After apruptly being moved to Florida, Sami is on edge; spending time talking to her beloved grandmother, who lives with her family, has become her bedrock. But Sami is the only one in the family who can hear her grandmother talk; to everyone else, Teta sounds like she's speaking gibberish, and so her mother thinks it would be best to find a nursing home for her.
Sami is distraught, and in a desperate effort to find a way to keep Teta home, she opens the old book with a cracked cover Teta had brought with her from Lebanon, a forbidden book she's been told has great and magical powers. At first the pages and the words are slippery, but at last the book lets her read a spell- for the Opening of thee Silversinn'd. On the same page is a picture of a mirror identical to the one in Sami's room, another treasure from Teta's old life. When Sami reads the spell, she passes through the mirror, into Silverworld, a land full of marvels.
There she meets Dorsom, a strange but friendly Flicker, who looks like a human boy except for his skin, which is green. From Dorsom, she begins to learn how to communicate without words, and about this strange land where the Flickers, beings of color and light, once lived in balance with the Shadows, their opposite. Now things are falling into chaos and danger. A powerful being, Nixie, is trying to seize control of the land, imprisoning all those who resist her, and threatening the balance between Flickers and Shadows.
Sami, with her inborn power of Silverskin magic, might be able to thwart Nixie's plans. And so a dangerous journey to Nixie's castle begins, and in good portal fantasy fashion, there are dangers and strange new allies, a graceful inclusion of a message that different (in this case, Flickers and Shadows) doesn't equal enemy, and an ultimate victory that requires all the courage and strength that Sami can give. Yes, she's "special," but at the same time she's unsure--plunged into a world of magic she doesnt' understand, she has no clue what she can do to stop Nixie, but accepts the fact that it's up to her to try, because there is no one else. Which ultimately, of course, makes her very special indeed in the best possible way!
Interspersed with the fantasy are Sami's real world memories, both of her own life and her grandmother's stories of growing up in the desert, and her life in Lebannon. And in healing Silverworld, Sami also frees her grandmother, who had locked herself away in her mind so that her own link to Silverworld was safe from Nixie's manipulation.
It's a vivid fantasy world, drawing on elements of Near Eastern magic, that emphasizes description of the physical over the nuts and bolts of worldbuilding, with memorable characters and a realistic (in fantasy terms) final showdown with the villain. The switches between fantasy and the real world are perhaps a bit abrupt, but ultimate they make the whole story stronger. Kids hungry for magical lands, who enjoy stories about special, chosen ones finding their powers and having the strength to use them when it really counts, will love Sami's story!
nb: Silverworld is Diana Abu-Jaber's first book for young readers, but you might recognize her name from her adult books; I myself am now wanting to read her memoir, The Language of Baklava....
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