by M. T. Khan
 
Winner of the Younger Readers category in this year's Waterstones Children's Book Prize
 
“People in power love to pit the helpless against each other- it’s an easy way to keep them busy and weak so that they’ll never rise high enough to fight…But I don’t want to play into this vicious cycle. If the world is just a thousand layers of frauds and schemes, then the only way I can be proud of myself is if I’m not on the side that swindles.” 
 
In the fictional Pakistani town of Meerabagh, Nura and her friend work long hours in the mica mines. Maa wants he to attend school but Nura is determined to earn enough to send her younger siblings to school when the time comes. Together, she and best friend, Faisal, dream of discovering buried treasure in the mines. But a horrific accident propels them into a parallel enchanted world, the duplicitous world of the jinns, where they’re shocked to discover the cruel powers and motivations behind the mica industry. A debut in which a magical realm is delicately threaded through with Muslim mythology while also making an important commentary on power and corruption. The author’s backnote fleshes out topics of illegal mineral extraction and forced child labour, bringing these issues bang up to date. Age 9-12, Paperback 260pp