Hi everyone, and welcome back for day 21!
Today’s featured book is…
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
This book broke my heart, so of course I’ll keep recommending it to everyone I know. I went into it knowing very little, attracted by the title and the cover while browsing my local library and was very pleasantly surprised. It does go to some pretty dark places, so just be mindful of that if you decide to pick it up.
Read for: Indian literature; child narrator; mystery/thriller; poverty and class inequality.
Synopsis
‘Djinns aren’t real, but if they were, they would only steal children because we have the most delicious souls’
Nine-year-old Jai watches too many reality cop shows, thinks he’s smarter than his friend Pari (even though she always gets top marks) and considers himself to be a better boss than Faiz (even though Faiz is the one with a job). When a boy at school goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from episodes of Police Patrol to find him. With Pari and Faiz by his side, Jai ventures into some of the most dangerous parts of the city; the bazaar at night, and even the railway station at the end of the Purple Line. But kids continue to vanish, and the trio must confront terrified parents, an indifferent police force and soul-snatching djinns in order to uncover the truth.
Playing detective is no longer child’s play. As the disappearances edge ever closer to home, the lives of Jai and his friends will never be the same again.
‘This story is a talisman. Hold it close to your hearts.’
Come back tomorrow to discover my next pick,
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