Nayra and the Djinn is a charming YA graphic novel debut from author Iasmin Omar Ata. It follows a familiar coming-of-age plot with a fantastical twist, featuring tested friendships, tense family relationships, and the timely introduction of a magical being.
Nayra is having a tough time dealing with Islamophobic bullying at school while keeping up with her parents’ high expectations. It’s also Ramadan, the holy month for prayer and fasting in the Islamic calendar. Thankfully, Nayra has her best friend Rami to break fast with at the end of school every day, as well as an online forum community with other Muslim teens. But the pressure is getting too much to handle, and Nayra even considers transferring schools—without telling Rami.
One night, Nayra reads a mysterious message in the online forum. After accepting the sender’s request, a djinn, a being from Islamic myth, appears in a whirlwind of lavender and magenta. Marjan the djinn is seeking refuge in the human world and is now attached to Nayra. With Marjan’s help, Nayra can finally face her problems at school. But her other relationships—with Rami, her family, and even Marjan—only fracture even more. And the arrival of Zirkouniya, another djinn, further complicates things.
Nayra and the Djinn is an impressionable YA debut with impactful graphic storytelling. The character designs are memorable and distinguishable; the soft, rounded style fits the story’s fantastical yet grounded YA narrative and coming-of-age theme. The color palette is easy on the eyes, and Ata even uses colors as motifs to clearly portray not only setting but also the characters’ feelings. One example is how Ata uses a red-tinged “camera lens,” dark room, and photographs as panel frames to communicate Rami’s perspective: her literal view of the world and her worsening emotional state.
Many other panels and pages stand out for their creativity. One instance was when Nayra is on a call with her older brother Baasar. Baasar advises Nayra about their mom, inadvertently reminding Nayra of her own shortcomings in comparison to her older siblings. This conversation transitions to a splash page: Nayra stands in front of a human-sized phone screen, with Baasar on the other side saying, “She was like, ‘Remind her that you all went to the same school . . . If you can do it, then so can she!’”
The image likens the phone screen to a mirror, through which Nayra sees Baasar instead of her own reflection. To Nayra, her mom sees Nayra’s older siblings as examples of “perfection,” which she expects Nayra to emulate. Through this call, Nayra can only see herself as another “Baasar.” This image is poignant—it shows how it feels to be compared by parents to other people, especially to our siblings.
Sometimes, however, there is an imbalance between literal “telling” (e.g., speech bubbles) and “showing” (e.g., panel placement, character images). A lot of the novel’s narrative appears redundant, communicated to the reader both directly through speech bubbles—literally told to the reader—and drawn on the page in a straightforward way. Much of the narrative, including exposition and character emotions, could be left “unsaid” and to the reader’s interpretation of the imagery. This is particularly a problem later in the novel with Zirkouniya’s appearance.
Other times, panel shapes and placements can be confusing to follow. The graphic novel sometimes breaks the 180-degree rule, a film rule that establishes character and viewer orientations. Although comics and film are two different mediums, the principle of the rule still applies to comics in how panels orient not just the characters and their eyelines but also how the reader flows through a page. While there are ways to masterfully break the 180-degree rule, this requires a clear narrative or thematic reason. But the way Nayra and the Djinn breaks the rule only confuses and distracts the reader, since the breakage can disrupt the reader’s immersion or visual flow.
The speech bubble placements can also disrupt the visual storytelling. Sometimes the speech bubbles appear out of order, confusing the reader with which character is speaking, specifically in panels where the associated character is not visible.
As for the story, while the first half flows and establishes the characters well, the second half does not follow suit. The story centers on strained interpersonal relationships with the fun introduction of mystic beings, so it should be a more character-driven story. But the novel eventually defaults to being plot driven. Though not necessarily an issue on its own, the conflicts in the story are primarily character-centered, so the lack of established interpersonal reconciliations causes the ending to lose impact.
In other words, the ending feels rushed. By the end, Nayra does not have a real conversation with either her family or Rami about what she’s been feeling. Rami’s home situation was also not necessary to the plot or narrative, especially because it does not get acknowledged more than once. Zirkouniya is also introduced too late in the story, which causes their struggle, redemption, and resolution with Marjan to fall equally flat. Overall, the emotional and interpersonal resolutions for all the characters lack proper emotional impact.
That said, Nayra’s transition to a better social life was portrayed well. How she eventually confronts her bullies and makes new friends are all in character and help to strengthen her personal growth and the story’s conflict with Rami. I appreciated Tania’s redemption and the introduction of Azalea as a new friend. Still, since part of Nayra’s conflict with Rami is their weakening friendship, caused in part by Nayra’s neglect, the story would have been stronger had there been a proper dialogue between Nayra’s new friends and Rami.
All the issues in the graphic novel, though, are primarily skills that Ata can develop over time. For a debut, Ata establishes engaging storytelling and art skills, and I believe they have the potential to make an even better story in the future.
Nayra and the Djinn is appropriately intended for middle grade to young adult readers, with a sweet, aesthetic design and a familiar, heartening story. And despite the flaws, I would gladly recommend this graphic novel to anyone of any age.
