ISBN-13: 9781787612730

RRP: £6.66

Published: 7th March 2024

The Prisoner of Bhopal

Amil has always dreamed of working at the modern, space-age pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, where he lives. Instead, on his tenth birthday, he is torn from his family and taken to work for Mr Kumar and his cruel son, Jalesh, in their dilapidated printing factory. There, hidden in a trunk, he finds a secret First World War journal. As its pages come to life, they reveal not only why Amil is there, but that he and the journal’s author – his great-grandfather, Sanjiv - share a magical gift: they can read the wind. Its purpose remains a mystery until, one terrible night, the pesticide plant leaks poison gas into the air above Bhopal . . .

Reviews

"Important, moving, and brilliantly paced, this is a book that will stay with me for a very long time. Amil is both brave and adorable, and his story is engrossing, devastating, and so necessary. Utterly transporting and cleverly woven, I loved the touches of magic and the poetry of the wind"
Hiba Noor Khan

"A beautifully written and wonderful book"
Annie Murray, Author and Bhopal Medical Appeal Trustee