Fantasy

The Balloon Thief

The Balloon Thief

  • Downloads：2427
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-13 07:51:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Aneesa Marufu
  • ISBN：1913696073
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

A commercial， thrilling and beautifully uplifting fantasy adventure， The Balloon Thief follows Khadija and Jacob’s battle for friendship in a society plagued by racism and misogyny。 For fans of Noughts & Crosses and We Hunt the Flame。

For Khadija， the only escape from her father’s arranged betrothal is the sky。 When she spots a rogue hot air balloon fighting against its ropes， she leaps at the chance for adventure。


Khadija soon finds an unlikely ally in a poor glassmaker’s apprentice， Jacob。 But Jacob is a hāri， and Khadija a Ghadaean。

The hāri are oppressed and restless―their infamous terrorist group， the Hāreef， have a new fearsome leader。 And the ruling Ghadaeans are brutal in their repression。 Soon， a deadly revolution threatens their friendship and their world。 The Hāreef use forbidden magic， summoning jinn―wicked spirits made of fire―to enact their revenge， forcing Jacob and Khadija to choose what kind of a world they want to save…

Download

Reviews

Belle ，

I really enjoyed the plot in this one。 The world building and characters。 The culture was so rich and you could clearly see the political and cultural differences set in this world。Khadija was such a strong relatable character。 The ‘brown girl guilt’ was so strong in this book。 I think a lot of brown girls like myself who would read this can really relate。 She’s definitely not perfect and has her flaws but I couldn’t help but root for her the entire way through。 Jacob is the epitome of dumb teen I really enjoyed the plot in this one。 The world building and characters。 The culture was so rich and you could clearly see the political and cultural differences set in this world。Khadija was such a strong relatable character。 The ‘brown girl guilt’ was so strong in this book。 I think a lot of brown girls like myself who would read this can really relate。 She’s definitely not perfect and has her flaws but I couldn’t help but root for her the entire way through。 Jacob is the epitome of dumb teenager at times。 But I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him。 He was trust into all this not knowing much and definitely not knowing who to trust。 He went with his instincts which may have landed him in some trouble。 The good thing about this is…that’s it’s realistic。 In times of turmoil and distress lie he was clearly in， you aren’t always going to make good decisions especially considering he is only 15。 In a twist we’ve got the white-skinned people as the ‘oppressed’ or ‘lesser-than’ people in the book。 They are known as the Hari and then you’ve got the Ghadeaens。 Racism plays a bit part in the book。 It’s clearly evident in the way the Hari and treated。 For instance the way Jacob is treated compared to Khadija。 Even though she also isn’t treated well due to being a woman。 The plot was so good， it just kept getting better and more enthralling。 The Jinn’s absolutely freak me out and I can’t even talk about them。 Would definitely give this a 4。5 stars， with beautiful writing that does not make this seems like a debut。 Highly recommend for YA readers and older readers。 Plus you’ve got so much rep in this book: south Asian characters， hijabi warriors and LGBTQ+ rep too。 。。。more

Sana ，

I SEE A HIJABI ON A BOOK COVER？ IMMEDIATE ADD TO TBR

Books By Your Bedside ，

Thank you to Chicken House for the most beautiful copy of this book in return for an honest review。An epic story about political， cultural and religious divides of two peoples couldn’t feel more timely， and whilst there is a fantasy element to it， an element of mystery and wonder， there is a human battle， a human heart at the root of it。There is definitely a hint of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses about it， where white-skinned individuals are seen as the ‘lesser’ race。 If only racism - of Thank you to Chicken House for the most beautiful copy of this book in return for an honest review。An epic story about political， cultural and religious divides of two peoples couldn’t feel more timely， and whilst there is a fantasy element to it， an element of mystery and wonder， there is a human battle， a human heart at the root of it。There is definitely a hint of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses about it， where white-skinned individuals are seen as the ‘lesser’ race。 If only racism - of any race to another - was confined only to storybooks and fairy tales。 As someone who is lucky enough to have never experienced discrimination according to my skin colour， there is an uncomfortableness around how some characters are treated， but it hits the right mark。 She doesn’t ram the race card down your throat， it’s more of an every ugliness， which sadly is the truth for far too many people。The world building and character building is sublime throughout， but does not interfere with the pacing of the plot。 We get right to the heart of the action very quickly， and it doesn’t let down at all。 I think this has elements of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner about it。 Yes it has more fantasy elements and Hosseini’s is more about the realism， but this book has the same power and importance， and I believe it could be a very powerful book in the future， for young and old。 If there was one word to describe this book， it would be ‘gorgeous’。 I surely hope there will be a sequel as I’m not ready to leave this world quite yet。 。。。more

Lauren James ，

[Gifted]Highly relevant yet utterly original， I was utterly entranced by this world of jinn， peris and hot air balloons that ache for the skies。

Jane ，

This was a simply gorgeous tale， written with so much knowledge and love。 I’ve learnt so much about another culture and would recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone。 I’ll be passing on my copy to my granddaughters （10 and 13）， as o know they’ll be transported to this wonderful tale， such a fantastic female protagonist， Khadija， is the reason I’ve given this magical story five stars。 Thank you to Chicken House for the proof copy。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Balloon Thief

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Balloon Thief&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Balloon Thief&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0