The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike

My name is Sara, and who knew a trip to Turkey would throw my life into turmoil? I guess I have some royal blood inside me that allows me to control an ancient flying carpet! Amesh and I found temples containing Djinn, but he did not fully understand the laws of wish-making. I fear he has made a third wish, so he's now being strongly influenced by an evil Djinn. A Djinn queen named Lova must now follow my orders, but she will quickly become my master if I say the wrong thing. I must be very careful if I hope to have any chance of freeing Amesh. However, I've recently discovered powerful people in my father's company hired thugs to cut off Amesh's arm, and those same men have now attacked me. I don't think there's any way my father can be involved, but how can I be sure?

I was expecting a traditional story about genies and wish-making, but this book became much more. Sara is taken to an island of Djinn where she becomes a key figure in an age-long war. She gets information about the history of the war and rules of wishes by communicating with a voice through the carpet. It's not until later in the book that we learn whose voice has been talking to her. In addition to her shaky battles for control with the Djinn, Sara's problems are complicated by a huge change in Amesh's character. He's obsessed with revenge for his injured arm, so he's blinded to the consequences of his choices. Sara still cares about him, but he's not exactly working with her anymore. Sara's relationship with Lova is the most interesting part of the plot. Lova grants wishes with the hope she'll eventually be able to enslave her "master" after the third wish. Sara is well aware of this and learns to phrase her comments very carefully. She uses commands to control her Djinn at times and seems to know the rules of wishes better than Lova. They form a very strange team of characters. There are surprising twists to the plot, and secrets are revealed as the book nears its climax. Overall, I think you'll love this book if you don't have a big problem with genies.