Author: Papatia Feauxzar
Publisher: Djarabi Kitabs Publishing, December 11, 2015
Book Description:
The world is coming to an end and Hanifa Ducktrinor can feel it. The Seculars rule the world and keeping the sunnah and the deen intact become a challenge then. Hanifa, the cadet of the Ducktrinor family, is a courageous young Muslim living in a time where practicing her religion is really hard. She wants to be the courageous educated coreishy woman she dreams of every day.
Hanifa also wants to find the people of the cave and fights alongside with them, Jesus (Issa-aleihi salam), and Mahdi with the vouching cloud when the cave opens and the prediction about Yajud and Majud (Gog and Magog) will occur.
Review:
One thing I appreciate about thisbook is that it takes a young Muslim girl and makes her the hero of the story. While Hanifa was not my favorite character in the Ducktrinors, she had quite a few moments where I rooted and cheered for her. I loved the sci-fi/fantasy appeal. There is not much fiction authored by Muslims in this genre. I know of two really good Muslim authors who have taken on this genre with quite a bit of success. So I am glad Papatia Feauxzar has given this genre her attention.
In the story Hanifa is a smart girl, strong-willed, adventurous and dedicated to her dreams of being a courageous Coreishy woman. But for all her good qualities, she is often rash, quick to act and makes some really dumb mistakes that causes trouble for her and her family. But again, she stands for what she believes and she believes it is time to fight the oppression that is the Seculars. She meets a friend the first day that sort of helps her get around and learn the ropes of her school and who to avoid, only she keeps running into trouble, aka, Silas, an authoritative figure at the school. She meets a few other Muslim (on the low) at the campus and starts recruiting her army. Once her army is trained and she has been outed as a Muslim, she has no choice but to take the battle to the Seculars. She sets in motion everything she has dreamed of, fighting the Seculars and going in search of the cave dwellers.
The author did a great job incorporating religious knowledge, fantasy and futuristic world-building. The plot was good but there were times when things got a little confusing and hard to keep up with. There was quite a bit of info dumping at times. I would have loved for the author to have showed a lot more than tell what was going on. There were quite a few editing errors for my liking (I do realize that editors don't always get them all but hopefully the second edition will catch them.)
Overall, it was a good read. I enjoyed meeting the characters Dawood and Ali, as well as Hanifa's siblings. I loved her grandfather and hope she reunites with her family. Despite some of its flaws, I could not stop reading The Ducktrinors, I just had to see if this young leader would finally defeat Silas and the Seculars or if she was biting off more than she could chew.
About the Author:
Papatia Feauxzar is a work-in-progress married Muslim woman. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her son and husband. Alhamdullilah, she is a proud mother. Her goal is to serve Allah first and foremost. Above all, she is annoyingly always in a good mood ;).
Visit her djarabikitabs.com or at papatia.wordpress.com
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