The House of Djinn

By Suzanne Fisher Staples

Book Overview

Mumtaz, daughter of Shabanu, has lived with her father's traditional Muslim family for 10 years, enduring the scorn of her auntie Leyla day in and day out. Her only protectors are her uncle Omar and Baba, patriarch of the Amirzai tribe, but even they would disown her if they knew she had a crush on a Hindu boy. The only person Mumtaz can confide in is her cousin Jameel. Unfortunately, Jameel lives with his parents in California and he's been out of touch since he fell in love with a Jewish girl. When Baba dies unexpectedly, Mumtaz's world is thrown into chaos. Without Baba keeping order in the tribe, Mumtaz and Jameel find themselves thrust together in the middle of an ongoing power struggle--the same one that sent Shabanu into hiding a decade earlier. A compelling conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Newbery Honor Book Shabanu and continued in Haveli, The House of Djinn explores the delicate balance between freedom and tradition in modern-day Pakistan.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307976424
• ISBN13: 9780307976420
• Release Date: September 2012
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 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.