Hogwarts casts a long shadow over magical academies. Two inventive new authors grapple skilfully with that heritage by choosing faraway realms for their fantastical boarding school dramas. Debut children’s novelist Laila Rifaat begins a trilogy with Aliya: To the Infinite City (Chicken House). Aliya defies her stern grandfather, who has raised her after the mysterious demise of her parents. Discovering a portal into a parallel world, she swaps their life in modern Cairo for time travel.
Rifaat is half-Egyptian, so has a free hand with wilful magic carpets, genie bodyguards and the rich, post-Pharaonic history of her nation. When Aliya discovers she comes from an illustrious line of time travellers, she ends up learning the ropes at the Citadel. But a rogue figure, presumed dead, may have plans for her. Poisonings, disappearances and the importance of family and friendship keep the plot flying along.
