The Balloon Thief

The year’s must-read YA fantasy – ancient djinn, an epic adventure, and one girl’s courage to seek her own destiny … Burn the flame. Seek the night.

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 hari, and Khadija a Ghadaean. The hari are oppressed and restless – their infamous terrorist group, the Hareef, 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 Hareef 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 … A commercial, thrilling and uplifting fantasy adventure following sixteen-year-old Khadija, who flees her home in a stolen hot air balloon to escape an arranged marriage The debut novel from enthralling new talent, twenty-four-year-old Aneesa Marufu, which draws on the author’s South Asian heritage Explores racism, misogyny and discrimination in a highly original fantasy universe Perfect for fans of Noughts + Crosses, We Hunt the Flame and Rebel of the Sands