But at least one critic thinks An Ember in the Ashes is something all its own. Marie Rutkoski is an English professor who also writes young adult fiction. She says [Sabaa] Tahir’s book is unlike The Hunger Games because Tahir writes from multiple points of view, showing empathy even with the merciless headmistress of the military school that the main character, Laia, has infiltrated.
“It felt so strange to be able to see from her perspective because she is so horrible,” Rutkoski says. She also appreciates the rich, dense layers of Tahir’s fantasy world, which borrows from ancient Sparta, Bedouin culture and the loneliness of the author’s own California childhood.
Tahir grew up in an isolated town in the Mojave Desert. Her parents owned a motel with 18 rooms and a pool they didn’t always fill. Even though the motel was near a bustling military base, it wasn’t the financial success her parents had hoped for. “Flipping the no vacancy sign was always a really huge deal because it happened so rarely,” Tahir remembers.