Jannah Jewels – Book 1 Review

Author:  Umm Nura

Illustrator : Nayzak Al-Hilali

Publisher : Gentle Breeze Books

What to expect: Strong Muslim Girls, Packed Action, Adventure, and Lost Islamic History

Summary: The Jannah Jewels land in the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali. Suddenly, they are caught in the middle of a mystery. Someone has stolen a priceless manuscript! While following clues, they find the Grand Mosque and discover the Treasure King. Who exactly is the Treasure King and can the Jannah Jewels restore the missing manuscript into a Golden Clock before time runs out?

Our thoughts: The Treasure of Timbuktu is a page turner that entertains readers (young and old) as it sheds lost Islamic history with them.

The main characters include Hidayah, Jaide, Iman, and Sara.

Hidayah can be called the lead of the group. She has good vision and a strong sense of spirituality that helps her guide the Jannah Jewels. Hidayah is a skilled archer too. I love that because I did some archery in college.

Jaide is the artist of group. She is a racer and has a skateboard. Jaide like me loves to eat. She is always hungry!

Iman is the walking encyclopedia and also resonated with me. I love her style too; it’s similar to mine with long cardigans and long flowing skirts. I wear glasses when I’m not wearing contact lenses ; ).

Finally, Sara is the environmentalist of the group. She is also a great swimmer. I loved that she is green. Recycling is a big part of my life alhamdullilah.

So all the characters resonated with me and the fact that their deen empowers them to solve mysteries is amazing. There is this idea that in fiction it’s okay to have characters have some mysterious power we don’t know the source of. And that’s ‘okay’ to believe that as long as it’s unknown. Then it’s ‘cool’. But when the source is clearly stated like it comes from Allah and His might allows us to reach more than our full potential, then such powers become scary and even preachy. It’s even considered utterly unbelievable when as believers we know the power of dua.

Anyways, I didn’t find the religious inclusions preachy at all and enjoyed reading the resourcefulness of these four brave characters.

Look out for the reviews of the next eight books in the series insha’Allah.

Our Rating: 4/5

Jazak’Allah khair for reading,

~A Ducktrinor Mom~

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