The House of Djinn

by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Book Overview

It has been ten years since Shabanu staged her death to secure the safety of her daughter, Mumtaz, from her husband's murderous brother. Mumtaz has been raised by her father's family with the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307976424
• ISBN13: 9780307976420
• Release Date: September 2012
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Djinn and Company

Shabanu has been in hiding from her murderous brother-in-law for ten years. The only way to protect her daughter, Muti, from this villain is to continue to feign her own death. Muti, who believes her mother is dead, is sent to live with her father's family in Lahore, Pakistan so that she can attend school. Living in a large family compound believed to be haunted by Djinn and run by a jealous, mean-spirited aunt, Muti is protected from the worst of Leyla's enmity by her kindly uncle Omar and beloved grandfather Baba. Leyla incessantly persecutes the girl under the radar of Baba, the leader of the Amirzal tribe of Pakistan. Muti describes this treatment to her cousin and confidant, Jameel, as "death by a thousand pinpricks." Jameel comes from San Francisco to spend summers with his grandfather. At fifteen, both young people have been devoted friends since Muti's arrival at the compund when she was five. In a story filled with venality, betrayal and strong familial love, the author explores the clash of modernity with traditional Pakistani culture in the lives of two appealing young people. Staples, who understands both the conflict of cultures and the conflict of emotions of the young protagonists very well, also allows mysticism to play a role in this eloquent, wonderfully compelling novel.