Several years ago, I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. That was when I came across Asperger's Syndrome for the first time. I read up bits and pieces about it, and was overwhelmed by the power of the brain and the ways in which it processes information.I picked up Mockingbird without knowing that it was written from the point of view of a girl with Asperger's. Caitlin's world is confusing - why do people speak in riddles? Why do people say things they do not mean?A beautiful, heart-wrenching read, Mockingbird explores grief, loss and healing. How can Caitlin find closure when her brother Devon - who always helped her make sense of the world - is killed in a school shooting? And can she help others find closure too? Is that what empathy is about?Unsaid rules that govern the world make Caitlin retreat into herself … [Read more...]
Stargirl
Sweetness is such a wonderful ingredient, and so rare in a YA novel.When Stargirl joins regular school after having been homeschooled most of her life, she is something of a phenomenon. She dresses strangely and does odd things. She seems to know everybody's name and everyone's birthday. She strums her ukulele and sings 'Happy birthday' to each one. She is the weird girl at school, but diverting enough to become popular.The problem, though, is that Stargirl does not seem to see a difference between 'us' and 'them'. At basketball matches, she cheers equally for both teams - for don't you feel elated when a team scores? Apparently, the answer is 'no'. Cheering for the enemy is unheard of, unthinkable.Yet, Stargirl does not care - or even seem to notice - when classmates begin to shun her. She continues to burst with spontaneity and love.So, Leo, who loves her but seeks … [Read more...]
Diamonds and Daggers
When Piotr's father is suspected of having stolen celebrity actor Betty Massino's diamond necklace, the boy's world seems to fall apart. For Piotr, the UK is home, but his father is fed up of being treated with suspicion simply because he is Polish. He is suspended from his job as a security guard, though he has not officially been charged with the crime because no incriminating evidence has been found. Yet, Piotr's parents have made their minds up. They're going back 'home' to Poland.Piotr is horrified by the idea. When he tells his friends that he is moving to Poland forever, they know that the only way they can prevent Piotr's family from leaving is by proving conclusively that Piotr's father is innocent.And so, the Marsh Road investigators begin to look for clues. They interview suspects and take notes. With Piotr's tickets booked, solving the mystery of the diamond necklace … [Read more...]
Catching Up: MG and YA Books
So many wonderful, wonderful books and so little time! Here are a few middle-grade and young adult books I read in the last couple of months.Gorilla DawnI know a little about gorillas being endangered because I began to read up bits and pieces about it when I saw articles linking the fate of gorillas to the largescale use of palm oil. But even in the articles I read, I had no idea about coltan and its use in every electronic device we use. The threat that mining poses to gorilla habitat is real and frightening.(And so, first of all, all those who've been telling me I need to get a new phone, read this book.)I read Gill Lewis's White Dolphin years ago, but it stayed fresh in my mind because it is such a powerful story. I also had a fan girl moment recently when Gill Lewis retweeted a review I posted of Me and Mister P. Sky Hawk has been on my … [Read more...]
Seven Fictional Teachers I Love
It's Teachers' Day - the day when every teacher goes home with a mountain of cards. As a writer and teacher, how can I not celebrate all the fictional teachers I love?When I started writing this post, I thought, first, of all the teachers I've created in my stories. The Story-Catcher has very few; offhand, I can think of just the nameless coach in "The Nationals".Dragonflies, Jigsaws, and Seashells has three; perhaps because I started teaching a lot more ...? Mr Kaushik Natraj from "Treasure-Hunt", Miss Philips from "A Drawing Lesson" and Miss Kala Ramdev from "A Retired Teacher": I like Mr Kaushik most!Edited to add: My latest book Sisters at New Dawn is a school story, so it's full of teachers. I would love to know who your favourites are!Naturally, I then went on to think about all the fictional teachers I love, particularly in children's fiction. Here … [Read more...]
Touching Spirit Bear
I'm usually not one of those readers who sits and finishes a book in a day. Unless a story is really compelling, I get distracted easily. I have a hundred other things to do each day, and I do them without being drawn back to my book. I also usually keep track of a storyline, so I can return to a book a month later and continue where I left off.But Touching Spirit Bear drew me in and held me in the story. It moved me to tears more than once and was compelling enough to keep me reading, pushing away the guilt I usually feel when I ought to be doing something else but find myself reading instead.First off, I need to say that I am no one to talk about whether the references to Tlingit traditions are true or not. I honestly have no idea. Before this book, I had no clue about the concept of Circle Justice.I loved the story because it struck a chord. The rawness of emotion wrung … [Read more...]
The One and Only Ivan
I just went onto Goodreads and saw that The One and Only Ivan has over 110,000 reviews. I'm not surprised, though. It's exactly that kind of book, the kind that makes you want to tell everyone about it. It's achingly sweet: a lovely story that leaves you sad, happy and everything else in between. Things aren't perfect, but somehow, in the only possible way given the circumstances, amends have been made.Ivan is a gorilla who deludes himself into believing that the glass cage in which he lives is his domain. He is a silverback, the leader of his troop. Except that in his new domain - with a tyre swing and paintings of nature - there are no other gorillas. Instead, next door, he has Stella the elephant, who has a sore foot, a remnant of her time in a circus. She does tricks to entertain human visitors.Ivan, who watches TV and draws, never gets his hopes up too high. He has learnt … [Read more...]
The Mumbelievable Challenge
Isn't the name itself delightful? Mumbelievable is such a fun word!The Mumbelievable Challenge, true to its name is a lovely read. It's one of those rare books that is part of a series but does not require you to read the first one first! In fact, I didn't even know that this was the second Dadventure (another fun word) until I started writing this post.Mum has a challenge for Holly and her dad - a screen-free five days in a log cabin. Not only does Holly have to live without access to any kind of screen, but she also finds that her mum has set a challenge for her to complete each day. What starts off as a drag ends up being fun and even exciting, especially when Holly meets Zeb, who is camping in the forest with his dad. The best thing of all is that Holly finds that Zeb is as embarrassed by his father as she is by hers.Zeb becomes part of the challenge too and together, … [Read more...]
Moin and the Monster
Moin and the Monster has been on my list of books to read for a long time, and I finally got around to reading it mainly because of the essay I did for The Curious Reader on "The Problem With Monster Stereotypes In Literature". Of course, it was impossible to read every book on monsters for a 1000-word essay, but finally, I had the perfect reason to put everything aside and read this one.It was excellent: deliciously funny and wholly unusual. I chuckled at Moin's uneasy relationship with a monster that is full of rules that it spouts all the time. Moin is, unfortunately, stuck with this monster who loves to sing, for one of the rules states that a monster must stay with the human who gives it shape by drawing it.From joining singing class so that he can justify the constant singing from his room to trying to explain away the disappearance of hundreds of bananas, … [Read more...]
Before We Were Free
All of us know stories of the Holocaust. Recently, I read something on social media that claimed that The Diary of a Young Girl is among the ten most widely read books in the world. Don't get me wrong; stories of the Holocaust are crucial. They teach us lessons that are horrifyingly relevant today.Yet, when we read stories about Germany, Hitler and the Jews to the exclusion of stories of horrors that have occurred - and continue to occur - in other parts of the world, we feed into the age-old problem of Eurocentricism. We need other stories so that we don't think of the Holocaust as one terrible period in history, which is over and done with.Before We Were Free is the story of a child living under a dictator in the Dominican Republic. Twelve-year-old Anita does not believe that she is not free. What does that even mean? She lives with her extended family and … [Read more...]