Maddie & Sayara - Sanjyot P Dunung

Maddie and Sayara are from very different cultures and meet while on holiday. They quickly forge a close friendship as they discover their similarities--their families, attitudes, dreams, and hopes. Their time together is cut short when Sayara is called home because her favorite cousin has been unexpectedly jailed by powerful forces. Maddie is both surprised and shocked and resolves to help Sayara free her cousin, Themi, from jail.

Maddie wonders why girls are treated differently just because of where they are born. NaIve but hopeful Maddie cannot understand why her friends should live within unequal and unfair rules, and she is determined to fix the problem.

Stealthily arriving in Sayara's home kingdom, Maddie finds she is less prepared than she thought to navigate local powerful forces, culture, and unfair rules. With the help of a local family, Maddie finds Sayara and her spirited cousin Themi. But can Maddie and Sayara persuade the king to change the unfair rules against women?