The Bloodstone Thief
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A hilarious and heartwarming fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief! This is the middle grade debut from acclaimed author Sabina Khan.
Laila Habib is having the worst birthday ever, as she's just discovered that her family's two-year stay in Houston, Texas, is going to be extended . . . indefinitely. With one foot in her current life and one foot back in her old home in Mumbai, she doesn't feel like she truly belongs anywhere.
But her day only gets worse from there. Opening up what she thinks is a hidden birthday present, Laila unleashes an evil jinn from a magical amulet. Trapped there long ago by Laila's father, the jinn is eager for revenge, and drags Laila's father back to the magical world of Qaf.
To save her father, Laila must travel to Qaf, where she discovers that there's only one hope for freeing him. She must find the Bloodstone, an object that gives the holder absolute power. But doing so will require a quest that changes everything Laila ever thought she knew about who she is, what she believes, and who she can trust. Not fully belonging in the jinn world or our own, Laila has to create her own community, forge friendships, and fight for her family-no matter who or what they are.
Inspired by Islamic mythology, this hilarious and richly-woven middle-grade fantasy from Sabina Khan sparkles with humor, magic, friendship, and heart -- perfect for fans of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief and Percy Jackson.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Frustrated and homesick for Mumbai after discovering that her family's stay in Houston has been extended indefinitely to accommodate her mother's job, 12-year-old Laila Habib accidentally releases Bilquis, a malevolent jinn, from a pendant she finds in her parents' closet. Bilquis promptly kidnaps her father—whom Laila learns is a jinn king—and vanishes to Qaf, a magical world parallel to her own. With help from an enchanted, and snarky, flying carpet, Laila journeys to Qaf, where she meets her abrasive cousin Amira. The two become reluctant allies in their quest to retrieve the Bloodstone, a mythical artifact capable of defeating Bilquis and saving Laila's father. As she travels across Qaf solving riddles and facing creatures Laila once only knew as stories, she hones her newfound magical abilities and comes to terms with her family's complicated legacy. In this high-octane fantasy adventure, Khan (What a Desi Girl Wants) draws upon Islamic myth and legend to craft an energetic tale of power, peril, and persistence. While Laila's primary goal is to rescue her father and return home, she also grapples with issues of prejudice relating to her human heritage as she navigates Qaf society. Ages 9–12.
