Broken Moon

I WILL NEVER HAVE A HUSBAND, BUT I HAVE THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD. YOUR BREATH ON MY CHEEK – ON MY SCAR – FELT LIKE THE BREATH OF ALLAH.

Nadira is spoiled goods. Scars from a beating she received for a crime that her older brother allegedly committed tell the world that she is worth less than nothing – except to her little brother, Umar, who sees beauty in her scars and value in her.

But Umar is gone – perhaps kidnapped or maybe sold. All Nadira knows is that Umar has been taken into the desert to ride camels for rich sheiks. He could be lost to her forever.

For Umar, Nadira will risk everything. So she disguises herself as a boy and searches out the men who took him. They are not hard to find, and soon she, too, is headed to the desert to be a camel jockey.

Life in the desert is more brutal than Nadira imagined. All she has to protect her and the boys she meets are a bit of chai tea, some stories, and the hope that she has enough of both to keep going until she finds Umar.