City of Stolen Magic

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With the help of an old friend, Chompa goes off after her, traveling on a fast ship powered by a tree djinn. For Chompa and others like her are djinnborn or djinnspeakers, able to think or write words to do magic and manipulate the elements.

City of Stolen Magic - Penguin Books UK City of Stolen Magic - Penguin Books UK

In general, the characters were well drawn, from Chompa (determined, feisty, undaunted) to Tipu and Laurie (Djinn speakers she meets on the way to England) to Leeza, Mohsin’s servant, to Millie, the English maid whose weakness is her sweet tooth. Although I guessed the plot twist, it is still a good one. That night the 'pale ones' come to their home and take Ammi against her will, before then she hides Chompa and makes her PROMISE that she will stay hidden no matter what. First 2 parts are in Bengal then Dacca, India, then at sea, then London, England & a final part that I won't ruin.

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Growing up in India Chompa has been watching her mother make magic by writing. However Chompa has finger-magic. City of Stolen Magic is phenomenal - vivid storytelling that skilfully and unflinchingly weaves colonial history into an epic, breathtaking, magical adventure Sophie Anderson The magic system and world-building are explained gradually. I was really excited to see how the various characters in the book would wield their powers in the fight against the colonial rulers. Nazneen Ahmed Pathak is an author that is going to make a mesmerising contribution to children’s literature. You will be under Chompa's spell immediately. I also really enjoyed the way magic was handled in this, the pull for Chompa between Ammi's traditional writing magic and her seemingly more powerful "finger magic" was compelling and helped add to Chompa's character arc.

City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak - Google Play City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak - Google Play

City of Stolen Magic manages to be both an exciting romp through colonial India and Victorian Britain and a sobering expose of Empire, shot through with a delightfully original concept and some fast paced, twisting plotting and story telling. Chompa lives with her beloved mother in a small village in India, bored by her mother's insistence on slow, subtle charms rather than allwoing Chompa to explore her much more exciting and powerful finger magic, but when Chompa takes matters into her own hands, the results are catastrophic resulting in her mother's capture by terrifyingly pale men - Chompa's first encounter with the British. Yara’s life is thrown into disarray when, following the death of her mother, she learns that they’re from Zehaira, a kingdom of sorcerers, alchemists and magic. In this compelling fantasy adventure, Yara bravely embarks on a dangerous quest to save her magical homeland. This book is pitched for 9-14, and I agree: it has the complexity for upper middle grade and a further layer of stolen magic as a voice for India’s colonized past. A gripping and spellbinding fantasy woven together with threads of magic, secrets and colonial history . . . An incredible cast of characters and a truly multicultural Victorian London that we don't see often enough' - Rashmi SirdeshpandeWhen Chompa uses her finger-magic to light a fire, little does she know that she has started a series of events that will endanger the lives of many. When her mother is kidnapped, Chompa uses the magic she was always forbidden from using to try and rescue her. But she will learn that not everyone can be trusted and that using her powerful magic comes at a price… City of Stolen Magic is a fantastic middle-grade fantasy adventure. With a well-imagined magical system, enchanting worldbuilding and compelling characters, I was swept up in Chompa's story. Her journey, from a small village in India to the seat of the Victorian empire in London allows for an interesting exploration of British colonialism for a young audience, with a fantasy twist. Sir Clive Devaynes (names derived from real people from the East India Company) of the “East Merchant Company” is collecting them for a nefarious purpose.