Customer Reviews

The House of Djinn

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When reading this book, I felt as if its relation to the first book in the trilogy (the Newberry Award-winning "Shabanu") was something like the relationship of "Scarlett" to "Gone With the Wind." Whereas the first two (wonderful!) books focus on Shabanu and the intricacies of life in Pakistan and Pakistani society, "The House of Djinn" bounces its focus to Mumtaz and the heretofore unknown Jameel, while Shabanu herself appears barely twice. While the first two books are rich with detail on the landscape, cities, rituals, and intrigue, this book jumps clumsily from scene to scene, name-dropping skateboard tricks.

I remember being left on the edge of my seat when "Haveli" ended, and after growing impatient with years of waiting for a resolution, visiting the author's website and discovering that she had never planned to write a third book at all. This felt akin to Tolkien's simply ending his books at the Two Towers with "Frodo was alive, and taken by the enemy." I was horrified. I couldn't have been happier when she decided to write this book to resolve those missing questions. Alas, the book is so rushed and thin on detail that it's almost as if it was written by someone else. It does NOT read like the grandchild of the Newberry Award-winning "Shabanu." I didn't connect with a single character in the book, even the ones I'd liked before. I'm bitterly disappointed...she resolved the issues only technically, as if saying "here's your book, now leave me alone."

A final thought: this is the fourth book I've read by Suzanne Fisher Staples, and I've come to notice that every single one of them (the Shabanu trilogy and "Shiva's Fire") seem to end right in the middle of the climax. While open endings are appropriate for some stories, after a while it starts to feel lazy. Finishing her books with no sense of closure is jarring.

Enjoy "Shabanu" and "Haveli," but stop there.

I first read the two previous books in the series several times. I was excited when i heard that the final book was being released some years later. This book isnt really up to level as the other books. It struck me as a bit strange and left me thinking if the same writer wrote "Haveli" and "Shabanu". This book leaves as much unfinished as the second ending, and is just disappointing and more childish than the other two books. You would have thought that the book would have come to some conclusion. It is all entertaining, i suppose, until u meet the end, which leaves you extremely disappointed. The real story ends at Haveli. This is no where on the level of the other two. If you are REALLY curious about what happens read it. This tarnishes the characters.

I read the first two books in this series several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. When I purchased this book I reread the first two books to refresh my memory of the story, then immediately went on to read this one. While the story itself was good, I was highly disappointed in how this book matched the first two. There were several discrepancies between the first two books and this; glaring mistakes, particularly about deaths, that left me wondering if Suzanne Fisher Staples had written this book without reviewing her prior works. I was also disappointed in the style of writing - despite being intended for young adults, I, now in my mid-20s, still enjoyed the first two books and felt drawn into them. This third book felt written by a much less experienced writer; someone who'd not yet written a great book and thus had no idea of what a great book could contain. Don't get me wrong - if you read the first two books, by all means read this one as well. Just don't be surprised if you're left feeling disappointed and empty at the end.

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.

I read the two previous books which led to the conclusion in this book.
It's best if you read the first two before reading this one.