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Oasis by Katya de Becerra

Young adult

Oasis

by Katya de Becerra

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Quick take

An eerie desert oasis provides everything lost teens could need: food, water, and an altered, life-changing reality.

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Synopsis

The oasis saved them. But who will save them from the oasis?

Alif had exciting summer plans: working on her father’s archaeological dig site in the desert with four close friends ... and a very cute research assistant. Then the sandstorm hit.

With their camp wiped away, Alif and the others find themselves lost on the sands, seemingly doomed ... until they find the oasis. It has everything they need: food, water, shade—and mysterious ruins that hide a deadly secret. As reality begins to shift around them, they question what’s real and what’s a mirage.

The answers turn Alif and her friends against one another, and they begin to wonder if they’ve truly been saved. And while it was easy to walk into the oasis, it may be impossible to leave...

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Check out a preview of Oasis.

Oasis

Fernweh

Is German for "Wanderlust"

I was going to rediscover myself last summer. Possibly fall in love for real. Maybe have my heart broken. I was going to learn Arabic and reconnect with my Middle Eastern roots. And most of all, I was going to spend some quality time with Dad. I imagined the two of us out in an archaeological field, bonding over trowels, mattocks, and leaky water basins while labeling and filing precious ceramic fragments his squad of research students dug up from the ground. And to make this vision even more perfect, I was going to have my best friends, all four of them, along for the ride. With school now behind us and university not far ahead, this trip was our last chance to do something fun together before our paths diverged and we got too busy to hang out.

I was so proud to have made it possible for my friends to join me on this trip. Though rummaging in the dust while being assaulted by the desert sun wasn’t exactly their idea of fun, the prospect of visiting Dubai had gotten my friends pumped. That’s why I chose not to correct them whenever they’d mention Dubai and all the sightseeing it promised; we’d be spending most of our time at Tell Abrar—the site of an ancient settlement east of Dubai city, where my dad, Andreas Scholl, the head of the archaeology program at Dunstan University, was leading an international excavation campaign. Regardless, my excitement was so epic it was almost a living, breathing thing made of nervous insomnia and short on patience. I just knew the summer was going to be remarkable. Or, at the very least, different.

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Why I love it

Since I was little, I’ve always loved visiting the desert. From climbing mounds of dirt, to finding furniture-like rocks to lie on, to warming up under the hot sun… what’s not to love? Friends would remind me of the desert’s risks—dehydration, deadly creatures, painful sunburns—but I’ve continued to insist it’s one of the most peaceful places to be. That is, until I read Oasis, which takes place in the desert and features, among other things, a violent sandstorm and poisonous waters. Now, I’m sufficiently terrified of the desert.

By all measures, Alif is looking forward to a great summer. She’s got a fun and loyal group of friends; a ticket to Dubai; and a chance to dig for ancient artifacts alongside her friends and father. But when a sandstorm leaves the group injured, thirsty, and far from camp, their fun summer trip turns into an eerie quest for survival. Especially when the oasis they stumble upon might not be what it seems.

With the pace of a great mystery and the eerie world-building that makes you question what’s real and what’s not, this book will appeal to suspense and sci-fi fans alike. I won’t spoil the plot for you, but I will say that following Alif and company’s journey is a wild, creepy, and unpredictable ride.

Member ratings (578)

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Young adult
View all
The Wild Huntress
Ruthless Vows
What the River Knows
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dragonfruit
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
Check & Mate
Divine Rivals
Foul Lady Fortune
Anna K Away
I Must Betray You
A Wilderness of Stars
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Bloodmarked
Instructions for Dancing
The Boy in the Red Dress
Color Me In
Not So Pure and Simple
Throw Like a Girl
Frankly in Love
The Queen of Nothing
Wayward Son
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them
Anna K
Patron Saints of Nothing
The Kingdom of Back
Yes No Maybe So
Permanent Record
Full Disclosure
Oasis
Where the World Ends
I Have No Secrets
Song of the Crimson Flower
When the Stars Lead to You
All the Bright Places
Saving Zoë
Symptoms of a Heartbreak
All of Us with Wings
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
Past Perfect Life
There's Something About Sweetie
Again, But Better
Sky Without Stars
How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom
Night Music
Shout
The Deceivers
Top Ten
A Million Junes
And We're Off
Salt to the Sea