Call of the Desert: Crossing (Beloved Daughter)

Call of the Desert: Crossing (Beloved Daughter)

Enter the magical world of this award-winning mystical adventure for all ages! “This story of a young teenager navigating the perils of adolescence in a new culture is wonderfully relatable and immensely inspiring. Healing and powerful! I loved it!” — Anna Eastland, author of unexpected blossoming: a journey of grief and hope, and various anthologies, www.justeastofcrazy.com The snake looked at me, its tongue flicking in and out. Then it bobbed its head, like it was nodding ‘yes.’ Oh. My. Gosh. We were communicating. We were actually communicating! New country. New school. New life. And twelve-year-old Claire Hamilton’s chance to reinvent herself, if only she can hide who she really is. But the mysterious Arabian desert threatens to reveal all, drawing Claire beyond her self-imposed rules with the help of a friendly magical snake. Will the challenges Claire faces destroy the “normal Claire” she’s worked so hard to become, or is she about to discover a love beyond her imagination that will help her embrace her truest self? --------------------------------- Content Warning: Call of the Desert: Crossing includes elements of bullying and the threat of harm. Also, the main character's parents subject her to emotional abuse. Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note. 2024 BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist 2024 BookFest Second Place Award Winner in YA Fantasy 2024 "Editor's Choice" BookLife Review Shimmering desert imagery and middle school banter make Call of the Desert sparkle. Vogel captures the poignant feelings of adolescence. — BookLife Prize 2024 Critic's Report Beautiful coming-of-age fusing foreign culture with biblical stories. Lovers of magical realism, animals, and coming-of-age adventures will embrace this heartwarming story. — Publishers Weekly BookLife Review, "Editor's Choice" A raw, evocative, and atmospheric coming-of-age story. — The Prairies Book Review Call of the Desert: Crossing didn't receive an award at the 2025 IBPA Book Awards, but here are excerpts from the three judges' comments. IBPA Book Award Judge #1: The writing is exceptional, with the interweaving of believable coming-of-age realism and emotions, dreams, wishes, hopes, and magic in a seamless and, sometimes, almost lyrical manner. . . . a well-written and relatable story with its many young adult issues and the inclusion of a significant element of magic. The main character and narrator's voice is clearly that of a young adult woman, and her isolation and emerging strength of character are evident. IBPA Book Award Judge #2: Call of the Desert: Crossing is a well organized, written, and developed book for middle grade or young adult readers. It has a clearly identifiable voice. Infusing magical realism into youth books is becoming more present but this book does it quite well and from a unique perspective. IBPA Book Award Judge #3: The themes link magic realism and religion in an interesting and inclusive, nonjudgmental way. Claire is convincing as she matures and develops through the course of this story. The Saudi Arabian culture is treated respectfully. This book is well-written and engrossing. Call of the Desert: Crossing is the first in a series of five books about Claire Hamilton as she navigates the challenges of growing up in the expat community of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (books 1 & 2), and then boarding school far from home (books 3, 4 , and 5).   As I write these stories, I draw on many of my own experiences as a teen living overseas. But I draw on my imagination and inspiration even more—they are NOT autobiographical. Claire is way cooler than I ever was. A. A. (Alison Andrews) Vogel was born in southern California, lived in Saudi Arabia and England with her parents as a teen, went to boarding school in Switzerland, and finally settled down in the greater Seattle area with her husband. Alison holds an AB in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She's been an aerospace scientist, a soccer mom, a liturgical artist, and a technical writer. Now all she does is write YA fiction. Mostly. Call it a case of arrested development, but Alison writes teen fiction because that's what she likes/needs to read. Scratch the surface of any YA story worth its salt, and you've got at least one important life lesson you get to learn or relearn right along with the protagonist. See https: //alisonvogel.com