City of Stolen Magic

Product Information

I love a good middle-grade fiction and was happy to see that this is yet another children’s story that is meaningful to people of all ages. Even though we’re supposed to root against the antagonist from the start simply because he’s British, it takes quite a long time before he actually starts to feel like a proper antagonist. When the story shifts to Tipu’s point of view, the transition feels a bit awkward. And it also feels like the story incorporated one or two ideas too many. Less is more in this case. With more focus on fewer ideas, those core ideas would have stood out more.

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

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. Loved this book! Chompa was such a likeable protagonist for me, and I was so engaged in this world and its ancient history of magic. The book has a captivating premise, with a well-crafted magic system and a rich setting. Among the many characters, my personal favorites were Tipu and Laurie. Their duo was the best thing in the book. The concepts of djinn-borns and djinn speakers, finger magic, and written charms were fascinating. The author beautifully portrayed the friendships between the characters and the mother-daughter relationship. It effectively reflects the cruelty and exploitation of colonialism through the lens of magic. Finding unlikely allies & more about her mother as she tries to find the trail left by the sinister, all- powerful Company, Chompa realises Indian magic is being stamped out & India"s land & people being made to use their resources to make money for those overseas. On the day Chompa disregards the warning against using her finger magic, her Ammi (mother) tries to quell it and is discovered and taken away.

The story takes place in the past and it starts in the then Bengal province of India, which was under British rule. Now the story, the characters and the magic are fictional. But this story is most definitely inspired by true historic events and is well researched, like the Bengal famines and people forcefully being taken to another country. This is a story for children, so the true horrors of the past are of course not mentioned. But enough is said to make this painful part of history come to life.

City of Stolen Magic | BookTrust City of Stolen Magic | BookTrust

When Chompa discovers that people born with magic are being transported to England by the sinister, all-powerful ‘Company’, she knows she must follow. Within a few cliffhanger chapters, she has found herself on a perilous quest through Victorian London, during which she starts to untangle the truth surrounding her father, and discover where the true limits of her magic lie. 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.A young girl with magical abilities that she has yet to fully discover and master, embarks on a journey to find her mother. An unexpected gem of a story . . . A stellar setting, a gut-punch of a twist, and an unforgettable heroine. This has all the hallmarks of classic children's storytelling' - Nizrana Farook I thought this was a wonderful novel, and one of my highlights of the year so far. I would love a chance to see return to India with Chompa and her friends and see where their adventures take them next. Something I did really like was the idea of a boat being controlled by a magic tree cause its roots are weaves with the timber of the boat that’s pretty cool. For this to make sense the world building was masterfully done. What i liked about the story is the magic system where we get to learn about djinnspeakers and djinnborn children. How they can work with different elements and djinns. I also really loved the Author's note as it shows what inspired the author to write the scenes in the book which were related to the British rule and the racism, theft and the slavery faced by the Indians and also other minorities.

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

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. As an English reader I thought Nazneen Ahmed Pathak did a brilliant job of exploring some uncomfortable truths. The book touches on the devastation caused by the British colonialism in India, and certainly doesn't shy away from showing the damage it caused, without being too upsetting for younger readers to read about. Chompa lives with her mother in a small village in India. Her mother is teaching her to write charms and learn her Farsi, whilst sternly encouring Chompa to never use her 'finger magic'. However I did find that I was more invested in side characters stories than the main characters. By the 60% mark I was missing Tupu and his story which I found more interesting than Chompa’s story. I think it may have been because I didn’t really gel with Chompa as a character as much as I did with Tipu or Laurie. Which I must mention, Laurie’s sarcasm made the book that much more enjoyable for me. But I think my disconnection with Chompa despite her emotional journey in the book is because the book seems to treat Chompa as older than she is. In the first like 10 chapters I thought she was a teenager maybe 17. Turns out she’s still a child, which I should have expected since the book is middle grade. But the writing of the book left her age ambiguous when it wasn’t explicitly mentioned. Maybe this is because Chompa saw herself as older than she was but considering it’s third person and not first person that message got a little lost in execution. Chompa is a flawed but relatable character, particularly for children, she is impulsive (as children tend to be) and this impulsivity does lead to negative consequences that she then works tirelssly to fix, even when the adults around her seem to think it impossible. Chompa her determination and resourcefulness to her advantage and making sacrifices to help others.When Chompa sets out to prove herself to Ammi (her mother), her bravado leads to a horrendous accident. Soon, the agents of the Company take Ammi away. This story was a lovely and impactful read, the plot itself being very fast paced with twists and turns along the way..