Anyone recognise this book- girl imprisoned by a djinn

[NarcissistsEyebrows]

I don't remember much else, I think she got into the fantasy world in a vaguely Narnia esque way, ie fell into the world without knowing it existed.

She ate some food which a jailer creature gave her, it was icecream etc, then it transpired the food wasn't real and she had a hollow feeling in her belly. She also had a hot bubble bath but it was similarly an illusion and she realised she was still dirty after.

Is this ringing bells for anyone?

Published around 1990, though possibly first published earlier

The forbidden game? It was a point horror I think.

Was it the The Golem and The Djinni? Don't recognise the bubble bath and ice cream references though

Google suggested golem and djinni but the story looks quite different, plus that was published in 2013. I read this when I was ten which was 1990!

The forbidden game, nope. It was a thick book, maybe 350+ pages, and an epic and imaginative adventure story, nothing like point horror.

Thanks for the suggestions though!

Bumping as I'm jealous of all the replies and the eventual success of the other similar thread started at the same time!

Goodreads has a list of genies in children's fiction might be in there? It won't let me share but that's the phrase I used on safari and it came up.

Thanks Mog. I think I came across that too but was confused. I'm my memory the Djinn is an evil creature, almost like the HP2 Basilisc. Possibly more of a shape shifter that could take many forms.

It definitely isn't a 'genie' in the conventional story way

The helper who gives the girls the fake food is more of a normal genie but was not the 'main' baddie iyswim

I Don't know what it was but I really want to now!

It was so good, my teacher bought it for me when I left my primary school to move to another and I've never forgotten it. I'm desperate to get it for my daughter as she will absolutely love it.

I'd have thought my teacher bought it somewhere like waterstones so presumably it was on a display of new / recommended books.

I've looked in various lists of preteen fantasy books published in the 80s and can't see it. If it was in the 90s it was the first half of 1990, and that decade is harder to browse as its full of Harry Potter, Golden Compass etc

I have also read this book I am sure but can't remember what it was called

I'm sure my DH read something like that. Maybe it was Ptolemy something??

Could it have been The Tower of Geburah by John White?

I got really excited by that idea Arti as I had a vague inkling it might have 'Tower' in the title, and the front cover looked promising, but I'm sure there was one female protagonist, not three. And the author's name being 'John White' felt wrong.

I'm sure it's not but I also had a vague feeling the author's name was a more unusual word like Trollope. Don't think it is actually Trollope though...

Santa I think you migjt mean www.goodreads.com › show
Ptolemy's Gate (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud. It looks in a similar vein but published 2003

I will search out whether I can read chapter 1 of Tower of Geburah as although the blurb looks wrong I can't help thinking it's the closest I've got so far

There is only one female protagonist in TTOG ( Lisa) the other two are boys (Wesley and Kurt).
They get into the fantasy land through an old TV set. Lisa tries to rescue a prince who is imprisoned by a jinn in the form of a snake but she is captured by the jinn as the prince tries to escape and it then appears as a cat.

Cat rings a bell too, aaargh! Might have to get into ebay and buy one and have a read to see... Though I'm not mad on the idea of this being a heavily Christian book...
Thanks so much for the lead btw

I am pretty sure it is this book as I know I've read it and recognised your description.
I think it is like CS Lewis Narnia books. You can read it as just a story without focusing on the Christian parallels.

@NarcissistsEyebrows do let us know if it does turn out to be Tower of Geburah. I’m intrigued because a book by an American evangelical (3rd in a series)seems an odd choice for a primary school teacher at the time. The plot line certainly sounds as though it could be this, and the illusory food could have a religious message, like the Turkish Delight in LWATW. I had a look yesterday at British fantasy writers of the time, and couldn’t come up with anything like this. The nearest I got was Nina Beachcroft’s The Genie and her Bottle ( 1983), but the plot of that is quite different. Really interested to know!

I think one of the foods was Turkish delight! I found a copy on ebay for £2.79 so have bought, and I'll report back.