Celestial | Squire

Squire

Nadia Shammas

Sara Alfageeh

Save to Your Books

100% of affiliate revenue supports Celestial

From two incredible rising talents comes the fantasy graphic novel Molly Knox Ostertag calls “instantly compelling.” A New England Book Award and Harvey Award winner!

Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It’s the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship.

Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program. It’s not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background.

As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the “greater good” that Bayt-Sajji’s military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined.

In this breathtaking and timely story, Aiza will have to choose, once and for all: loyalty to her heart and heritage, or loyalty to the Empire.

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Celestial

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 30 2025

🍉 Read For Palestine this September!

please be sure to follow the organizers Naseerah (opacarophvlia) and Ross (@readsbyross) for more information. their fundraiser is also in the ⛓️‍💥place on my profile.

📚 books mentioned: - Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa - Blood Orange by Mx. Yaffa - Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh - Minor Detail by Adania Shibli - Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad

#ReadForPalestine #palestinianbooks #bookrecs #literaryfiction #fantasybooks #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram @atriabooks @merajpublishing @quilltreebooks @fitzcarraldoeditions @ndpublishing @groveatlantic

5 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 30 2025

fantasy books that i NEED YOU TO READ!!! hurry up.

📚 books mentioned: - The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez - The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero - Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko - The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin - The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova - Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh - Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott - The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar - The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi - The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter - A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan

👗💄: - eyeshadow is multiple @halfmagicbeauty sparklestiks - glitter is from @lemonhead.la - jumpsuit is from @shopcider - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Vintage/Anchor, Tordotcom, William Morrow, and Saga Press for the gifted copies!

#fantasybooks #fantasyfall #fantasybookrecs #fantasyrecommendations #bestfantasybooks #WilliamMorrow #TorPartner #SagaSaysCrew #sagapressbooks #SagaSays#starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram @delreybooks @peachtreeteen @abramskids @abramsbooks @orbitbooks_us @atriabooks @quilltreebooks @harpercollins @ireadvintage @tordotcompub @williammorrowbooks @sagapressbooks

11 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Sep 21 2024

"booktok destroyed literature!"

i know that it sometimes feels like you’re struggling against the tide, but your feed is what you make it! here’s a little reset for you all the same.

20 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 22 2024

books by Palestinian authors

3 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 8 2024

diverse fantasy & sci fi

if you’re looking to diversify your reading in 2024, here are some great fantasy & sci fi picks! and i have so, so many more where these came from.

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 23 2023

read these books

don’t miss either of these stories. i’m so serious pick them up right now 🍉

2 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks)\ \ Alex (he/him/his)\ \ • Apr 10

Join for free

[\ \ Join for free or login](https://pucksandpaperbacks.binderybooks.com/item/dLqAPXSsuY8vfWHRDMGJ/)

[EARLY ACCESS] I Answered Your Book Rec Requests!

Become a free or paid member on Bindery for full access to my private Discord where I run a monthly themed book club, host weekend seasonal readathons, and post weekly exclusive content. Your monetary support has a significant impact, helping me continue to create content and supporting me on my journey to launching my own imprint. Join me on Bindery: https://geni.us/VTzYba

★ WATCH MORE ★ reading trans books for a week 🏳️‍⚧️ https://youtu.be/EWsIgLnnBV0

Like the music? Find my playlist with the music I've used here: https://share.epidemicsound.com/zznl74/?playlist=8lhng0lg3939l3wa36hu8ahcnm64h6xu

▶ For More Bookish Content Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pucksandpaperbacks Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pucksandpaperbacks StoryGraph: http://bit.ly/storygraph-ppb Bluesky: https://geni.us/ZPBz Website: www.pucksandpaperbacks.com FAQ: https://geni.us/ABq5Y More: https://linktr.ee/pucksandpaperbacks

For links to support me along with affiliate discount codes & more: https://beacons.page/pucksandpaperbacks

🌍 IMPORTANT RESOURCES Support the Detained Immigrant Bond Fund https://secure.qgiv.com/for/2025immigrantbondfund/ Send e-sims to Palestine 🇵🇸 https://www.instagram.com/connectinghumanity\_/ https://puckandspaperbacks-resources.carrd.com Texas Flood Relief: http://gofundme.com/c/act/flood-relief Kerr County Flood Relief: https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit\_id=4201

SUPPORT MINNESOTA & IMMIGRANT FUNDS https://www.wfmn.org/funds/immigrant-rapid-response/ https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/ standwithminnesota.com Publishing for Minnesota Auction: https://www.32auctions.com/publishingforMN https://supportkind.org/

For business inquiries: alex[at]pucksandpaperbacks[dot]com

Current Sub Count as of Upload Time: 3,543

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description may be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links provided, I may receive a small commission which helps to support my content. There is no extra cost to you!

◼ ABOUT ME ◼ Hi, I'm Alex! My pronouns are he/him and I am a trans man. Welcome to my channel, Pucksandpaperbacks. I love to uplift queer and trans books from Young Adult fiction, queer romances & graphic novels, to memoirs. Thanks for stopping by! If you're new here, feel free to hit subscribe to join my community of Paperback Pals.

Note: I do not give books star ratings. It's just a personal preference of mine. In all of my videos, I just review the books.

11 books

Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Feb 15

Join for free

Hi folks!\ \ I celebrated UK Pancake Day a little early yesterday, as I personally like to have a distraction from Valentine’s. I love love, but I’ve just never been a Valentine’s boy. For those for whom this holiday isn’t your thing, here are 3 romance-free diverse SFF books that I love.\ \ Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh\ \ \ \ A brilliant graphic novel by a Palestinian author about an oppressive empire, and a young girl from a marginalised group who signs up for the army as her only route to citizenship. Once she gets there however, her perception of the empire is challenged, and she sees a dire need for change.\ \ The Upper World by Femi Fadugba\ \ \ \ A Black boy from south east London experiences the worst day of his life, but then discovers a way to travel back in time, can he change his future?\ \ I adore this book and the way it represents south east London, a very Black area of London and where I lived during my 20s. The dialogue is written in SE London dialect too, which is rare to see and find very well. There’s also tons of fun wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.\ \ Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett\ \ \ \ This is a standalone Discworld novel, a comedy fantasy Mulan retelling, that follows a young ‘girl’ who signs up for the army and pretends to be a boy. I say ‘girl’ because this was the first positive transmasc rep I’d ever encountered as a kid, and many other trans people have identified with it. Terry Pratchett (my favourite author), said he was honoured that the trans community took comfort in it.\ \ Disco xx\ \ Join for free or login

Romance-free SFF book recs

3 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 30 2025

🍉 Read For Palestine this September!

5 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 30 2025

fantasy books that i NEED YOU TO READ!!! hurry up.

thank you to Vintage/Anchor, Tordotcom, William Morrow, and Saga Press for the gifted copies!

11 books

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Nov 20 2024

Join for free

"Squire" by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh

The graphic novel "Squire" by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh is highly recommended.

1 book

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Sep 21 2024

"booktok destroyed literature!"

i know that it sometimes feels like you’re struggling against the tide, but your feed is what you make it! here’s a little reset for you all the same.

20 books

Mood Reads\ \ Hannah\ \ • Jul 10 2024

Join for free

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://moodreads.binderybooks.com/item/OhlIcmTSFKsQGkVCMEaN/)

An ode to villains...

7 books

Mood Reads\ \ Hannah\ \ • Apr 10 2024

Join for free

10 short & fast-paced books to get you out of a reading slump!

10 books

Mood Reads\ \ Hannah\ \ • Feb 15 2024

Join for free

An afternoon in my life...

I only have this much energy today because I fell asleep at 7:30 last night, make no mistake! #aditl #adayinmylife #my5to9after9to5 #teachersoftiktok #booktoker #booktokfyp #BookTok

5 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 22 2024

books by Palestinian authors

3 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Jan 8 2024

diverse fantasy & sci fi

if you’re looking to diversify your reading in 2024, here are some great fantasy & sci fi picks! and i have so, so many more where these came from.

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 23 2023

read these books

don’t miss either of these stories. i’m so serious pick them up right now 🍉

2 books

Ezeekat Press\ \ Jaysen\ \ • Jul 8 2023

Join for free

Think of the books for once! 😤 #onthisday

8 books