City of Stolen Magic

Product Information

Note: Since this is a children’s book, I think it is important to let readers know that the story includes a death scene.

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

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 FarookI loved the magic system, and the distinction between finger magic and written charms, djinn born versus djinn speakers. The latter are people who can communicate with Djinn who are trapped and bound to some natural element. One of the characters, Tipu, talks to a Djinn called Aaliya trapped by a palm tree (and later a date stone) and forced to do his will. Tipu promises to free her but first she has to do magic for him. Tipu is one of our heroes, one of the children exploited for their magical ability, and Aaliya helps the good side. I though it was an interesting addition to the story, raising the question regarding whether his actions (albeit on a much smaller and kinder scale) really differ from the villains. 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. The villain is holding Chompa’s mother, Amina, to force Chompa to do what he wants. Amina therefore uses her magic to self-immolate in front of her daughter so that she can’t be used as leverage against Chompa. I was really disappointed by this plot point. Depicting suicide as a good thing (Amina says she is setting Chompa free), particularly in a children's book, is really inappropriate. Suicide is an extremely serious, despairing act, and passing over it lightly does not make it okay (actually it's worse). It was totally unnecessary and ineffective from the story's perspective, so I consider it poor story telling as well as inappropriate. I don’t like the end justifying the means in any case, but a parent committing suicide should not be thrown into a story so lightly.

City of Stolen Magic (Paperback) - Waterstones City of Stolen Magic (Paperback) - Waterstones

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 Sirdeshpande, author, Dadaji's Paintbrush Chompa was a wonderful female heroine. She was brave and smart but also very caring and put the needs of others before her own. 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. 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. 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.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. 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. 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. The author’s writing style is vivid, emphatic, and full of cultural significance. It creates the perfect atmosphere of adventure and magic, drawing you further into the story and its many layers.

City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak, review: a critique of City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak, review: a critique

City of Stolen Magic is aimed at readers as young as nine, on whom this analogy might be lost. But as the novel goes on, the more ambitious themes successfully melt into a highly imaginative plot.

In her afterword, historian Nazneen Ahmed Pathak says she was “profoundly influenced by…the idea that magic is still real in some places, and that words have the power to protect us from harm.” Highly recommend!

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

I feel like it's for slightly older middle grade readers due to content and writing style (the changing POV sometimes didn't work for me) and although I loved the twist at the end, I wasn't too keen on the outcome for Chompa and her mother. 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.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. Disclaimer: I did read the book with the eye of an adult, rather than that of a teenager, which I suspect is the targeted audience. This is too bad, because I enjoy the genre and was unaware of this age limitation. Yet, I stand by my assessment as I do believe it is possible to both achieve depth in character and play with the rhythm and pace of a book, without losing the calm simplicity that flows throughout.