Sabrena Swept Away by Karuna Riazi

After Sabrena's grandmother is diagnosed with dementia her family packs up and moves to Virginia from Brooklyn leaving her friends and her beloved ocean behind. Between the stress of being the new kid at school and having to help with her grandmother, she feels very alone in the world, it doesn't help that she's socially awkward to boot so when one afternoon the sea rises up at her school no less and sweeps her away to a whole new world; one of stories and magic Sabrena is certain she may not have what it takes to save this world and return home. Even if she is the descendant of the great Sinbad. 

I loved every minute of this! Sabrena's story was one of believing in yourself and those around you, especially family wrapped up in a fantastic isekai-style adventure!

Sebrena herself is honestly a great character and completely reminds me of how I felt being the new kid sometimes three times in one school year. She is painfully shy and consistently undermines her contributions something I think we can all relate to whether we are fourteen or forty. Her love for her grandmother is obvious from the get-go go but also that she feels like it's her responsibility alone to help her grandmother. Again this is so relatable, as a parent I can see my own children shouldering responsibilities that they don't need to instead of asking for help, so on that level this is a read that would appeal to all ages. 

I especially enjoyed that this springboarded off of One Thousand and One Nights. Sabrena's story would fit rather well within that collection, however, I appreciate that it's not necessarily a true retelling but a completely new tale making the main characters of the original side characters was a stroke of genius in my opinion. Sure, Ali Baba and Sinbad are there but it isn't about them, it's about Saberna and the friends she makes that give her the confidence to embrace her gift. And honestly, it may have been a much easier book to write if Riazi had opted to do a straightforward retelling with Sinbad at the helm but I'm glad she didn't. Don't get me wrong I love a good retelling but Sabrena would have been washed away had she had to compete with such a well-known character.

 This portion is a bit of a spoiler but I *loved* that the bad guy was easily defeated. His existence is simply to show Sabrena that she needs to believe in herself and take charge of her story. We literally never lose focus on Sabrena whether it was through side characters or the evil Jinn and I really loved that. 

Finally, I loved the ending. What Sabrena is really worried about more than anything is the future. Her adventure allows her to see that she's been worrying about things that she has no control over right now in the moment and all she can do is face whatever comes next when it comes. You can use any of a billion sayings regarding this and they'd all be valid. Don't borrow trouble, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. This is such an important piece of advice that many of us ignore often and on purpose sometimes.

Highly recommend this one for any age group, but I think it would be especially helpful for multi-generational families.