I've been wanting to read Ritu Weds Chandni ever since I saw posts by Yali Books two years ago. It seemed like such an important book - a picture book about two women getting married!When I started reading it, however, I did so without reading the blurb. The book opens with little Ayesha getting ready to dance at her cousin's baraat. She seems so happy; her family seems so happy. I wondered ... Would this be a simplistic story glossing over homophobia? Would Ayesha just be a bystander enjoying a wedding?But I was not disappointed. I loved the book, and I smiled as little Ayesha learns what it is to be an ally, saving her Ritu Didi's wedding.There were so many little things that I could not help noticing about the book. Lots of writers spend ages thinking of names for their characters--I know I do! Names have so many connotations, and I love that the characters here have … [Read more...]
The Best At It
Rahul Kapoor wants to be the best at it. The best at what? Honestly, anything. Football, acting ... anything except Maths. He doesn't want to fit into the stereotype of the nerdy American Indian. In fact, he wants as little to do with his Indianness as possible. For instance, he doesn't want to be part of the International Bazaar that his mother's friends, the Auntie Squad, are organising. And he'd like to be a little less brown. Oh, and he finds his father's Bollywood music more than a little embarrassing.The Best At It was a gentle, lovely book. Yes, I did cringe more than once, but isn't adolescence full of cringeworthy moments? Unerringly, The Best At It goes to the heart of each moment, embarrassing or sad, wildly happy or confusing. And that - the authenticity of tone on each page - is what drew me to the story. Who are we? Who do we want to be? How can we fit in? Even when … [Read more...]
Born Behind Bars
Just like Fish in a Tree and Counting by 7s, I got around to reading Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman thanks to the NLF Reading Challenge. There's just so much lovely literature out there just waiting to be read!I was a little sceptical about reading Born Behind Bars, though. I'm not a fan of very dark, upsetting middle-grade literature. For instance, even though I found One for the Murphys gripping, it was too much for me. It's emotional, well-told, powerful - but there's just too much darkness there. I like heart-wrenching stories, but not that heart-wrenching.And the premise of Born Behind Bars felt similar. A child born in prison and let out alone because he's too old to stay in jail with his mother? I wouldn't normally pick up a book if that was all I knew about it. Yet, during the conversation with the author, more than once, I got a sense of hope, of positivity. … [Read more...]
That Year at Manikoil
I couldn't have read That Year at Manikoil on a better day if I'd planned it. I don't even remember how long ago I bought my copy, but it was today, Independence Day, that I sat down with it. And it was only when I was close to finishing it that I realised what an apt day it was to have read a book from the Songs of Freedom series.That Year at Manikoil is a rich, beautifully told story. Like The Chowpatty Cooking Club, it traces the story of young girls in the 1940s. World War II continues to rage on, and the protagonist Raji is confused. Why does her Thatha entertain British guests? Is he a coward? Why is her brother Gopu Anna fighting a war for the British? And a question that bothers her right through: what is her part in the struggle for independence? I love how authentic Raji's voice is. She wants to do something meaningful, but it is all too easy to get tempted by more … [Read more...]
Daulatabad Fort and Ellora Caves
The view from the top of Daulatabad I first visited Daulatabad about 25 years ago. From all those years ago, I remember two things distinctly: the frighteningly dark passages that can lead you straight to a moat full of hungry crocodiles if you take the wrong turn, and the smell of bats.The latter stays the same, except that it's mingled with the stench of sweat. What has changed, though, is the passages. A few electric lights have been installed, but what really changes the feel of the place is the fact that everyone has a mobile phone with a flashlight! Where's the drama of a flaming torch leading the way through dark, unpredictable, winding passages? The walls of Daulatabad Fort Daulatabad on a cloudy Sunday morning Unlike most other people who link … [Read more...]
Love That Dog
Last month, I had the opportunity to pitch a middle-grade verse novel to an editor, and as these things sometimes happen, the pitch turned into a conversation. We spoke about One and The Weight of Water (I prefer the first; the editor I was talking to prefers the second). I had not yet read Clap When You Land, or I would have mentioned it. And then she asked me if I had read Love That Dog. I hadn't, but I thought I'd see if I could find it. I did--and I loved it!The book begins in a surprising way. I read on. I was just on page three or four of the book, and I was already laughing. I remember my reaction to William Carlos Williams's 'The Red Wheelbarrow'. And the protagonist Jack has the same reaction! Why does so much depend on a little red wheelbarrow? What? What does the poem even mean?And slowly, from lightheartedness to emotion, we move with Jack, and understand just how … [Read more...]
Clap When You Land
A YA verse novel told from two points of view? Yes, please. And one with a secret at its core? Always. Clap When You Land was a stunning read, one that made my heart ache even as I rejoiced with all the women in the story who emerged triumphant, and stronger than ever.Yahaira, who lives in New York City, knows her father's secret. But she thinks she needs to keep it from her mother.And Camino, who lives in the Dominican Republic, knows nothing. She does not know that her father does not live in the United States only for work. He has a family there - another wife and another daughter.When he dies in an air crash, all the secrets come tumbling out. How can Camino accept a sister, who monopolised her father right through the year? How can she come to terms with the huge wealth divide between her father's two families? And worst of all, how is it that she is the only one who never … [Read more...]
Ivy + Bean
Every so often, at my book club, I choose a popular, internationally loved book. We've read The Rise of the Earth Dragon, The Absent Author, The Sheep-Pig ... and now, we'll read Ivy + Bean.The enemies to friends trope is always fun. Ivy and Bean never meant to like each other. In fact, Bean is quite sure she has enough friends. She doesn't need another one, especially not someone who seems as nice as Ivy. She knows only too well that nice = boring. But when Bean decides to play a trick on her sister, she realises that Ivy is not as nice as she seems. And that's a good thing.Funny, silly and full of action, Ivy and Bean is perfect to read with a bunch of seven- and eight-year-olds! Predicting a story Before we start reading the book, I'll show the children a video trailer and ask them to imagine what the story is about. I know that some of the children … [Read more...]
The Great River Magic
The Great River Magic by Nandini Nayar is one of those books with a message, not usually an obvious choice for me to read at my book club. Yet, as I read this book, I was charmed by the premise. I love stories about families, family traditions, and the ways in which people follow or break them. The Great River Magic touches upon all this!Sangeeta - whom her grandmother insists on calling Gita - is the firstborn child. In the village of Rajpur, this means that she must take over the family business. What if she doesn't want to? That's just one part of the mess that Rajpur is in. Rajpur is famous for its wonderful, top-quality products of all kinds, but of late, people have been complaining about odd smells and inferior production. Sangeeta and her siblings must use their skills to investigate. Together, they find the courage to stand up to the adults and set things … [Read more...]
Petu Pumpkin – Tiffin Thief
We've read Bookasura and Koobandhee; we're all set for yet another book by Arundhati Venkatesh - Petu Pumpkin: Tiffin Thief.Petu Pumpkin. Isn't it a fun name? And doesn't it seem apt that he would be a tiffin thief?The question is: what can his friends do about the fact that Pushkin aka Petu Pumpkin eats everyone's food? They must come up with a plan.And of course, the plan must be secret. And a secret plan requires a secret society. And a secret society must have a name, a leader, a secret meeting place and a password.Petu Pumpkin: Tiffin Thief is a fun book that I'm sure we'll enjoy at my book club. Here's what we'll do with it. Secret Societies Growing up on Secret Seven and Famous Five, I don't know how many clubs my friends and I set up. The one I remember most clearly was a club called Helpful House, whose mission was to save the world. We made … [Read more...]