Nura and the Immortal Palace

About this book

Nura works hard in the mica mines near her home town in Pakistan, earning just enough to keep her family afloat. She and her best friend Faisal go to the market whenever she has more coins than usual, to buy delicious gulab jamun.

When an accident in the mine buries Faisal, Nura is desperate to save him. She digs and digs – and suddenly finds herself in the magical and terrifying world of the jinn. All her life Nura has been warned to stay away from trickster jinn, and now they are welcoming her into a palace with riches beyond measure. Faisal has also been whisked into this world of never-ending food and enchanted clothes. It’s intoxicating.

Soon Nura and Faisal realise that this trickster jinn are true to their name. The friends must escape! But they only have three days, until the end of Eid, or their memories of their families will vanish, along with their desire to leave. How can they escape a magical place when they have no magic of their own?

An exciting magical adventure with a headstrong heroine who values family and friendship over riches, and community over selfishness. It highlights how hard life is for many children in the world, in an engaging, age-appropriate way.