Sidekick Short Review: For She is Wrath (2024) by Emily Varga

cover image of For She is Wrath by Emily Varga, published by Wednesday Books, 2024.

The Basics

Page Length: 400

Audiobook Length: ~12 hours

Grade Reading Level: 8+

Target Audience Age: 13-18+

Goodreads Score: 3.60 out of 5

Common Sense Media Score: 14+

Buy it HERE

Setting: A Pakistan-inspired fantasy world, Qazal

Genre: Young Adult Romance Fantasy

Topics: Pakistan, Betrayal, Revenge, Magic, Romance, Prison, The Count of Monte Cristo, Survival, Friendship, Loyalty, Politics

Plot: Dania has been wrongfully imprisoned for almost a year—three hundred and sixty-four days spent plotting revenge against her enemies. After being framed for murder by the boy she loved most, Dania’s heart is broken. She is determined to escape her captors, return to her father and grandmother alive, and exact vengeance upon everyone who ever wronged her—especially Mazin, her former love.

However, Dania’s escape and return home hardly go as she imagined. When she discovers that her father has been killed, her desire for vengeance only grows stronger, along with her hunger for power. In a world filled with Djinn magic, Dania uses magical zoorhat seeds to alter her appearance and begin her quest for revenge against Mazin, her father’s killer, and the cruel Emperor Vahid,

But wielding the seeds’ power comes at a dangerous cost. And deceiving her enemies—especially Mazin—proves far more complicated than she expected. As old feelings begin to resurface, Dania starts to question everything she once believed. Who is truly responsible for the kingdom’s suffering, her imprisonment, and her father’s death? How far will Dania go to avenge herself and her family? And will the magic of the Djinn consume her before she can carry out her grand plan?

You might like this book if you like:

• The Count of Monte Cristo (this story is a retelling)

• Fencing/sword play

• Role playing games

• Learning about Pakistani culture

• Books like: We Hunt the Flame, An Ember in the Ashes, The Stardust Thief, These Violent Delights, This Woven Kingdom, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, Six of Crows

• Movies like: Dune (also a book), The Mummy, The Woman King, The Old Guard, Kill Bill, Mad Max

• Shows like: Shadow and Bone (based on the Leigh Bardugo books), The Wheel of Time (also a book series), The Witcher, The 100, Reign, Fate: The Winx Saga

  
  

Other books written by this author: The River She Became

Teaching For She is Wrath in Class

Content

• Language: Mature language throughout, but it's not constant

• Sex/Romance: Main characters are involved in a romantic relationship. It is implied that they are lovers, but nothing is graphically described. It would be considered a "closed door" romance. Although there are a few scenes of passionate kissing that describe a lead up to implied sex.

• Violence/Scariness: This book contains typical adventure/fantasy violence. There is lots of sword fighting and battles. Characters are killed with magic as well. Villages are burned down. There are evil dictators/magical power wielder who take advantage of people in the story. Some characters are kidnapped, though they are saved in the end.

• Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: Not typical drug use, but characters consume magical seeds that give them special powers. It becomes addictive.

Book Talk Read Aloud Section

*What is a book talk? (Watch a how to video here. Read my blog post here)

If you have the physical book, read pages 1- mid page 2 (through the 6th paragraph "now was my chance.")

If you don't, read the same pages in the Amazon reading sample here.

---

Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!

Want to be updated when our next book review comes out? Subscribe here for weekly posts featuring fresh book reviews with brand-new sentences and passages. Your inbox’s new favorite destination for new YA reading and writing inspiration!