DASH & LAILA

A poor boy and a privileged girl journey together across dangerous North African terrain in Chisholm’s YA adventure.

Sixteen-year-olds Dash Lahlou and Laila Ammon de la Finistereare are from very different worlds. Dash lives in the Oasis, a small, secluded Algerian village situated in a valley of the Atlas Mountains, just east of the Moroccan border. Laila has been going to school in a wealthy part of America; her father is the Algerian Minister of the Interior, and her uncle's an adviser to the king of Morocco. Laila is being flown home to serve as a figurehead to unite the people of Algeria and Morocco, whatever their nationality or ethnicity, against rebel soldiers whose unchecked violence threatens all of North Africa. When Laila’s plane is shot down near Dash’s village, the teen boy is tasked with escorting her on foot across the mountains and into Morocco. The journey is arduous and full of peril, and Dash, who’s averse to killing and who wishes to become a doctor, must overcome his scruples to complete the mission. Laila, when she’s confronted with the grim reality of the rebels’ atrocities, must cast aside her detachment. As they’re hunted, betrayed, and manipulated, can Dash and Laila make their way to safety? And what will happen once they reach their goal? Chisholm writes in the third person, primarily from Dash’s point of view, with efficient narration and naturalistic dialogue. Readers who are unfamiliar with North Africa will find the setting enthralling, as Chisholm is adept at portraying its people, places, and culture without ever taking a didactic tone. The plot is straightforward, at least for the first half, and tinged with a fatalism that later edges into the territory of mysticism and dreams. Dash is a likable and believable character, and Laila is more enigmatic but still well drawn. The book’s only off note is its use of a framing device; in recurring, italicized insets, Chisholm details the jarring, rather puerile thoughts of Dash, who's writing a story to impress Laila. Not only is this metatextual commentary unnecessary, it also detracts from the main plot.

An often exciting tale in a refreshing milieu.