Nura and the Immortal Palace

Product Information

I've only been getting into middle grade books recently, but this one is already one of my favourites! The story is so good and fun with beautiful writing and unique worldbuilding... and the message attached to it all is SO important. Review: It was amazing to read a book featuring Pakistani characters. I’ve said this before, and I will say it again, I am soo grateful to be living in an era where diversity is finally being given the importance it deserves. Growing up, we did not have the luxury to read about characters who we could relate to in terms of tradition and culture. So, I am lapping it all in now 🤣 Nura’s relationship with her family was so lovely to read about! I loved how close she was to her mother, how she treated her siblings, and how much she cared about her family. The devotion and love she had for her family is something that readers will love reading about. I really admire how a Middle Grade fantasy manages to include important topics of the vicious cycle of exploitation as well as prevalent child labour practices in parts of the world. Without is seeming heavy on the readers. It shows how carefully crafted this story is! There’s a smooth blend of the shining world in the story with insights into how mere kids are exploited and how the rich turn the poor against each other for their benefit. So while we’re lost in an adventurous tale, it doesn’t fail to shatter the truth about the illusions.

Nura and the Immortal Palace | M. T. Khan | 9780759557956 Nura and the Immortal Palace | M. T. Khan | 9780759557956

But there’s a dark truth lurking beneath all that glitter and gold, and when Nura crosses the owner’s son and is banished to the working quarters, she realizes she isn’t the only human who’s ended up in the hotel’s clutches. Faisal and the other missing children are there, too, and if Nura can’t find a way to help them all escape, they’ll be bound to work for the hotel forever. Nura wants what she can't have: money, wealth and power. Her days are long and difficult, mining for mica; it's a dirty and dangerous job but she does it to help her mum, to bring some extra money into the family, to help give her younger siblings a little extra. But what she really wants is to find The Demon's Tongue. Some say it's a myth, but for Nura and the other child miners, it's the ultimate goal: if they find it, they will want for nothing for the rest of their lives. But Nura takes too many risks and when her digging causes a mine to collapse and her best friend to get trapped, Nura takes it upon herself to save him. A magical adventure rooted in Muslim culture and folklore, Nura and the Immortal Palace follows a young girl’s journey from modern-day Pakistan into the world of the jinn.Then a terrible accident in the mine buries her best friend below ground. Desperate to save him, Nura digs too deep 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. Pairing Islamic mythology with endearing characters and beautifully vivid settings, M. T. Khan’s middle grade debut is equally delightful and enlightening. Despite being for a younger audience I found myself absolutely captivated by this adventure that not only transports you to a world rich in South Asian culture but also imparts significant commentary on child labour and the cycle of exploitation that many families face in the real world. Children like Nura and Faisal, to this very day are being forced work risky jobs at a young age just so they can eat. One of the best things about this book is how it describes this issue making a reader really start to think about child labour and poverty.

Nura and the Immortal Palace By M. T. Khan | Used - Wob Nura and the Immortal Palace By M. T. Khan | Used - Wob

Nura is fiercely protective of her loved ones and would do anything to get her hands on some gulab jamun and I absolutely loved her. Khan has done a brilliant job in capturing both her boldness and the naivety she has about the world and I really valued the subtler message on the importance of education that is brought into the narrative as we follow her on her journey in this story too. History repeats itself. Once again, we fall to chaos… but we’ll rise again. And again. An once more.”

A magical adventure rooted in Muslim culture and tradition, Nura and the Immortal Palace follows a young girl's journey from modern-day Pakistan into the world of the jinn.

Nura and the Immortal Palace Kid’s Book Review: Nura and the Immortal Palace

What I Liked: The plot was fantastic! It was fast paced, there was never a dull moment. I was at the edge of my bed anticipating all the high stakes. Little does she know that her efforts will lead her to another world, the realm of the jinn. Here she is met with wealth and splendour beyond her wildest dreams. But all that glitters is not gold and Nura learns that wealth and happiness do not necessarily come from the things she thought. When faced with a bleak reality, she realises too late what is important to her. This is a story about clutching on to hope despite your situation, about allowingyourself to yearn for more than just the food on your plate or nice clothes to wear –it’s about dreaming big. Because dreaming big shouldn’t feel like a luxury.Child Poverty is an underlying theme of the book, and the Author’s note in the book touches on that. Aru Shah and the End of Timemeets Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Awayin this mesmerizing portal fantasy that takes readers into the little-known world of Jinn. This is magical fantasy with a heart bursting with fury at injustice and with a unrelenting mission to restore hope and champion a better moral code to those who enter the story.

Nura and the Immortal Palace | M. T. Khan | 9781529503494 Nura and the Immortal Palace | M. T. Khan | 9781529503494

It was a delight to adventure with Nura into the magical and luminous world of the jinn. -- Jasbinder Bilan * author of Asha and the Spirit Bird *Aru Shah and the End of Time meets Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away in this mesmerizing portal fantasy that takes readers into the little-known world of Jinn. Hachette Book Group is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. Social Media Khan’s Nura and the Immortal Palace is rooted in Muslim culture and folklore. Khan is from Pakistan and now lives in Canada, where she is studying mechanical engineering. The book follows two children who work in a mica mine, and find themselves transported to a world of jinn. From the very beginning, we are introduced to Nura as, first and foremost, an older sister. Eldest sisters occupy a very significant position in most ethnic groups, particularly Asians.(You ever hear that joke about eldest daughter in an Asian family syndrome? Yeah. It’s not really a joke.) Nura really typifies this stereotype. Not only is she loving and protective of her siblings and mother, she also extends her nurturing demeanor to Faisal and later on, to the rest of the children trapped with her in the Sijj Palace. Sparkling with magic, Nura whisks you from the mica mines of Pakistan to the dreamy and dangerous realm of the Jinn. A twisty, atmospheric tale with a fierce protagonist, whose voice lingered in my mind long after I'd finished reading. -- Jennifer Bell * author of Wonderscape *