Amir and the Jinn Princess is a fantastic read, and one that I think is really important for younger readers.

Khan sends Amir on an adventure with the Jinn Princess, Shamsa, to find and bring his mother back so his father won’t get remarried and their family will be whole and reunited. Upon this adventure, Amir is confronted with his privilege and how his gain comes at the extent of others. He is forced to question his life long belief that if people were to just work harder, they’d have the same success as him and his family. This contrasts him with Shamsa, who is also privileged, and yet she is attempting to see what is wrong and work to fix it for the betterment of everyone.

These messages that the book sends — to be compassionate, to confront your privilege and see how it impacts others — are incredibly relevant in society. These are things kids will be growing up learning about, and will be impacted by. How often do we see on the news the wealthy blaming the poorer class for their situations, as if it is not them who control the flow of money and who gets it? Who control who gets the opportunities? There’s a lot more to it than ‘working hard’. I also think this book brings up a great point that success and happiness also looks to everyone. One man’s trash is another man’s gold.

I hought the mystery was good and I liked how it died in to the deeper meaning that the novel was exploring, with wealth and privilege and sacrifice. I do think that this book perhaps could have been a little bit longer as it felt things had occurred so fast, and I would have liked to see Shamsa and Amir have more time together, but overall I think the novel was really well paced and really well constructed.

Thank you to Walker Books for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy novels set in fantasy worlds which pertain to other cultures and beliefs. Amir and the Jinn Princess is rooted in traditional Arabic and Islamic beliefs and storytelling.

When we first meet Amir Rafiq, it seems his life of privilege and comfort has made him aloof and, frankly, a bit insufferable. But, it turns out his attitude of spite and apathy might not be so hard baked, and is due to the disappearance of his mother, who it seems was a steadying influence on her family.

As potential heir of his family’s brick empire, Amir is certainly used to the finer things in life and lives with the expectation that his life will forever continue to be as easy. His mother disappearing is his first real experience of adversity.

A chance encounter with a jinn sparks a series of events that will change everything. The jinn turns out to be a princess of their realm, a being afforded privilege beyond even Amir’s experience and nothing could be more humbling than a trip to the realm of the Jinn. as Amir soon discovers. However, we soon learn Princess Shamsa and Amir have a lot more than power and privilege in common. To remain in the jinn world, unscathed, Amir must enter (at least in appearance) the service of Shamsa. His initiation into working life serves as empathy training for our young protagonist. We see him move from soulless scion to someone of note.

MT Khan showcases a very unique sense of humour, encompassing among other things, social awkwardness, spiky repartee, irony and a little absurdism.

The world of the jinn seems like a timeless place from folk tales and when MT Khan throws in a hyper-contemporary reference to remind her reader that it’s actually the 21st century- for instance, “Arrows start dropping like prices on on Black Friday,”- it’s a little jarring… in a good way!

Among ideas served up for readers to contemplate is hierarchy and the baked-in inequalities of such structures; friendship; identity; democracy, politics and corruption; and legacy.

I’m now keen to read MT Khan’s ‘Nura and the Immortal Palace’ and return to the jinn realm for more adventures!

Oh my gosh!
What a powerful and beautifully written book.
This story brought me to tears. A magical, enchanting adventure. It is filled with gorgeous imagery, warmth, and charm. It is more than this, though. Deep down, this story is about how we see and treat people who are less fortunate than us. Which end of the moral compass we sit on. How power and riches corrupt, and that your destiny doesn't have to be chosen for you. To fight for what you truly believe in. To do better. I could gush about this book so much more, and my review will never give this story enough praise. I think this book and its messages should be read in schools to children.
I'm so glad I got to read it. It will forever stay with me.

Synopsis
Amir was born into a life of wealth and power. Having everything handed to him on a plate. Spoilt and ignorant. Taught to think that people are poor because they don't work hard enough and they make bad decisions. Desperate to find his missing mother, he meets Shamsa, a Jinn from a different realm. A princess, she too comes from a powerful family. She is an outcast to them because she does not hold great powers or see the world as her parents do. They embark on this journey together in hopes of finding Amir's missing mother.

Thanks to NetGalley and Walker Books.
My opinions are my own

This is a great, fast paced adventure about learning to be yourself despite your background, standing up for yourself and others and generally being kind.
Amir isnt a stuck up rich boy, but he does suffer a bit from rich blindness, being taught by his rich businessman father that the poor are only that way because they don't try hard enough and the have failed to thrive, but treats his workers almost like slaves.
Amir meets a Jinn princess, fighting to be the next Jinn heir, but she's always put down by her many siblings because she's different. She doesn't have fire powers like a proper Jinn, she's too dreamy.
Amir is desperate to find his mother who recently went missing, and the princess promises to help him look for her in the Jinn realm, as a lot of humans have been winding up there recently for unknown reasons, as long as he helps her with the heir race.
And so an unlikely duo is formed.

I thought this book was really fun and a nice read with some really great moral teachings. Impressed and I recommend it!

4.5 stars.

This is a gripping go-getter, ‘set fire on the pages and let the reader gasp’ page turner, an enchanted adventure.

Amir’s story is told by him. This is both magical and tender. The premise and the concept are 5/5. Might have marked the first time I have read something that talks about parent-child bond and love, workers’ rights (that is a side point), and has jinn in them. The setting and the action are cool, The writing style is a great fit for younger readers. For older ones, 4/5.