I've been meaning to read Melissa for a while, and more so since I read Rick some time ago. It's an important book for young readers, one that I found myself mulling over long after I'd finished.George knows she is not a boy. She looks like one, and everyone sees her as one, but that's not who she is, and she knows that. How can she come out to her family and friends? How long should she hide? When can she tell those around her that she is Melissa and not George?As the school prepares to perform Charlotte's Web, Melissa finds a tiny window of opportunity. As with Rick, which follows another character's journey, Alex Gino embraces the possibility of discovering kindness around you when you show your most vulnerable self, and this makes Melissa an optimistic read. At no point does it seem like it is easy to come out as trans; yet, in Melissa's world, her family and friends … [Read more...]
The Scent of Roses
From the author of Boy, Bear, a poignant story that has stayed with me, comes The Scent of Roses, a book about fear, grief and loss. This latest hOle book by Adithi Rao is made all the more beautiful by Krishna Bala Shenoi's brilliant illustrations.When Sajad's Abu disappears, his Mauji and Badebub try to fill the gaping hole in his life. But it isn't enough. The terrifying Bram Bram Chok takes over, pushing Sajad to act in strange and unpredictable ways. For instance, he loses his temper and shouts at Jabbar, who is fourteen years old and cannot even recite the nine-times table. He feels remorse, of course, for he knows how simple and innocent Jabbar is. But what can Sajad do to quieten Bram Bram Chok? Can he just escape?The Scent of Roses reminds us of the impossibility of running away from grief. And yet, the problem with grief is that it erupts in the most unpredictable … [Read more...]
The Wish Fish
Would you believe in a fish that could grant wishes? Namita wants to, but ...The Wish Fish by Lesley D. Biswas and Aratrika Choudhury is a charming story set in a small village in the middle of a big mangrove forest. Namita's father is a fisherman, and Namita loves to help her father pick the fish out of the net.One day, however, he catches a fish that no one has ever seen before. Not even those who have been around for decades!No one, that is, until Namita takes the fish to her friend, who tells her it is a magical fish that can grant wishes. Namita has so many wishes, though! As she worries about what to wish for, she begins to think: if a fish could grant wishes, would it not make a wish for itself and be free, instead of trapped in a rice handi?A lovely, colourful book that deals with compassion and kindness, The Wish Fish spoke to the child in me. I think (hope!) I … [Read more...]
Gawa’s Bag of Good Regards
Lots of adults I know hated the question What do you want to be when you grow up?I know I loved it as a child. I had so many dreams, and I loved talking about them. Sometimes, I delude myself into believing I always wanted to be a writer, but an old, old diary tells me that I once wanted to be a doctor and an artist!Gawa's Bag of Good Regards by Anushka Ravishankar and Canato Jimo is the story of a child who doesn't know what he wants to be. But he does know what he wants to do. Unlike everyone else in his class, he doesn't even want simply to say what the teacher wants to hear. He beams instead and says that he wants to carry a bag of good regards and distribute them.Reading Gawa's Bag of Good Regards as an adult is different, of course, from reading it with a child. If I read it with a child, I can't help wondering what kinds of conversations we would have. What do you … [Read more...]
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
What a lovely, lovely book!I don't know anything about baseball. I've seen what the bat looks like, and I've heard random terms like 'home run' and 'strike', but that's the extent of my knowledge. And yet, I loved Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!, a book that's all about baseball!Vivy Cohen is fed up with people saying that girls should play softball, not baseball. When she's practising the knuckleball (and I have no idea what that is!) with her brother Nate, a coach spots her and wants her to pitch for the team, Flying Squirrels. Vivy has no idea if her mother will let her because her mother always, always wants to 'protect' her. Vivy is autistic, plus she is the only girl in what is traditionally a boys' sport. Things don't look very promising---and they get worse when she suffers an accident during a game.We learn all this, and more, through letters Vivy writes to Major League … [Read more...]
Leeva at Last
If you like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, you’re sure to enjoy Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker!Leeva’s parents, in a perfectly Roald Dahl-esque way are impossibly cruel. They have all kinds of rules for Leeva. She can’t go to school; in fact she isn’t even permitted to step out of her yard.When, one day, she breaks through the hedge around her yard and makes her way to the library that lies just beyond, a whole world opens for her. A world that is in equal parts fascinating and terrifying.Leeva is a lovely character with a question she must answer. The best place to find answers is, of course, a library. And she slowly does find answers to that impossible question: What are people for? As she meets more people (secretly, of course, for her parents must never know that she steps out), she finds more answers.At the same time, though, she discovers how much people hate her … [Read more...]
Top 5 Young Adult Books – 2024
I finally read a few more young adult books last year, so I don't have to combine my late middle-grade and young adult books! I loved all these books, three of which are by writers I've read before. I highly recommend these books for ages 13+! Spin I am not usually a fan of mythological retellings, but what a gorgeous book Spin by Rebecca Caprara was! It was part of the required reading for a course I did on revising a verse novel and it was my favourite on the list. Full of powerful imagery, this sapphic young adult verse novel blew me away with its story as well as its storytelling. It's splendid! Book review The Poet X I read Elizabeth Acevedo's less famous Clap When You Land some time ago and I loved it. The Poet X is, in some ways, even more powerful. It's such a moving story, and the verse form is the perfect way … [Read more...]
Top 10 Middle Grade Books – 2024
I read many, many middle grade books last year, but somehow just one Indian book stands out this time! Here are my top ten, in no particular order. I highly recommend these books to readers ten and above! The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them) Last year, I read many books in verse, primarily because that's what I've been writing. My most recent middle-grade verse read was The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them) by Nadine Aisha Jassat. It's a richly woven book about family and a support system. I always find verse novels to be pacy reads, but this one was even more so because it has multiple secrets at its core, secrets that the reader is curious to uncover. It's a story about stories, and I love how all the stories come together at the end. Book review Odder Odder by Katherine Applegate is the second … [Read more...]
Top 10 Early Middle Grade Books – 2024
Many of the titles on this list of my favourite early middle grade books from 2024 are book club reads. Some, the children enjoyed thoroughly; others, I enjoyed more than the children did! On the whole, I recommend these books for ages nine and up. In no particular order, here are my top ten early middle grade reads from 2024. No Talking Even though I don't usually like books that follow a boys vs girls sort of dynamic, I thoroughly enjoyed No Talking by Andrew Clements! For me, his books are particularly useful because there's just so much I can do with them at a book club. With easy, readable text that is humorous and engaging, they are perfect for all kinds of readers; plus, my book clubbers love them. No Talking was no different! Book activities Kushti Kid So many books by Vibha Batra have featured on my lists of … [Read more...]
Top 7 Picture Books and Chapter Books – 2024
It's time for my yearly roundups! I have no idea how many books I read last year (I never count), but I know I read a significant number. I read fewer picture books than usual, but I made up for that by reading dozens of chapter books.I always share these annual posts of mine with a disclaimer---not all these books were published in 2024; I just read them in 2024.A second disclaimer---I received several of these books as review copies from the publishers. This does not influence my opinion of the books; I review only ones that I enjoy.And now, here's the first of my lists - my favourite picture books and early chapter books. Three Hook Books and one hOle book feature on the list! What Happened to Grandpa What Happened to Grandpa by Nandini Nayar and Aditi Anand is a beautiful picture book about love and loss. A bittersweet story about coming to … [Read more...]