This is the Robin Hood remix you didn't know you needed. It has adventure, politics, romance, secrets, bows & arrows, and a merry band of misfits. Rahma and her sister Zeena went into war over the Holy Land during the Third Crusade but after being ordered to flee, they find themselves on a mission to stop a political plot by the false Queen Isabella.

This book was very well researched, has great pacing and characters that are complex and clever. I can't recommend this one enough!

The third entry of the Remixed Classics series, this young adult novel reimagines Robin Hood as a Muslim teen girl amid the Third Crusade. Rahma followed her older sister Zeena into the war, though really all she wants to do is make sure her sister stays safe. As the sisters travel towards Jerusalem, Rahma continually produces schemes to get them out of trouble. She initially steals a horse that she sees is being abused, only to find out it is the invading Queen Isabella’s horse. This and further thefts lead to her gaining a reputation as the Green Hood. Through their travels, Rahma sees how much the people themselves are affected by the war, and she repeatedly redistributes the spoils of her thefts to the common people who help her. The two sisters meet a variety of like-minded individuals who join them as the group’s schemes escalate. They eventually steal wealth the queen is bringing to negotiate with King Richard. They find a peace treaty with the treasure, learning that Isabella is planning to manipulate Richard into peace on her terms. This leads to a final plan, with the goal being to end the war in a way that is beneficial to the citizens of the land.

The story is told primarily in the first person, from Rahma’s point of view. Occasional chapters are written in the third person and from the perspective of the invaders, such as Queen Isabella and King Richard. Large bold text indicates the location is shifting, which helps to ease the possible confusion when the point of view changes. The band of protagonists is diverse. While the main character is Muslim, supporting characters include Jewish and Christian representation. There is also an LGBT romance among the members of the group. The pace is quick, with Rahma’s group eventually reaching six members. They bond while the action itself occurs, allowing the story to move forward quickly. Back matter includes a brief timeline of the Third Crusade and an author’s note that encourages the reader to further research the time period on their own, rather than providing extensive notes of Safi’s own research. This novel is sure to appeal to teens interested in historical fiction, especially those looking for representation outside of what tends to exist in this genre.

Imagine, if you will - if you can - that Robin Hood was a teenage girl during the Third Crusade, around 1170 AD,escaping the wars with her sister, and gathering a band of misfits along her way. If you can imagine that, then you e got a good start on understanding Rahma al-Hud - accidental hero, accidental savior, accidental thief, accidentally (at first) key to bringing war, and then peace, to the gathered armies of several countries.

An understanding of the events of that time will deepen your appreciation of this novel, but even those not familiar with the history of the time will enjoy this story. This novel is primarily told by Rahma, but it changes narrators occasionally to present events that occur outside her direct novel, and there’s a far smattering of Middle Eastern languages - mostly Arabic, although not always - which can make it a bit hard to follow; for that reason, it is recommended for high school an older, although it would be appropriate for middle school students who are sufficiently interested.

I loved this book. The characters were so real and complicated and great. The world was so beautiful. I love the way Safi writes.

I really enjoyed this retelling of the Robin Hood tale, except in this case, the tale takes place in and around Jerusalem, with King Richard in the middle of his crusades in the holy land. Robin Hood and his band of misfits are mostly made of women, including "Robin Hood" herself, Rahma al Hud. The writing style was not typical of historical fiction in that it felt a lot more contemporary to me but just happened to take place in an ancient time and in an ancient place. But the legend of Robin Hood has been retold so many times that it kind of worked for me, once I got used to it. I loved each of the members of the band, with my two favorites being Viva, for her fascination with alchemy, and Teni, for her love of all creatures. I enjoyed the irony of the Robin Hood story being placed in the crusades, and how Rahma was able to win her peace with King Richard and Saladin. This was a lot of fun, and it makes me want to read other books in this series, although each is written by a different author. I've already read the Little Women Remix and enjoyed that quite a bit, so I will definitely be looking for the others in the future, as they are published.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS REMIX! Of the three I have read so fair in this series, this one is DEFINITELY my favorite! I loved that there were these varying points of view but a main story teller & viewpoint. That there was the anchor of Rahma! She was absolutely hilarious and I loved her banter with her "merry band of misfits", especially her sister! I just ate this book up and had the best time while doing so! I'd love for Aminah to do another one, especially if it is from Rahma's sister's perspective!

4 stars

A gender-swapped remix of Robin Hood told from the perspective of Muslim archer Rahma al-Hud, Travelers Along the Way manages to pay homage to the original story while standing on its own as a rollicking and adventurous tale.

Safi does an absolutely fantastic job of crafting characters out of the Robin Hood archetypes to create her own merry band. Rahma and her sister Zeena play off of each other so well and their arguments provide some levity and humor to the story. Teni, Viva, and John are utter delights and all five characters work so well together as a group that you want to root for. The layers of history along with the particular lens through which Safi tells this story is captivating and provide an incredibly rich backdrop for the hijinks of Rahma and her friends.

I would have actually loved for that aspect to be featured a little more as we spend a lot of time in the beginning of the novel just meeting all of the characters before getting to the meat of the action. Rahma, like Robin Hood, becomes this beacon of hope for her people in the story, but the timeline of that portion of the book felt a little too compressed for that to be as fully realized as it could have been. I wanted just a little more balance between getting the gang together and the actual adventure to really make this story a total home run.

Even with that tiny critique, Travelers Along the Way is a fantastic remix of one of history's greatest legends. Should Safi decide to make this a series and write more adventures for Rahma, I would absolutely continue to pick them up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

My knowledge behind the historical backdrop of this was very basic. This may be the reason the plot wasn’t apparent to me but I did catch up! I thought the book was well-researched, it was interesting, fun and easy to read. I am not overly familiar with Robin Hood’s story either, though I can say I like the way it was brought in this setting and time period (Third Crusades), all of which I am also not familiar with and not something I come across often or at all. The prologue had a different vibe than the rest of the book. I thought it would stick with that, but it didn’t.

The characters were so endearing! Everyone shone. They were unexpectedly funny, unbelievably ridiculous, more so as a group. The people Zeena and Rahma were the type to just go with the flow for hmm seemingly no reason. Their camaraderie was sudden to me. It wasn’t very believable as a result. Although, these characters *are* wanderers. As they say, lost along the way and trying to find their way home as well, wherever it may be. But I wonder if that is cause enough for them to not make plans of their own. They didn’t really plan well the heists and shenanigans they do, they mostly relied on luck and lucky they were. These aspects were a big, big part of the book, so the unbelievability of it wasn’t exactly something I could just ignore (no matter how much fun I’m having).

The book was well-written and fast-paced, there was not a dull moment. It’s the strong point and at the same time the bad one. A lot went on super quickly, it seemed too easy, considering what was at stake and who the characters were and all. Could people be played that easily?

Anyway, the execution could be cleaner but it was fun, I had fun. For me, the band of misfits brought this on their backs!

We all know the legend of Robin Hood and his Merry men.

Meet Rhama Al Hud and her sister Zenna. Set in 1100's Jerusalem during a politically fueled war, Rhama follows her sister into the thick of the battle. Along the way the sisters meet the diverse folks that become their found family and help them steal from the rich to give to the poor.

Aminah Mae Safi takes this old legend and breaths new life into it, while weaving it together with history from the 3rd crusades in Travelers Along the Way. My favorite part was seeing not only a young woman being portrayed as Robin Hood, but a young, powerful biopic woman.

Wow. I am completely blown away. I came for the Robin Hood retelling and stayed for the incredible world-building. I loved every second of this, and the adventure/action and the characters and side romance all came together to create one perfect book.

I DNF’d this one at about 30%…what I read was okay but I didn’t feel motivated to finish it! I think that if you have prior knowledge about this time period and the political tension involved then you will really enjoy this book, but I don’t know much at all about this topic so I can’t fully appreciate it! I did really like our characters and that this is a unique time period, but it’s just not for me… *star rating is not accurate because I don’t want to drag the average down since I didn’t finish it, I’m just going for a neutral star:)

DNF at 30%

I really like this concept, but I just could not get on with the writing. Remixing Robin Hood to follow (mostly) Muslim women during the crusades is a great idea, and the book is clearly well researched. However, this is the author's first time writing something other than contemporary fiction and it shows. (For the record I adored Tell Me How You Really Feel!) Stylistically this veers wildly between trying for a faux historical vibe and a far too modern one. There's even a moment where the MC tells the reader: oh yeah, I forgot to describe this thing to you and I've been using the Arabic word so let me correct that. I'm not even kidding, it's actually directed at the reader this way. It's unfortunately kind of cringey. And while the ideas are good, I found the way the story was being told to be kind of dull to read and it made odd choices about how to introduce characters and progress the plot. I'm not sure Safi was the best choice for this book. She can write a great contemporary, but that is a very different skill set than writing compelling historical fiction. I've really enjoyed the other installments in this remixed classics series, but sadly this was a miss for me. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The premise of this book is amazing and I hope to see more like this, however the execution, specifically writing style did not engage me. I ended up DNF.
Thanks for the digital review copy.

Rahma al-Hud has followed her sister Zeena from their homeland to the heart of the Crusades. Ordered to flee before the city they are defending falls to the Faranji invaders and is sacked, Rahma is almost relieved to go home…except Zeena refuses. There are still battles to fight. Even though Richard the Lionheart has received reinforcements and the False Queen Isabella attempts to retake Jerusalem, Zeena cannot face the dishonor of being the sole survivor of their company of warriors. So Rahma agrees to go on one last mission…and along the way they meet a motley collection of travelers, and come up with a scheme to find peace once and for all, using every bit of cunning and wit they can muster.

There seems to be no such thing as home in a war. Sometimes I wonder if even my memory of home is an illusion. An idea that can be taken away at a moment’s notice.

Okay, so despite the incredibly heavy subject matter (this book does not shy away from what happens to the West Asian people who fought and lived in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas during the Third Crusade), this was a surprisingly fun retelling of Robin Hood.

And, it has everything.

Literally. Everything.

As such, I felt that it is only necessary to write this review in the form of gifs by way of Stephon.


So, today’s hot new young adult release is Travelers Along the Way by Aminah Mae Safi, an #ownvoices Robin Hood retelling set during the bloody Third Crusades. Don’t be alarmed by the heads on pikes staring down from the walls, this book has everything.


It has a gender-bent Muslim Robin Hood, complete with a diverse (mostly) female crew of misfits and thieves!


There is grand horse theft! Accidental thievery! Purposeful thievery! Do goodery thievery! Capers! Shenanigans!

But don’t worry, no shoes were stolen in the writing of this book.


There’s Greek fire and alchemy!

In addition to the cast of Merry Misfits (do not call them bandits), which include Rahma the default leader and creator of schemes, a combative grump with a sword and a mouth, a wandering sunshine with a bow and a yearning for adventure, a literate Templar with a past, a naked scientist who gains clothes and creates fire, a diplomat who is 100% Not An Assassin, and two horses, there are:


Drunk Templars proud of their illiteracy and hell-bent on fucking over people from a land they know nothing about because they are Dicks and Proud of it!


Irate Whyte Women hell-bent on getting what They Deserve because…the Patriarchy Sucks. Nevermind all the people of color and underlings they trample along the way. They have a kingdom to recover!


And this guy! (Okay, I know this is Prince John, but in this story this guy is King Richard).


And there is a hilarious version of Get Help!

In all seriousness, however, this was a really fantastic book. Not only did it have an incredible voice in Rahma’s narration, but it took a serious look at the impacts of the crusades from the point of view of the people affected, showing the toll of neverending warfare and invasion from foreigners who viewed them as less-than-human and “allies” who really weren’t. It looked at what peace meant, not between the big powers, but for the people who had survived through the fighting and were going to live through the consequences of treaties between Important People.

I was a bit jarred by the strange prologue, which was…overly written to be as enigmatic as possible (and was not necessary at all), and the jumps of POV to Richard and Isabella and al-Nasir were helpful in placing context and pushing the plot forward, but provided an interesting tonal shift to Rahma’s voice.

Anywho, despite this minor note, this is definitely one to pick up.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

Travelers Along the Way releases March 1, 2022, from Fiewel and Friends

History always has at least two sides, the one by the perceived “victors” and the one of the “losers.” But there’s also the truth of those in between. Aminah Mae Safi does a wonderful job of reinventing the well respected, almost beloved legend of Robin Hood to show the people that were affected by the Crusades but wasn’t a part of either side. Funny, action- packed plot that shows the humanity that is touched by war, but all it needs is someone to care.

I loved this book so much. This is what I wish I had when I was growing up: really badass female heroines who are flawed, funny, and good down to their cores. Rahma is headstrong and impetuous, and she has her sister Zeena to keep her in check. Rahma and Zeena bicker like siblings do, and their loving relationship is a highlight of the novel for me. The supporting characters are also delightful: the alchemist Viva and the wayfinder Teni. There are some love interests as well, but nothing is as important as they way these friends move about the world. caring for each other and others. And there's so much adventure! This is a real swashbuckler. Safi is great at world-building, and I learned a lot about Persian culture. I would definitely recommend this to my students; I love this reimagining of Robin Hood that is more inclusive of girls. girls of color, and more than just heteronormative relationships. I can't say enough good things about it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC of this incredible book.

Ahh unfortunately this is not the book for me. I had very high hopes since I love the remix concept, but I DNF’d at 32%. I tried so hard to stick with it but when I began to have to force myself to read it I knew I should probably pass. The writing was fine, and I liked the characters, but the MC felt very juvenile and I didn’t like reading her in 1st person. Also the whole ‘motley crew’ came together waaayy too easily. The historical fiction aspect was interesting enough but too complex to just jump right into, especially paired with characters I wasn’t that fond of. What a bummer! I bet this gets better though - I’m just not invested enough and life is short.

This was a fun read and I loved the new perspective on the Crusades and Robin Hood era. There were a few moments that felt oddly paced, but overall I really enjoyed the characters and the story. The representation was excellent too.

Super quick shout-out to to NetGalley and Fiewel Friends for letting me read this book early. Y’all are my heroes. Now onto the stuff you’re actually here for–why this book is as amazing as it sounds.

First let me hit you with the description I gave my coworker the day after I finished reading this book. “Okay, so imagine Robin Hood, but instead of it being set in England while Richard the Lionheart is off committing war crimes, it’s instead set in the part of the world where Richard the Lionheart is committing war crimes. And also, instead of being a white, Christian man, the Robin Hood character is Muslim girl who followed her sister into war and then accidentally became a thief. And Little John is this badass Mongolian warrior named Teni, and there’s also this Jewish girl named Viva who loves science. Oh, and they’re Friar Tuck is a guy who was training to be in the Knights Templar. And Maid Marian is a boy who may or may not be associated with the Hashashin.”

And now you’re probably going, “Okay, this could be pretty good,” aren’t you? And I haven’t even told you like anything about the plot! Just the characters! And that’s okay because honestly, the characters are what makes this book. Like, sure, the plot of steal from the rich, give to the poor, stop the war, go home, fall in love, etc. etc. is good. But it would not be what it is if it wasn’t being executed by Rahma bint Ammar bin Ali al-Hud and her merry menagerie. I am honestly in love with this book. I’ve already added it to my library’s purchase list for next month, and it is very likely going to end up on my purchase list as well.

If you love Robin Hood, retellings, badass ladies kicking butt, sympathetic villains, and people being real about how awful Richard the Lionheart was when he was in the Crusades, then this is the book for you. If you don’t like any of those things, then this probably isn’t the book for you, but it still could be if you happen to like characters that fly off the page.

I'm a Robin Hood nerd, so I was really excited to see a book featuring a Muslim female Robin Hood with a lot of emphasis on the crusades and all of the aspects of the backdrop of Robin Hood that make it what it is for me. This book definitely delivered on that. It's well-researched with some funny character banter and really badass female leads (a couple of whom are queer, too). Overall I thought there could have been more character depth, because this book had a very bomb-squad feel to it but was also so quiet that there weren't as many situations that allowed us to get to know the characters' personalities.