5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior by Mark Siegel, Alexis Siegel, and Xanthe Bouma

Summary from Goodreads:

The Five Worlds are on the brink of extinction unless five ancient and mysterious beacons are lit. When war erupts, three unlikely heroes will discover there’s more to themselves and more to their worlds than meets the eye. . . .

The clumsiest student at the Sand Dancer Academy, Oona Lee is a fighter with a destiny bigger than she could ever imagine.

A boy from the poorest slums, An Tzu has a surprising gift and a knack for getting out of sticky situations.

Star athlete Jax Amboy is beloved by an entire galaxy, but what good is that when he has no real friends?

When these three kids are forced to team up on an epic quest, it will take not one, not two, but 5 WORLDS to contain all the magic and adventure!

Review:

When I read a review for this one, I knew I’d have to get my hands on it. I ordered a copy for my library, and I was beyond excited to see a blurb on the front cover from Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet author) when it came in. I knew I was going to like it. I wasn’t expecting to love it.

Finally, a book worthy of recommending to kids who loved the Amulet books. There were undertones of Nimona and little nods to Avatar the last Air Bender. But, also, this was its own awesome story. I can't wait for more people to read it. The art in here is almost comparible to the art in the Amulet books, almost.

The story is fantastic. I loved the three very different points of view. The friendship bond that starts is pretty magical. I loved watching Oona come to turns with what her role it. I also loved An Tzu explaining to Oona and Jax how sad other parts of the world are. Jax had some twists to his character. None of them really surprised me, but I can see some kids being shocked in a good way. Also, here’s another made up sport.

There’s a background of war and politics I’m not quite sure of all of the details for. And that’s fine. I’m sure I’ll pick up what I need to as the story continues. The worlds, are all so interesting. There’s developed mythology, legends, and truths here and it’s so much fun reading about what each main character actually believes.

What really holds the whole fun, magical friendship story together though is the art. It’s beautiful. It’s sci-fi, and colorful. It’s bold and cute at the same time. I can see this style appealing to many reluctant readers. This was a fun, fast read. The plot was action packed. The world was fascinating. The characters are still developing and I can’t wait to read more about them. And the art is mesmerizing. I give this a 9/10.