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Sidekick Super Review: A Tempest of Tea (2024) by Hafsah Faizal
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
The Basics
Page Length: 352
Audiobook Length: ~11 hours
Grade Level: 9+
Goodreads Score: 3.51 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: The capital city of White Roaring in the empire of Ettenia (modeled after Victorian England)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Topics: Vampires, Heists, Magic, Smuggling, Secrets, Romance
Plot: The town of White Roaring has a vampire problem. Ever since the infamous "Wolf of White Roaring" wreaked havoc on the town, vampires have been forced underground.
Arthie Casimir has built her living on this very fact. By day, her tea room, Spindrift, is a gathering place for White Roaring’s elite. By night, it transforms into a blood room that feeds the vampires in hiding. Arthie and Spindrift are notorious. She and her partner in crime, Jin, rule White Roaring from the shadows. They know everyone’s secrets—and that’s exactly how they keep their power.
When Arthie discovers that the Ram- the anonymous, masked ruler of White Roaring--is trying to shut Spindrift down, she decides to use her knowledge of White Roaring’s hidden sins to pull off the ultimate heist. She assembles a team: Jin, her right-hand man; Felicity “Flick,” an expert forger; Laith, a captain in the Ram’s Horned Guard; and Matteo—a vampire with ties to the secret society they plan to infiltrate.
But each member of Arthie’s crew has their own motives for stealing the secret ledger they seek—each hoping to claim it for their own purpose. As their secrets unravel and their loyalties collide, the heist begins to crumble. Confusion, betrayal, and dangerous revelations follow.
Will Spindrift survive? Who will end up with the ledger? Who hides behind the Ram’s mask? And who is the true Wolf of White Roaring?
Themes: Colonialism and racism, Social inequality, Power of secrets, Found Family, Moral Ambiguity
You might like this book if you like:
Drinking tea
Lockpicking (for legal, hobby purposes only of course :))
Dark academia vibes
The books/show Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone- this has a very similar feeling (dark fantasy with heists and a little romance)
Books like Belladonna, Divine Rivals, These Violent Delights, The Beautiful
Shows like Peaky Blinders, Carnival Row, Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Diaries/The Originals
Movies like The Ocean's Eleven series, Now You See Me, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The Invitation
Other books written by this author: We Hunt the Flames, We Free the Stars,
Teaching A Tempest of Tea As a Full-Class Unit
Content
Language: very little-almost none.
Sex/Romance: nothing too graphic, but instances of innuendo and allusions to things happening behind closed doors in the tea room. The main characters are all involved in some sort of romance and there are several kissing scenes described.
Violence/Scariness: definitely lots of fighting--gunfire, chases, fires, that result in deaths. Stories of vampires attacking townspeople. A character's parents are killed by colonists. Another character's parents are killed by arsonists.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: a vampire smokes a cigar
Class Novel-ability: This ranks low on the “class novel” scale and is fairly niche in terms of general interest. There’s a lot of romance and vampires, so it might not appeal to the whole class. That said, it’s definitely a fun, pleasure read! It’s one of those books that’s so exciting and immersive that it can spark a real passion for reading. It could re-engage students who have lost that spark and even capture the interest of reluctant readers.
The Star Qualities
This book shifts its point of view between chapters, told from the voices of the three main characters—Arthie, Jin, and Flick. They are all so different that the story comes together in a rich, multi-layered way, offering very distinct perspectives. This also adds to the dramatic irony: we get inside all their heads, but the characters can’t see into each other’s, which makes the secrets juicier and the romance even more engaging.
The heist aspect makes the reader feel a sense of danger and illicit thrill, which I love. Unlike many heist movies where you only find out how the mark is secured after the fact, here you get to be part of the planning and the heist itself from the perspectives of three different players. That part is so satisfying.
This book also has a lot to say about colonialism, power, secrets, and supremacy. These are ideas that feel very relevant for students today, but they’re woven into a story that is exciting, fun, and compelling. It’s a subtle way to teach important lessons about the world in an engaging way.
A sequel was released just a few months ago, and it’s JUST as good. This book can get students excited about reading, and handing them the next installment keeps the momentum going. It has contagious energy and can even hook reluctant readers.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read chapter 1 (pages 5-13).
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
This one’s got it all: repetition, metaphor, italics, personification, pacing, imagery. Such a beautiful example of writing that turns an image into a symbol. Fire becomes a major motif in this book, and this moment shows exactly why.
This one’s got great structure. The colon adds suspense, and the short fragments crank up the drama. Perfect example of how syntax can control pace and tone.
This one’s loaded with moves, too. There's repetition and onomatopoeia, vivid imagery and sensory detail woven with internal monologue. You can see the building burning down and feel exactly how devastated the narrator is. There’s metaphor here, too, and great sentence-length variety—a skill students always need strong examples of.
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"Arthie rubbed at her temples and rubbed them some more before slamming her books shut and propping her elbows on the desk." (A Tempest of Tea, p. 59)
Arthie rubbed at her temples.
She rubbed them some more.
She slammed her books shut.
She propped her elbows on the desk.
"Wind whipped at her hair, ruffling the panels of her suit jacket and tugging at the laces of her shoes. (p. 191)
Wind whipped at her hair.
It ruffled the panels of her suit jacket.
It tugged at the laces of her shoes.
"Flick completed the rest of her work in silence, melting, casting, and degassing each piece." (p. 185)
Flick completed the rest of her work.
She completed it in silence.
She was melting each piece.
She was casting each piece.
She was degassing each piece.
Sentences for Imitation:
This book has so many good sentences. The language is gorgeous; it's haunting and lyrical. This author really knows how to land a line. I’ve pulled a few of my favorites here. They’re packed with metaphors and perfect colon moments.
"Secrets were meant to ferment; they aged well. The longer they sat, the higher their value." (p. 11)
"One gets a taste for blood when you have to lick your own wounds, you see." (p. 23)
"There's a way to manifest insignificance: Stand on top of the world." (p. 191)
"All her life she’d spun a slow dance through a burning room, and the inferno had caught up to her at last." (p.191)
This sentence shows off how good one of the characters is at stealing—and I love the way the dashes give it attitude and personality. It would be such a fun structure for students to imitate! I can totally picture a lesson where students “roast” characters from your current class novel, using this sentence as a model and seeing what clever lines they come up with.
"Jin has--and how can I put this nicely--fingers that are slightly stickier than most." (p.100)
The onomatopoeia. The italics. The metaphor. It all makes the sound of the leaves come alive—such a fun one for students to imitate when practicing figurative language!
"The trees swayed in greeting, the hush hush of their leaves flinging him back years and year." (p. 123)
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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