The first two elements remain the same in this book but the rest transform into an experience closer to home: excitement for Eid; Islamic values; gulab jamuns, lehengas and jinn! But sometimes,” he sighs, ruffling my hair, “if you dig hard enough, you can find sparkles in the dirt, can’t you? 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. Nura and the Immortal Palace is magical, atmospheric and fun - whilst never losing sight of its important themes of child poverty and exploitation. 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.

If I could travel back in time right now this is the book that I would immediately hand to younger me. Of not wanting to fall into another trap of servitude which preys on children, their naivety, their hope, and their love. Although her mother is adamant that Nura needs to stop working so that she can get an educatio, Nura is taking it upon herself to help provide for her mother and siblings. Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things—to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab.There are several dark themes and important topics such as the value of education and the prevalence of child labour. But her experiences in the djinn realms made her think otherwise and I’m very sure everyone reading this book would be so proud of her once the reach the end. Nura, despite her humble origin, rises up to take on all the illusions and deceits of the immortal mischief-makers, and through her trials Khan presents a powerful view of the world we live in, where injustice and subjugation of the poor and powerless is as cruel and destructive as anything a djinni could conjure up. But mining is difficult work and soon Nura digs too far, causing the mine to collapse, trapping several children below the ground. From the prep and excitement for Eid, to the jinn stories told by families and the mention of stories from the Quran and praying Ayat al-Kursi for protection, it just warmed my heart seeing such wholesome representation.

The growth that Nura goes through is written beautifully and you can see a clear progression of her character from start to finish.Curriculum Links: poverty and wealth, family, desire, greed, education, love, compassion, teamwork, determination and perseverance. Throughout the world, there is Desi culture sprinkled in through the clothing, food, and childhood stories of the Jinn. But Nura quickly realises that greed in general could have a detrimental impact on her life and could determine whether or not she sees her mother and siblings again. It is great to learn about other peoples faith, cultures and religions but the way it is discussed in the book is as though that is the only way. It balances adventures and riddles to be solved with real conversations about child labor and about poverty.