The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

As a child, Fatima’s family was murdered outside the city of Noor by Shayateen Djinn, bloodthirsty magical beings. Ghazala, an Ifrit djinni warrior, finds Fatima close to death. Ghazala sacrifices herself by merging her powerful Ifrit magic into Fatima’s failing body. Fourteen years later, Fatima is scraping a living in Noor while struggling to hide her Ifrit powers. Meanwhile, Noor is protected from the Shayateen by the maharajah’s troops and Ifrit warriors, with Zulfikar as the Ifrit Captain. When an Ifrit spiritual leader is murdered, Zulfikar needs to quickly fill the vital vacancy. Surprisingly, he finds his candidate in Fatima. Totally unprepared to be in Noor royal society, Fatima feels lost and unsure of her blossoming Ifrit abilities, but Zulfikar helps to build her confidence. Threats soon come against the maharajah’s family which strain human and Ifrit alliances. Only Fatima can keep the peace between human and Djinn powers by finding the real traitors threatening the city and the people she loves. 

Azad’s novel is an immersive fantasy into worlds few authors have trod. Azad takes readers along the Silk Road to an alternate India where god-like beings either protect or destroy the humans struggling to survive. In the city of Noor, the vibrant and colorful worlds of Muslim culture and Indian folklore cement together to build the foundation of Fatima’s story. With this rich undergirding, readers experience real diversity with cultures and traditions not commonly highlighted in young adult fantasy. But Azad goes further, sweeping away common Muslim stereotypes by making many of her characters strong, independent women that are nurtured by supportive men. Azad freely uses culture-specific vocabulary throughout her story. Readers unfamiliar with her terminology can refer to a glossary at the end, which can require some patience. One criticism is that maps of Noor and the outlying area would have been extremely helpful in knowing where Fatima traveled within the story. It can be confusing to keep track of each character’s movements. With mild violence, gore, and suspense, this book is appropriate for ages 15 and up.

The Thief Knot: A Greenglass House Story by Kate Milford

Ever since her adventures at Greenglass House, Marzana yearns to solve another mystery. Surprisingly, one falls into her lap, or, actually, her parents’ laps. A politician’s daughter, Peony Hyde, has been kidnapped. Because the kidnapping was so near the sanctuary city of the Liberty of Gammerbund, law enforcement are not allowed to go searching there for Peony. While Marzana’s parents start their investigation, Marzana and her best friend, Nialla, put together a group of eager young detectives. Calling themselves the Thief Knot, the tween investigators decipher clues and traverse forgotten paths to Peony’s whereabouts. However, after finding Peony, Marzana does not believe the case is solved. 

The Thief Knot harkens back to Milford’s original genius in Greenglass House. Readers are treated to a story set in the asylum city of the Liberty of Gammerbund, a place Milford addressed in previous books. Marzana hungers for some action in her life even though she is the daughter of a legendary smuggler. But like the Liberty, Marzana has been protected from her mother’s pirating past. Throwing away that protection, Marzana is thrilled to sleuth again on the kidnapping case. However, she soon learns that lives are at risk if she makes any wrong moves. Realizing the dangers, Marzana clears her mind to see the faults in their past investigation and leads her crew safely to the correct resolution. Something that would have engaged readers more with the story would have been maps showing key places above and below ground where the Thief Knot crew go to in the book. Several maps are mentioned in the storyline, so there could have been opportunities for readers to solve clues with Marzana instead of waiting for Marzana to figure things out. With some mild language usage, The Thief Knot is appropriate for ages 12 and up.