City of Stolen Magic is a middle-grade fantasy novel that weaves together magic, colonial history, and secrets. 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. A small girl, whose mother has been taken away from her, embarks on a courageous journey to find and rescue her beloved parent. A gripping and spellbinding fantasy woven together with threads of magic, secrets and colonial history .

City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak - Google Play City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak - Google Play

I loved the magic system, and the distinction between finger magic and written charms, djinn born versus djinn speakers. But nefarious forces are conspiring against not only our headstrong hero but all the magical children they can corral, and time is running out for their survival. This book was amazing, nothing less than fantastic, I finished it in one sitting and it’s completely deserving of the 5 star review. While the book reads easily, the pace is in my honest opinion too quick, problems get resolved too easily, and the characters are almost annoyingly superficial and archetypical. Tipu is one of our heroes, one of the children exploited for their magical ability, and Aaliya helps the good side.I loved how there was more than one kind of magic in the story, and each character had different skills and strengths and every one of them was important in how the action played out.

City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak | Goodreads City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak | Goodreads

This story was a lovely and impactful read, the plot itself being very fast paced with twists and turns along the way. There are also parallels with real historical events, when Britain colonised India and exploited its people and riches, resulting in widespread poverty, famine and enslavement. Chompa lives with her beloved mother in a small village in India, bored by her mother's insistence on slow, subtle charms rather than allwoing Chompa to explore her much more exciting and powerful finger magic, but when Chompa takes matters into her own hands, the results are catastrophic resulting in her mother's capture by terrifyingly pale men - Chompa's first encounter with the British.Chompa’s mother, Ammi, is an expert in writing magic, but Chompa finds it slow and laborious, and much prefers the immediacy of finger magic, which comes easily to her. She doesn't understand her mother's rules at the start which I think is something that children everywhere will identify with! Her novel begins in Bengal in 1855, where our young heroine Chompa – “clumsy, fidgety, short of temper” – lives in an isolated village in which the other children (correctly) suspect her and her mother Ammi of being witches. Hair was what princesses worried about, but in real life, it got in your eyes and mouth… Chompa threw the scarf aside.

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

Who is kidnapping these children and, more worryingly still, what are they planning to do with them? When Chompa uses her finger-magic to light a fire, little does she know that she has started a series of events that will endanger the lives of many. The author skillfully brings each scene to life, allowing readers to vividly imagine and immerse themselves in the captivating world they depict. Rumor is that they are being taken across the sea - to England - by the all-powerful, sinister Company.Nazneen Ahmed Pathak does an amazing job of detailing how the English would have interacted with the Indian (djinn born/speakers), and creates beautiful descriptions of the ship and the areas visited.

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

The story is narrated from the perspectives of both Chompa and Tipu, and Tipu's story is more engaging. Set against the backdrop of British rule in India, the story revolves around Chompa, a young witch with powerful magic. However I did find that when something was mentioned, a conflict involving it happened far too quickly.While I appreciate the urgency of the increased rhythm during chapters that deal with particularly time sensitive events (an escape, a ruse, etc.