The Balloon Thief
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…
The Balloon Thief is published by Chicken House Books. It is also published in France as La Voleuse De Ballon, and the US, as Rebel of Fire and Flight.
An Emerald Sky
The extraordinary sequel to The Balloon Thief: an epic journey into a world of shadows and trickery where the stakes are even higher.
After the epic battle of The Balloon Thief, Khadija, Jacob and Darian are heroes. But then Khadija learns that her sister, Talia, has been kidnapped and taken to the jinn realm of Al-Ghaib. Khadija and Darian go to her rescue. But Darian is strangely changed since the battle that cost him his heart. Khadija will need all her wits about her if she’s to outfox her sister’s captor – and perhaps, save the boy she loves. . .
The fiery sequel to the celebrated YA fantasy romance, The Balloon Thief. A dual narrative split between Khadija’s magical quest to rescue her sister, and Jacob’s embroilment in a political mystery. Full of ancient jinn, epic adventure and heartrending romance that explores love, politics, equality and racism in a highly original South Asian-inspired fantasy world.
An Emerald Sky is published by Chicken House Books.
Aneesa Marufu 