The Fire Wish

Author: Amber Lough
Publication Date:July 22, 2014
Source: Boston Book Festival
Summary from Goodreads: A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . .

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love.

"Meh" about sums up how I feel about this book. It had so much potential, but unfortunately was under developed. The main character, Zeyele and Najwa, were not well developed which made the alternating point of view difficult and made the switching places aspect a bit difficult. The secondary characters were so so. The plot moves at about an average ho-hum pace. About two thirds of the way into the book, things start to get good. We learn about the history behind this human vs jinni war and the action finally begins. The climax and resolution are quick and really would have benefitted from some fleshing out. Also, the ending wasn't even really an ending for a book, it felt more like how you end a chapter. While I liked the book, I can't say that I would continue the series. I do think that this book would be a good read for middle grade students.