Author: Jonathan Stroud
Book Review By: Aditya Sharma
Grade: 8

This is a book about magic, Jinns and other supernatural beings. The first main character is a young boy called Nathaniel who lives in London. In the story, the British empire is run by magicians and they are all suspicious of each other. Nathaniel’s parents give him up so that he can train to become a magician under a master. Unfortunately, Nathaniel’s master is jealous of him because he feels that Nathaniel is better than him.

When Nathaniel gets into trouble with another powerful magician Lovelace, his master doesn’t support him. Lovelace insults Nathaniel in front of other magicians and no one stands up for the young boy.

In the meantime, some of the commoners start to resist the power of the magicians. Kitty, the other main character, becomes involved with one group of the resistance. Her friend is hurt badly by the magicians and she feels that it was her fault.

Nathaniel decides to get revenge on Lovelace. He reads advanced magic books secretly and summons a very powerful Jinn, Bartimeaus. He then orders Bartimeaus to steal the amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace.

Nathaniel and Kitty are on opposite sides. When Bartimaeus tries to steal the amulet, all of them end up in a much more dangerous situation. They have to work together to save their lives, and that of the others.

The characters are very interesting. Bartimaeus is rude but he is very funny and sarcastic. Nathaniel is not shown as a ‘good’ person but as a confused teenager. Kitty is angry and determined to fight.  I enjoyed this book because I like history too. I googled some of the real events they mention in this book and the author has used those very cleverly. The odd part was that parents had to give up their children to the government but the magic in the book is really fascinating. I’m excited to read the other books in this series.

Share with Friends

Categories
Tags
ADHD 1
Adoption 9
Adventure 9
Autism 1
Autobiography 2
Bilingual book 1
Biography 4
Book review contest 3
CBSE 35
Children's Book 2
Children's Day 1
Chinna Thambi 1
Classics 11
colouring 11
Comics 1
Counting book 1
COVID 19 6
dance 1
Deepavali 0
Delayed milestones 1
Diwali 1
Drama 1
Dyslexia 1
Early intervention 0
Education 4
Education in India 21
Educational Testing 1
Emergent writing 2
Expository text Features 1
Expository text structure 2
Fairy Tales 2
Fantasy 39
Festivals of India 30
Fiction 32
Fine motor skills 1
Folktales 1
Ghost Stories 6
Golu 1
Graphic Novel 2
Harry Potter 11
Historical Mystery 1
Hithopadesha (Tamil) 25
Hithopadesha in Tamil 0
Hitopadesha (Tamil) 1
Horror 2
Humour 20
INavarathri 0
India 8
Indian Air Force 1
indian festivals 20
Indian Independence Day 2
Indian kidlit 32
Indian states 12
Indian Traditions 1
Interview with speacialists 0
Learning to read 6
life cycle of a butterfly 1
Lion 0
Masala Fairy Tales 17
mental health 1
Monsoon 1
Music 1
Mystery 4
Narrative Text Structure 1
Navarathru 0
Navratri 2
Nepal 1
Phonics 1
picture book 11
play 1
Poetry 6
Primary Education in India 1
purangkooramai 0
Reading 1
reading challenge 1
Reading comprehension 4
REPUBLIC DAY 1
Sci Fi 1
Screen time 1
Self help 1
Short Stories 3
Short stories(Tamil) 9
Speech and Language 1
Stories by children 3
Stories from India 40
Tamil Story 37
Text Structure 2
Thirukkural 50
Traditional Indian Games 1
virtual schooling 3
Vocabulary 1
worksheets 35
writing 4
Young Adult 15
Young Writers 20
அன்னப்பறவை-மயில்-போர் 0
அழுக்காறாமை 0
இந்திய திருவிழாக்கள் 5
ஒழுக்கமுடைமை 0
கொக்கு 0
Recent posts