Speed-The Haunted Island

Speed-The Haunted Island by Judy Wollin & Eman Alblooshi.

First edition 2023 Ebhar Publishing House. Second edition 2024 Blue Heeler Publishing. MG Paperback RRP $18.15. eBook RRP $5.00. ISBN 9780645398120

Reviewed by Debra Williams

Ali, Dylan and Tarek are back. Twelve-year-old Ali invites Dylan, his Australian friend, to visit his ancestral home of Azraq, in the Northern Emirates. It’s an eye-opener for young Dylan, who is far removed from his Queensland lifestyle.

The boys are hot, hungry and bored and head down to the beach where Ali’s grandfather is fishing. He talks to them of his explorations of the surrounding islands when he was a boy. Ali is excited and wants to do the same, but he isn’t allowed to drive Grandfather’s fishing boat. Dylan would likewise like to have a turn at driving the boat. It’s so tempting: a dip in the water to escape the heat, and the chance to visit the surrounding islands by themselves, then return home before dark. Ali wants to visit Telegraph Island, which, as legend has it, is haunted. Ali’s father, Abbi, warns them that they need to be careful, very careful. Grandfather warns them not to do anything silly.

Finally, after Ali agrees to take his young cousin Tarek along with them, the boys are permitted to take the fishing boat out by themselves. They pack food and water and decide to have some fun, but underestimate the wild seas.

Danger upon danger follows after Dylan and Ali drive the boat recklessly. They are stranded when the boat runs out of fuel, and Dylan almost loses his life in the water. There is no more drinking water on board, and the food is a mess. There is also no mobile signal to use Dylan’s phone and call for help, and they spend the night shuddering and sheltering on the “haunted” island. Finally, they can find a point to send a message to Abbi, who comes to their rescue. But the boys have had to learn a hard lesson through all of this.

There is plenty of tension and adventure in this book, which is longer than Barq the Falcon (318 pages as against 206). Once again, the authors have included many factual pieces of information on boating, safety at sea, tides, and other general topics. The authors are planning to release the third book in the collection, Speed: Dune Bashing, later this year.

Speed-Barq the Falcon

 

Speed-Barq the Falcon by Judy Wollin & Eman Alblooshi. 2024 Turtle Publishing. MG Paperback RRP $21.89.  eBook RRP $4.99. ISBN 9781764222839

Reviewed by Debra Williams

 Ali and his Australian friend, Dylan, would love to be falconers. The question is, who will help them? Ali’s father sold his bird, and his brother, Rashid, doesn’t want to take the boys to fly falcons in the desert; also, Ali’s grandfather isn’t well enough to do so. However, the grandfather surprises the boys, bringing them closer to their goal.

The boys show what they have learned about handling falcons at home after visiting the Falcon Centre.  

Grandfather, Ali’s father, Abbi and Rashid take the boys on a trip to the desert, including Ali’s younger cousin Tarek, after proving they know what to do. Grandfather allows the boys to handle his own falcon, Barq. But the trip turns into a disaster-almost. Ali loses Grandfather’s bird after he forgets to put on Barq’s hood and fails to secure the falcon’s leg ties to his glove.

The boys take off into the desert dunes to search for Barq, only to get hopelessly lost. However, they will not give up.

Rashid has taken the car to search another area. The boys begin to think they are stranded, but eventually Rashid returns to find them and has located Barq as well. He feels guilty for not looking after Barq better himself, and, after initial anger and a disparaging attitude, apologises and tells the boys that they had proven their love for falcons and were now falconers.

Judy Wollin is a Brisbane-based author who writes action-adventure stories for Middle-Graders. She classifies her stories as Fun.Fast.Reads. Her co-author, Eman Alblooshi, is a prominent Emirati author and educator from Abu Dhabi. Judy & Eman worked closely together in the UAE between 2006 and 2010 and collaborated on this book and on Speed: The Haunted Island.

The story collaboration between Australia and the UAE is wonderful and an encouraging cross-cultural experience, and leads the reader into what life is like for those in the UAE. Both Arabic and English words are used throughout the text.

The shorter chapters are ideal for reluctant readers. Each chapter alternates between the POVs of Ali and his 12-year-old friend, Dylan, from Australia, whose father has gone to work in the UAE. The two boys couldn’t be more different, yet strike up a close friendship that is rigorously tested at times. Within each chapter, the authors have also included several facts relating to life in the desert and falconry.

This book will be enjoyed by those in the target readership, especially by slightly older readers.

Book Reviews

Speed. Barq the Falcon by Eman Alblooshi & Judy Wollin

A coming-of-age story about two boys who, although coming from very different cultural backgrounds, bond through their desire to fly falcons. The desert setting and the falconry details give the novel a strong sense of place. The story and dialogue feel believable. It’s genuinely suspenseful and kept my attention throughout.

Goodreads (February 2026) By Suzanne W *****

Speed. The Haunted Island by Eman Alblooshi & Judy Wollin

An exciting cultural story from the perspectives of two young boys. They are keen for adventures and must persuade Ali’s family to trust them with a small fishing boat. They are confident, but are they ready for such a responsibility?
Well written. I enjoyed it.

Amazon.au By Fiona *****

Book Collaboration with A Friend

 

By Judy Wollin and Eman Alblooshi (see pictured above).                                                                                                                                      

My friend Eman Alblooshi and I have written and published two books together and are planning to release the third one, probably in the middle of this year.

It all started when Eman expressed concern about the loss of Emirati culture, and I was worried that boys were not reading confidently or for pleasure, even in Grade Six. After some brainstorming, we came up with the idea of writing books for boys aged 8 to 13, set in the United Arab Emirates, featuring two main characters: an Emirati boy and his friend, an Australian boy, both 13 and in Year Seven together. We agreed to write three books and publish them in Arabic and English.

Takeaway one. The idea was important to both of us.

We began writing in Eman’s dining room in Abu Dhabi while I was there on holiday. Ideas flowed, and a rough plot was pulled together for the first book. We decided that I would do the actual writing, and Eman would check my work, advise on cultural matters, and seek feedback from young readers in the UAE. I enrolled in several writing courses to improve my writing skills and sort critical feedback from young readers, writers and course conveners.

Takeaway two. We divided the work based on what each of us felt comfortable with.

The first draft of Speed. Barq the Falcon was completed, and critical feedback, editing, cultural-sensitivity review, and further editing were undertaken. How exactly was this done?

Eman and I met online and by phone regularly to discuss content. For example, one of our main characters, Ali, invited Dylan, the other main character, to a sleepover. A common enough occurrence in Australia, but not common in the UAE. Thirteen-year-old boys do not stay overnight. Eman and I came up with a house plan that could accommodate a sleepover. Ali’s bedroom was put on the ground floor, near his grandparents but away from other family members.

An Australian example of cultural differences was Dylan’s father's view when he realised that Ali had invited Dylan to stay over while extended family members were visiting. Dylan’s father was concerned his son would be a nuisance, an additional burden when Ali’s family had visitors coming. The Emirati view was that there were always many people staying, so what was their problem?

This process of ensuring the book reflected both cultures and was sensitive to both cultures took many phone calls and drafts.

Take away three. It will take longer than either of us suspected at the outset. It took us about five years to go from ideas to published books.

In our stories, there are two main characters, Ali and Dylan. We had to ensure they both played a pivotal role in the plot and that the story flowed smoothly. We decided to alternate the chapters to maintain the first-person point of view for both characters. This ensured that both boys maintained an important role, but it wasn’t without its problems. Chapter lengths varied to maintain pace and to change who led the chapter when necessary. This took a lot of phone calls and rewriting.

Take away four. It was harder than we thought to have two main characters contributing to the story. We had many meetings to discuss the story as we wrote it.

Once the manuscript was finalised, it was professionally edited and the final changes made. We chose a publisher who could publish the books in Arabic and English. This was trickier than we anticipated. We each paid half the fee needed. I checked the English manuscript, and Eman checked the Arabic version. It was slow and difficult dealing with a publisher who was reluctant to make changes. The main benefit of continuing with them was the book launch.

As many of you have already discovered, it is very difficult to break into the middle-grade book market. We have since relaunched the books ourselves and taken over responsibility for marketing. We have made very little money but have achieved enormous satisfaction from writing and publishing our books.

Take away five. It’s a tough world out there, but it feels so good to go from idea to seeing your books on shelves. That makes writing worthwhile. Both our books have been adopted by the Brisbane City Council library in both English and Arabic.

Speed. Barq the Falcon (English) ISBN 9780648646884

Speed. Barq the Falcon (Arabic) ISBN 9781764222839

Speed. The Haunted Island (English) ISBN 9798230006855

Speed. The Haunted Island (Arabic) ISBN 9780645398137

Eman and I collaborated on this article too.

 

At the launch of Speed. The Haunted Island in November 2023 in the United Arab Emirates.

 

Speed. Barq the Falcon

Judy Wollin and her friend Eman Alblooshi have written contemporary action-adventure stories set in the United Arab Emirates. They would like to present a copy of the four books to the Australian International Islamic College.

Speed. Barq the Falcon by Judy Wollin and Eman Alblooshi 

(English version ISBN  9780648646884, Arabic version ISBN 9781764222839) 

and 

Speed. Haunted Island by Judy Wollin and Eman Alblooshi

(English version ISBN 9798230006855, Arabic version ISBN  9780645398137) 

have been acquired by the Brisbane City Council Libraries)

The two main characters in the books are 13-year-old Ali, an Emirati, and his friend from school, Dylan, an expatriate Australian. The boys’ friendship begins with their shared dream of becoming falconers, and later they share a wild boating trip where they end up on a haunted island in the northern emirates. In both books, the ending is happy as the boys realise they should have listened to their elders, who are now rescuing them. 

The books, published in English and Arabic, suit readers aged 8-13 years and are a fast-paced, cross-cultural action-adventure.