Our young heroine Nura works hard in the mica mines to earn a little money, for a great deal of effort, to help support her family in this enthralling new fantasy series. Nura has heard tales all her life about the amazing Demon’s Tongue – a piece of mica that would make her so rich her family would never need to work again. She digs and digs, deeper and deeper, until her efforts contribute to a mine collapse in which her friend Faisal is missing. Though a middle grade fiction, the book doesn’t go all light and fluffy. There are several dark themes and important topics such as the value of education and the prevalence of child labour. The author’s note at the end casts further light on these topics and is a must-read. 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. Set in a rural industrial town in Pakistan and full of hope, heart, and humor, Nura and the Immortal Palace is inspired by M.T. Khan’s own Pakistani Muslim heritage. The two things that I appreciated on a more personal level with this book though were the big sister figure that Nura embodied because as an eldest child myself I saw my younger self in her, and also the depiction of day to day life in a Muslim community. 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. 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 | M. T. Khan | 9780759557956 Nura and the Immortal Palace | M. T. Khan | 9780759557956

In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary. overall, it was incredibly entertaining. something is always happening and i’m always finding out new things about the realm. in nura and the immortal palace, the author emphasised on child labor and education. nura and the rest of the kids in the mica mines risk their lives everyday to earn a little bit so that they can provide extra for the family. because of this, they aren’t attending school and are exploited instead. Most of the children’s books I have read in my childhood had some or all of the following: Magical adventures; Best friends and squabbling but sweet siblings; Excitement for Christmas; biblical values; cakes and pies; pretty dresses for parties; elves/gnomes. 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! I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to read a children's book with the protagonist drooling for gulab jamuns. The fact that this was set in a rural village in Pakistan made its freshness even more appealing. There are so many memories the book triggered in my head – Spirited Away (for the portal realm), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (the underground world), Hotel Magnifique (a legendary magical hotel with VIP guests and enslaved labourers). The book does justice to almost all the expectations it creates through these parallels. 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.The story was so beautiful and sad at the time. I wasn't expecting a middle grade to touch on so many sensitive and important topics. This book advocates the importance of education at every chance it gets along with the opposition to child labor. The world-building of the palace was magical and can easily transport a reader, on the other hand, the way Meera bagh was portrayed transported me to a calm and small village in Pakistan. It made me think that sometimes simple is enough if done brilliantly. PDF / EPUB File Name: Nura_and_the_Immortal_Palace_-_MT_Khan.pdf, Nura_and_the_Immortal_Palace_-_MT_Khan.epub Nura is exactly the kind of fiercely protective eldest sister main character that I adore soooo much

NURA AND THE IMMORTAL PALACE | Kirkus Reviews

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. Nura longs to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever. The time and effort the author spent are directly reflected within the world. Throughout the world, there is Desi culture sprinkled in through the clothing, food, and childhood stories of the Jinn. It’s a celebration of M.T Khan’s culture and allows those who aren’t of the same to feel a connection to it. It creates a truly memorizing world for the reader to engross themselves in. 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.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 has worked all her life in the mica mines, earning just enough to keep her family afloat - and enjoy the odd delicious gulab jamun from the market. 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.

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

Book Genre: Adventure, Asian Literature, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Magic, Middle Grade, Mythology, Young AdultNura 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. 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 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. Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... But when a terrible accident buries her best friend below ground, Nura goes in search of him 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.