A determined protagonist, a family that's willing to change, and characters that evolve through the story--what's not to like?Abir Maqsood of The Henna Start-Up by Andaleeb Wajid is an imperfect, gritty character, the kind that never fails to make me smile. She is fuelled by her determination to get justice and to stand up for her mother and for herself. Fragile egos, annoying classmates and an overprotective family are obstacles she must overcome for she knows discrimination when she sees it, and she isn't one to take it lying down. She scorns the pampered, protected lives that her friend Keerthi and arch-enemy Arsalan lead. She knows they live in their own beautiful bubbles, and she holds her head high in the knowledge that her classmates are clueless about the reality of the world, unlike her ... until she is forced to accept that she's guilty of being more than a little … [Read more...]
Demystifying Publishing
One of the best things about my creative writing programmes is how much I learn on the way. For one, before each class, I research for hours. One hour of class time typically requires at least four hours of research.And for another, I invite guests to talk about a variety of subjects from science fiction to cyber crime, historical fiction to comics.Our latest guest was Andaleeb Wajid, a hybrid author who has published 37 novels in the last twelve years! Since so many parents and children have questions about Kindle Direct Publishing and whether they should publish their children's work at all, Andaleeb was the ideal guest. Step by step, she took us through the process of publishing, comparing traditional publishing with KDP, with complete frankness when it came to costs, timelines and control.For the most part, we followed a Q and A pattern for the session. Here are two answers … [Read more...]
Mirror, Mirror
Fat shaming. It's so rooted in society and family that it often goes unnoticed. Sometimes, it wears the garb of concern - oh, you've put on so much weight; is everything okay? At other times, it's downright cruel.Ananya, the protagonist of Mirror, Mirror, faces the second kind. The words she hears echo through her head, making her recoil with disgust when she looks at herself in the mirror. Miss Piggy. Fat cow. How did she never notice how fat and ugly she was? How could she have thought it was okay?Mirror Mirror was pacy from start to end. That is something I love about Andaleeb Wajid's writing: her books make you keep turning the pages, not noticing when one chapter ends and another begins. I found that with When She Went Away, which I read three years ago, and then again with Mirror, Mirror. While fat-shaming forms the centre of the story, the narrative steers away from … [Read more...]
When She Went Away
I was a little sceptical about reading a book called When She Went Away. A book with a name like that could well be a melodramatic romance novel, which really is not my type. I typically don't even finish reading stories that are too melodramatic for me; enjoying them is a long way away. And I know because I've tried.The moment I read the first paragraph of When She Went Away, though, I knew it was not about a romantic 'she', but about Maria's mother who decided she'd had enough of living her life with her family and went away. That was when I was moved by the title. When Ammi went away, everything tumbled into chaos and had to be picked up bit by painstaking bit.The story filled me up with its twists and turns, its possibilities and surprises. Maria is not an entirely loveable character, but she rings true. When her mother goes away, she is torn between the desire to set things … [Read more...]