A review by thatonebookdragon
Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Summary: Nura wants the simple things in life. Like, not having her mom work at a sweatshop hardly getting anything for it. Or to bite into a sweet gulab and enjoy life. However, life has never been easy on Nura. Working as a child miner, Nura has one thing on her mind—the buried treasure rumored to be in the mines. She knows if she finds it she could help her family move up in the world with wealth. However, her plans backfire when the mine collapses presumably killing her best friend, Faisal, and three other children. But as she digs to find them, she is taken to the land of the Jinns and learns the truth behind their mischievous ways. 

  

What Worked: The mythology and the Jinn. I’m not used to tales about the jinn yet. I know they are tricksters, but Khan adds an extra layer. A layer that gives Jinns actual personalities and wants. In the book, Jinns are looked at as bad due to tales parents told their children to make sure they behave and for a while you also believe that view. However, you learn that they may not all be as bad as they appear and that they have motives and wants that humans also want in life.  

The characters! There wasn’t a moment I got sick of the characters. They are all loveable or frustrating as you go about the story. Our main character Nura is a risk taker, and those risks often don’t end too well. From digging too far into the mines to accidentally slicing a horn off the Jinn hotel owner’s son, Nura is impulsive as she tries to figure out ways to make it back home to her family before Eid ends.  

What Didn’t Work: The pacing. The beginning felt very slow. The buildup may have been a bit too much, but once you are taken to the Hotel for the Jinn, you are in for a ride. Everything is glitz and glam, so it is easy to slip into the story. 

Overall Thoughts: This felt like Spirited Away as Nura is a Chihiro but more of a doer. She wants to get home with the other children, and she tries to come up with ways from the get-go. Even with her experience with her counterpart Jinn and other ruder Jinn, she learns to trust some and learns that they aren’t all bad.