



NASEEM JAMNIA
- The Bruising of Qilwa
- …
- The Bruising of Qilwa
centering marginalized voices & EXPERIENCES IN SPECULATIVE FICTION



NASEEM JAMNIA
- The Bruising of Qilwa
- …
- The Bruising of Qilwa
centering marginalized voices & EXPERIENCES IN SPECULATIVE FICTION

"A scary good time that expands the middle-grade horror canon."
on may 27, be careful what you dream for.
Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters meets Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces in this middle grade supernatural mystery following a girl whose discovery of a magical clearing near her summer camp ends up putting her best friend in danger.
About The Glade
At Camp Clear Skies, your dreams really do come true… so be careful what you wish for…
Pina’s first trip to summer camp is a chance to escape her overbearing parents and finally go on an adventure with her best friend, Jo. But Camp Clear Skies hides a secret—a clearing in the deep woods called the Glade.
Falling asleep there, Pina and Jo, along with their new friends Arish and Eddy, are able to enter one another’s dreams, transform into superheroes, and fight back against their nightmares in epic adventures.
At first, the friends think they’ve discovered something way more exciting than any video game—until Pina’s nightmares start leaking out into waking life. Worse, something seems to have followed them back from those dreams… and whatever it is, it’s taking over Jo.
As Pina uncovers darker secrets about the camp, she must become the hero she has always wanted to be in order to save her best friend before the Glade takes them both for good.
Kirkus Reviews
"Former neuroscientist Jamnia’s middle-grade debut is a lushly atmospheric summer camp horror with an unexpected ecological twist. The overall plot is deliciously tropey and also infused with insightful social commentary that naturally incorporates the four leads’ identities: Pina is white and Persian, Jo is white and Filipino, Arish’s family is Pakistani, and Eddy is Black. Vivid sensory details, from sickening smells to mushroom-encrusted spiders, create a memorable ambience. The slow reveal mixes local lore with Pina’s first-person narration, infused with natural science. A triumphant epilogue provides a satisfying conclusion."
content notes & representation
upfront & specific
representation
Content notes
A note about queerness
© 2025, Naseem Jamnia
Photos of Naseem by Jennie Kaplan, 2018, and Jeramie Lu, 2022