Title: The Tyrant's Daughter

Author: J.C. Carleson

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Published February 11, 2014

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Laila, her brother Bastian, and their mother took refuge in the U.S. after there was a coup in their country. Their mother wanted Bastian to rule so she conspired with the CIA to make it happen.

This story was told from the point of view of Laila. I think it might have helped me like the book more that I don't remember reading the synopsis. The story had good flow and I found the narrator engaging.

It was about perceptions we have of our world and the people in it. Then something happens and those perceptions can be shattered. The question was what would we do next and how would we handle the new way of seeing things. Her firsts were fun. I really enjoyed Laila's  experiences in libraries.  At one point she realizes everything is about context. The context of her world, the things she had experience, along with those she was experiences, had changed. In her country there would never have been a dance to go to. In the U.S. not only was there a dance, but it was expected for her to go.

I did have one problem with the story. With everything their family had gone through, along with the dramatic shift in culture, I think Laila would have had more psychological problems. The author did address this a little, but I would have liked to see her go in depth a little more.

Overall I gave this story 4 stars out of 5.