie, and Alex. They were a trio that no matter what, stuck together through thick an thin. Even when they got on each other's nerves, they some how managed to work things out and not let the worst come between them. I wish I had friends like that at that age. As soon as this book comes out I am buying a copy for my son because I know he would enjoy this type of book. I hope the author writes more stories like this!

The following will be posted on my blog, The Crown of Books, on April 1st, 2017 around noon time EST.
Rating: 3.5 Stars

When I first saw this book, I was not sure if I was going to like it or not, but my inner kid was telling me to do so because I was reminded of something I loved back then. I grew up watching the movie Jumanji over and over again to the point that I do not have an exact count of how many times I watched it. While it did remind me of Jumanji, The Gauntlet still had its own originality to it.

The game had a Middle Eastern flair to it as well as many differences. The characters were different, the setting were different, and the entire game was completely different. In this story, the game takes place in the world that is mostly sand and gears, not inside a jungle or the real world. It can be told that a lot of people have been jumped into this game and failed, therefore leaving them stuck in this game. When Farah and her two friends get sucked into it, they see all the other former players and they all want the same thing: Farah to win and to finally get out of the game. The game is a bit odd for the fact that it only targets children when their 12 years old. This fact will be shown to be a crucial fact to the story overall.

Inside the game, there was shops and many things that Farah and her friends explored. Overall, the shops and the restaurants have been established to help the new players advance in the game. After all, if you lost and got stuck, you would want to help the new players for you escape as well. Everyone was especially helpful towards the trio except for one person, The Architect. This person controls the game and makes up the challenges and rules to everything. He can be a force and will be a force.

There is a part I have to talk about. In the entire book, I kept questioning the use of ADHD through Farah's brother Ahmed. I've grown up in a house with ADD and ADHD through family members, and I just couldn't make the connection. Maybe our cases were different, but how I saw the character, I had to question it. Although I must admit, it did do the job for the story. I would have just hoped for the ADHD to be more real or backed up.

Overall, this is a fun adventure perfected for the targeted audience and probably for all ages. This could be the Jumanji of the younger generations.