Middle-grade book review about Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan
A stubborn girl wants to lift her family out of poverty and digs too deep into the mica mines. When it collapses, burying her best friend with it, she looks for him and finds herself in a wondrous and luxurious place. Trapped in this jinn realm, she must find a way back before her memories fade.
Goodreads Blurb
A magical and pacy middle-grade debut following a young girl’s adventure from real-world Pakistan into the world of the jinn.
Nura has worked all her life in the mica mines, earning just enough to keep her family afloat – and enjoy the odd delicious gulab jamun from the market. Some day she’s going to find the Demon’s Tongue, a legendary treasure buried deep in the mines, and her family will never have to worry about money again.
But when a terrible accident buries her best friend below ground, Nura goes in search of him and passes over into the magical and terrible world of the jinn. Across a pink sea and under a purple sky, she finds her way to a palace, where great riches and a whole new life are on offer.
But it’s not long before Nura discovers this world to be as unfair as the real one, and that trickster jinns will always live up to their reputation…
My Thoughts after Reading
This middle-grade book is about a tenacious girl looking for her friend lost in a mining accident, only to find themselves trapped in the Jinn realm.
Nura works hard to be the best mica-mining child; the more mica she finds, the more she earns to support her family. She dreams of finding the legendary Demon’s Tongue so that she can sell it for enough money to lift her family out of poverty. But she digs too deep and the mine collapses, burying her best friend. Determined to find him, she sneaks back into the cordoned area. She follows the voices, and finds herself in a wondrous and luxurious place. When she realises that she is trapped in this jinn realm, and her memories of her own world will fade after three days, Nura is determined to find a way back to her family.
I enjoyed being whisked from the harsh mica mines to the magical jinn realm. I also enjoyed the glimpses into physics and engineering. Most of all, I liked the layers underneath, about child labour and the importance of education. Other books that touch on these issues include Kick and Boys Without Names.
Opening line: A lot of people dream of being buried by their money.
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Justine Laismith 