A review by gumihoreviews
Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan

5.0

Trigger Warning: child labor, death, grief, mine collapse

Grief presents itself in many ways, even portals to other worlds.

[b:Nura and the Immortal Palace|54913540|Nura and the Immortal Palace|M.T. Khan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636395021l/54913540._SX50_.jpg|85687968] by [a:M.T. Khan|20591593|M.T. Khan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1621134588p2/20591593.jpg] was a story of dealing with grief and sadness at its core. This was deep. Nura is a determined and spunky 12 yr old girl who is working hard to make money for her family. Nura, her friends as well as other kids, are working in a mine because the adults are too big to fit. One day at the mining site, there’s an accident and four people die including her best friend. She doesn’t believe it and can’t wrap her head around it at all. She goes to the site to prove everyone wrong and ends up in another world.

There were so many tough real life experiences that tend to be hush hush in society. I’m glad that it was mentioned in this middle grade book. Children having the opportunity to see what others experience will help them grow as well. With the story being about a young Pakistani girl, it all focused on her tough experiences, like child labor, her culture and even language. Let’s not forget the theme of rich vs poor and dealing with death and grief. It is always amazing to see a culture’s lore mixed into a story, it exposes us to something we may have never known and can be inspiring. This was a needed story and I’m glad it was created!

As this book covers some really deep, dark, even controversial topics, it would be better for older middle grade students. They’d be able to process what’s happening a bit easier than the lower leveled readers. Additionally, it’d be a great opportunity for open discussion, whether it’s with family or educators of another form. Excluding the themes, it’s still an interesting story and many readers will love it!

I’ll be looking out for the next book!

*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of Nura and the Immortal Palace from M. T. Khan via NetGalley