Rebel of the Sands Blog Tour: Soundtrack of the Rebellion

I'm so, so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Rebel of the Sands, an awesome debut novel that's part Western and part Middle Eastern with two main characters on the run from their circumstances, a tentative team-up turned something more, a rebellion and interesting djinn lore. I really enjoyed this one a whole lot, but I'll talk about that more in my review. Today, however, is all about music, as author Alwyn Hamilton shares her picks for the soundtrack of a rebellion. Without further ado, check out the playlist below along with Alwyn's thoughts!

Rebel Rebel (David Bowie): Do I need to say more? If ever there was a soundtrack to a rebellion run by a whole bunch of teenagers, this is it.

Kickass (We Are Young) (Mika vs. RedOne): This is a song about young and wild and reckless and hopeful that you can chance the world. There’s no line in this song that doesn’t sound like the rebellion to me, from the frantic hopeful music to the lyrics.

Baba O’Riley (The Who): Sure there’s the line about Teenage Wasteland. But the famous opening bars of this song are what sum up the rebellion for me. The excited rush of it, that every time I hear it sounds like it should be the soundtrack to running through the open towards something brighter.

Easy to Love (The Jezabels): This is one of those songs that I have heard dozens of times but can’t quite untangle. But to me it sounds like a song of someone who can’t ignore the darkness in the world. And that’s the Rebel Prince in a nutshell. He sees the desert hurt and bleed and he wants to heal it.

Believe (The Bravery): The Rebel Prince’s cause is an act of faith when it boils down to it. It’s full of people who are disillusioned with the world and want something else to believe in.

Empire (Dar Williams): The Rebel Prince’s cause doesn’t shy away from the seeing the bad in the country they’re already living in. And that’s what this song is all about.

We are Young (3OH!3): This isn’t just a song about being young. It’s about young angry and determined to build our own world. And that’s what the Rebellion is all about.

If I Die Young (The Band Perry): The Rebellion is full of hope and youth, and reckless life. But it’s also at the core of a war. And that means some of the rebels are bound to die young for the cause.

Sink or Swim (Tyrone Wells): This song always sounds like the soundtrack to a hopeful battle to me. Sure it’s probably a metaphor for love. But I chose to take it literally here.

Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi): This can sort of sum up just about anyone in the rebellion. But a few people in particular. They’re all wanted by the Sultan and his army, dead or alive.

We are Young (Fun): If the rallying cry of the Rebellion wasn’t already “A New Dawn, A New desert” it would be the chorus of this song “Tonight we are young, so let’s set the world on fire.” It also sums up some of the slightly dysfunctional relationships inside the rebellion.

Hey Brother (Avicii): Family is one of the most defining parts of the rebellion. It’s family by blood for some, and a found family for others.

Broken Crown (Mumford and Sons): This is a song for the Rebel Prince and those darker moments of doubt that creep in sometimes when you’re leading a rebellion.

I Fought the Law (The Clash): The rebellion definitely fought the law…if the law won is yet to be decided.

Kisses Over Babylon (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes): The beat of this song sounds like marching towards a cause to me. It fits with the rebellion in some of its’ more unified moments.

Home (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes): The rebellion represents home to a lot of people who don’t have one. The people inside it find home with each other.

Children of the Revolution (T. Rex): Closing off with this one, which I don’t think needs much explaining either. But if the rebellion was marching into battle, this is the song they’d do it to.

Are you guys ready to join the rebellion? I definitely know that this playlist has gotten me pumped up to join the rebels in fighting for a new world! Don't forget to go and check out Rebel of the Sands. I've included all the book info below, as well as the full tour schedule.

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Series: Rebel of the Sands #1

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: March 8, 2016

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic. For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Check out the rest of the tour stops!

3/7 - Fiction Fare

3/8 - What Sarah Read

3/9 - My Friends are Fiction

3/10 - Once Upon a Twilight

3/11 - Love is Not a Triangle

3/14 - The Book Addict's Guide

3/15 - Forever Young Adult

3/16 - Alexa Loves Books (That's me!)

3/17 - The Irish Banana Review

3/18 - Mundie Moms

3/21 - Two Chicks on Books