The Friday 56 (102) & Book Beginnings: The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

A trio of friends from New York City find themselves trapped inside a mechanical board game that they must dismantle in order to save themselves and generations of other children in this action-packed debut that’s a steampunk Jumanji with a Middle Eastern flair...

When twelve-year-old Farah and her two best friends get sucked into a mechanical board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand—a puzzle game akin to a large Rubik’s cube—they know it’s up to them to defeat the game’s diabolical architect in order to save themselves and those who are trapped inside, including her baby brother Ahmed. But first they have to figure out how. Under the tutelage of a lizard guide named Henrietta Peel and an aeronaut Vijay, the Farah and her friends battle camel spiders, red scorpions, grease monkeys, and sand cats as they prepare to face off with the maniacal Lord Amari, the man behind the machine. Can they defeat Amari at his own game…or will they, like the children who came before them, become cogs in the machine?

Beginnings: "In the Mirza Household, board games were a favorite pastime."

56: "She stood up and went to a series of steamer trunks lined up against the wall. The kids leaned forward and watched as she dug trough them, then carefully spread out a handful of what appeared to be clockwork odds and ends, antique tools, and a stray gear or two."

Comments: I read the Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi last weekend, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. There were definitely some Jumanji-ish vibes. I like the beginning because it points towards the core theme of The Gauntlet. 

What are you reading this week?