“Filled with political intrigue and emotional tension, Carleson’s riveting novel features a teenage refugee caught in a web of deceit and conspiracy.” —PW, starred review
When her father is killed in a coup, Laila and her mother and brother leave their war-torn homeland for a fresh start in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
At her new high school, Laila makes mistakes, makes friends, and even meets a boy who catches her eye. But this new life brings unsettling facts to light. The American newspapers call her father a brutal dictator and suggest that her family’s privilege came at the expense of innocent lives. Meanwhile, her mother would like nothing more than to avenge his death, and she’ll go to great lengths to regain their position of power.
As an international crisis takes shape around her, Laila is pulled in one direction, then another, but there’s no time to sort out her feelings. She has to pick a side now, and her decision will affect not just her own life, but countless others. . . .
Praise for The Tyrant’s Daughter:
“Carleson, a former undercover CIA officer, infuses her story with compelling details and gripping authenticity.” —The Boston Globe
“Every American should read this book. It’s an eye-opener.” —Suzanne Fisher Staples, Newbery Honor–winning author of Shabanu
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
Fantastic, Unique, Well-Written, Thought-Provoking, Timely, Interesting, Slightly Misleading Tagline
By Julie
***I shall make a valiant attempt at keeping this spoiler free***I can easily see this becoming a required reading in US high school English classes - or even in a modern history class for that matter. That said, it's hard to pin down the target audience. They say 12 and up, but I haven't decided if I agree with it or not. I thought it was fantastic, but I'm an adult and a teacher to boot.Summary: Laila's father is assassinated, so she flees to the US in exile with her mother and younger brother, Bastien. She's used to living like a princess and now she's struggling to adapt to normal suburban life and it's biggest trial, namely high school.The Things that Could be Better/ Things I think Might Annoy Readers:Occasionally, the teen drama got old, but the narrators unique perspective often rescued these sections for me. Having less teen-drama sections in need of rescuing would have been nice.The big end twist was so subtle I think I missed it. Literally. I'm willing to blame this on the fact that I was slightly distracted while reading, but nevertheless, it shouldn't be that easy to miss the huge betrayal.A few subplotlines are left to rot in that nebulous state of unresolvedness. Generally speaking, that ticks me off, but once again, I find myself defending this book because the themes woven throughout are in part about how life's changes don't always allow for neatness and closure. Still, I can see that being a point of irritation.There are at least 2 passages I think guys would find awkward.End Commentary Included: I read it and felt it was okay, but I don't see anybody in the target audience (pre-teen to teen) caring one whit about Dr. Benard's commentary. An English or Social Studies teacher and 1% of their honors classes might love it, but I can sympathize with the 99% of the other students who are likely to be pained by it.Neutral:Ancilary characters - Emmy and Ian and even Amir are a bit 2-d, but Bastien and Laila's mother are pretty well drawn out.There's a lack of chapter numbers. Usually that annoys me, but I think I might actually find it more annoying to have chapter numbers this time because each little, mini chapter has a title. I'd be disturbed to see 130 chapters but it doesn't bother me that there are easy sections. It shortens the book and makes it seem like you're getting to the end faster than a "normal" novel.The Good:In my humble opinion, the narration style rocks. It comes off as ultra mature and occasionally slips into sounding like an adult, but given the character's upbringing, it makes perfect sense. At one point the narrator, Laila, points out that many Americans are children, even the adults. The way she goes on to explain it makes a lot of sense. Her narration style comes across as authentic and easy to read.The plot is (sometimes terrifyingly) realistic. The author's note describes some of the real events that happened just during the time she was writing the book and how those events shaped her thinking. There's a sense of realism in both the high school events, the sense of apathy people feel towards violence, and the amusing class of cultures that catch the narrator by surprise. The powerplays and international intrigue have the glamor sucked out of them and are brought down to a place that the reader can believe in.The idea of a sequel is tastefully hinted at, but there's also a sense of closure. I despise when books seem written just to set up the next one, and thankfully, this book avoids leaving that sense.Conclusion: I don't often agree with the professional praise quotes that they put on books, but I find myself agreeing with the sentiment of Deborah Rodriguez's quote. Obviously, I found a few things to say about the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this modern tale of a girl's struggle to reconcile the two worlds she is exposed to. Read and enjoy.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Games without frontiers
By E.M. Bristol
Fifteen-year-old Laila, the daughter of dictator of a (purposely) unnamed Middle Eastern country, is newly arrived in the US with her mother and younger brother, Bastien, the heir to his father, the "King," after their father is killed in a coup. Her brother mostly adjusts well to his new country, and being six, does not really grasp what has happened, still believing the story that their parents have always told them. Her mother refuses to acknowledge the reality of their much less lavish circumstances and continues to engage in dealings with a CIA figure, as well as relatives who still hold power or are prepared to fight dearly for it. Laila finds a friend in Emmy, her American guide in school, and develops an interest in Ian, whose parents are missionaries and understands what it's like to feel un-rooted. However, the inevitable culture clashes and contrast between America and her war-torn homeland cause Laila to struggle. While she is able to negotiate much of American social life at least semi-successfully, she is devastated when she learns the truth about her family's role in causing destruction back home, and feels increasingly powerless, as her mother continues her machinations and Laila begins to snoop into her affairs. Ultimately, Laila must figure out how to be more than a pawn in her mother's games, as not just her future, but that of her country is at stake.This is a very bleak book and does not have any kind of happy ending for anyone involved. Upon finishing it, my first thought was that Laila was still, if perhaps unconsciously, being manipulated, which may have been the author's intention. However, it does an outstanding job of portraying what it might be like for a girl in Laila's circumstances to adjust to America and then deal with the possibility of all that being ripped away. (It's also refreshing to read a book where two teen girls can disagree without it ending in one vowing to destroy the other.) It's hard not to want Laila to end up with a least one friend or boyfriend, but here, the author chose not to sugarcoat things, which was, in my view, a courageous and correct decision.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.A Different Perspective...
By sgalley
4.5 StarsThis was a story told by a young girl who lived on the periphery of war. It made issues that you see on the news, a LOT more personal when seeing it through her eyes. Laila was the daughter of a dictator, but to her, he was just her loving father. It was painful to see the realization of who he truly was, as it was revealed to her in newscasts and internet research when she came to the United States in exile. She came from "any mid-eastern country." It could have been Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan...the list goes on. She is torn between worlds as she tries to fit into the American school system and way of life. So is her little brother Bastien, who has been raised to believe he is a king. He is now a king of nowhere. They come from a life of privilege to a life on poverty, living in a cramped apartment and depending on others for money. She meets Amir, a boy from her country, when there are meetings with her mother at their apartment...meetings that she doesn't understand. Amir is from the other side of their society. As she gets to know him, she sees the results of her father's reign, and how it affected the people of her country. The book addressed the civil unrest and uprisings that started to develop under the repressive regime of her father, and then her uncle. This book is fiction, inspired by real events. I found it poignant and thought provoking. I enjoyed it very much.ARC provided by the publisher and NetGALLEY.
