Scan barcode
readwithpassion's review
3.0
This one starts off slowly but ends with a rapid pace. I got very into it at the ending, but I was reluctant to continue it after the first thirty pages. I liked the story a lot, but I didn't like the hopelessness that I was left with at the end. Jameer and Mumtaz decide to marry as they respect their family and culture as superior to their freedom. It is written to be a happy ending, but I felt like the author neglected the previous parts of the story. They are both in love with someone else and both feel as if they would be marrying their sibling if they went through with the marriage. This frustrated me a lot.
jessdance34's review
4.0
Loved the entire series, and this book fell right into what I have been saying about all the others. The book is very good, but all the excitement happens right at the end of the book, and usually that is where the summary comes from. So, it's good, I just feel like I have to wait awhile to get what I originally wanted to read. This book in particular had some different aspects that sets it a part from the others. There is almost a fantasy motif that goes through the book. I didn't totally understand it or like it when I was reading it, but the more I ponder it, it fits in well with the theme of understanding portions of Islam in rural areas of Pakistan. It was a very well anticipated ending to the trilogy, and I am glad that the author went back and added this piece to it.
lauralynnwalsh's review
4.0
This book is a sequel to Shabanu and Haveli, but it can stand on its own in terms of plot. It feels a bit more didactic than the other two books, but somehow it also feels a bit emotionally closer. It is less action oriented and more focused on the clash of cultures. I enjoyed it.
jordantaylor's review against another edition
2.0
Suzanne Fisher Staples could have, and certainly has in the past, done better.
The storyline here is - A young girl in modern Pakistan is struggling to find her place in a world where family life is a battle, and Islamic traditions confuse and frustrate her. Her life takes a shocking turn when she discovers that her mother Shabanu, supposedly dead for years, is actually alive, her beloved grandfather falls ill, and her place in the family is reversed.
"The House of Djinn" never captured my attention, save for small snippets here and there that richly describe the setting of exotic Pakistan. However, a handful of sentences peppered through this book are far from enough to save it.
I disliked it - the characters are defined on the surface, and then left. For example, Leyla is immediately depicted as cruel, selfish, conniving. And stays that way. Not that this is bad, but I felt that the author didn't think she needed any character development.
Also, the plot was a mess.
The supposed villain of the book, Nazir, is built up (though, not well) through-out the story as an impending threat. The author describes him as "a tiger without teeth." However, besides being mentioned a few times, he never appears until the end of the story. And in fact, the main character faints during the time that Nazir actually emerges, and is only briefly told about it after she wakes up. Nazir never even speaks once in this entire book, and is barely mentioned. This makes him the weakest opposing character I have ever heard of.
Another character who could be called a villain, Leyla, is a cruel woman who finds joy in humiliating the main character, Mumtaz, into being her servant. She is built up a bit more, and certainly far more prominent than Nazir. However, toward the end of the story, she simply vanishes. There is no conclusion to her and Mumtaz's struggles.
The entire storyline was incredibly weak, jumped from focus to focus, and was ridiculously blunt and abrupt.
Lastly, I felt cheated by the ending. Through out the story, Mumtaz's mother Shabanu references the pain that her arranged marriage caused. She loved another man, who also loved her. He too was forced to marry someone else, unhappily. Arranged marriage is portrayed as hurtful, and the reader simply assumes that the author does not support it.
So, I was very surprised when, at the end
It seemed apparent that Staples was sending a message - old traditions must give way to new, and forced companionship can never rival true love and freedom.
But then, suddenly, within a few pages, Mumtaz and her cousin decide that actually, their family is right. Without warning, their views change, they follow the arranged marriage, and honor tradition.
The ending seems more like the end of a chapter than the actual end of the entire book - not because the author used a cliffhanger (that would have taken away another star from this book, so I am glad that the author didn't try that "Buy my next book!" trick here) - but because it simply wasn't... Conclusive. I said to myself "Okay... What now?"
This book had an entirely unsatisfactory ending, a message that made absolutely no sense, and one of the weakest supposed villains ever.
Not recommended - read "Shabanu" instead, but don't bother with this sequel.
The storyline here is - A young girl in modern Pakistan is struggling to find her place in a world where family life is a battle, and Islamic traditions confuse and frustrate her. Her life takes a shocking turn when she discovers that her mother Shabanu, supposedly dead for years, is actually alive, her beloved grandfather falls ill, and her place in the family is reversed.
"The House of Djinn" never captured my attention, save for small snippets here and there that richly describe the setting of exotic Pakistan. However, a handful of sentences peppered through this book are far from enough to save it.
I disliked it - the characters are defined on the surface, and then left. For example, Leyla is immediately depicted as cruel, selfish, conniving. And stays that way. Not that this is bad, but I felt that the author didn't think she needed any character development.
Also, the plot was a mess.
The supposed villain of the book, Nazir, is built up (though, not well) through-out the story as an impending threat. The author describes him as "a tiger without teeth." However, besides being mentioned a few times, he never appears until the end of the story. And in fact, the main character faints during the time that Nazir actually emerges, and is only briefly told about it after she wakes up. Nazir never even speaks once in this entire book, and is barely mentioned. This makes him the weakest opposing character I have ever heard of.
Another character who could be called a villain, Leyla, is a cruel woman who finds joy in humiliating the main character, Mumtaz, into being her servant. She is built up a bit more, and certainly far more prominent than Nazir. However, toward the end of the story, she simply vanishes. There is no conclusion to her and Mumtaz's struggles.
The entire storyline was incredibly weak, jumped from focus to focus, and was ridiculously blunt and abrupt.
Lastly, I felt cheated by the ending. Through out the story, Mumtaz's mother Shabanu references the pain that her arranged marriage caused. She loved another man, who also loved her. He too was forced to marry someone else, unhappily. Arranged marriage is portrayed as hurtful, and the reader simply assumes that the author does not support it.
So, I was very surprised when, at the end
Spoiler
it is arranged that Mumtaz will be married to her cousin. Both of them have crushes on other people, and neither of them wish to marry. At first, they rebel against their family's decisions. They even attempt to run away.It seemed apparent that Staples was sending a message - old traditions must give way to new, and forced companionship can never rival true love and freedom.
But then, suddenly, within a few pages, Mumtaz and her cousin decide that actually, their family is right. Without warning, their views change, they follow the arranged marriage, and honor tradition.
The ending seems more like the end of a chapter than the actual end of the entire book - not because the author used a cliffhanger (that would have taken away another star from this book, so I am glad that the author didn't try that "Buy my next book!" trick here) - but because it simply wasn't... Conclusive. I said to myself "Okay... What now?"
This book had an entirely unsatisfactory ending, a message that made absolutely no sense, and one of the weakest supposed villains ever.
Not recommended - read "Shabanu" instead, but don't bother with this sequel.
littlecornerreads's review against another edition
2.0
Before I review, I must say that I read Shabanu a few years ago and didn't realize there was another sequel (Haveli) before House of Djinn. That being said, I was quite disappointed with this book. I had previously read two of Staples' other books, and really enjoyed them. I just couldn't get into this book though. It took me a while to read it because I kept stopping to put it down. The various perspectives only made me feel disconnected with the characters, and the juxtaposition between America and Pakistan, though an interesting idea, was awkward at best. The story was choppy, and the chapters ended much too quickly for any kind of flow to be established. Staples' tried to do too much in such a short book, and, as a result, I felt pulled in different directions.
emily_britton's review against another edition
4.0
This is not great literature, this is YA, and that's okay. I loved the first two books when I was a teenager, so I was excited to read this this installment, and I was not disappointed. It was really refreshing to read something where feelings didn't rule the day, and the glimpse it offers into Pakistani life is fascinating.
More...