Eleven-year-old Viji has had enough. Her mother might believe that her father is repentant and will stop abusing her. But when he hits Viji and Rukku, she makes a decision. However harsh life on the streets may be, it is preferable to being home with a drunken, abusive father. And so, Viji takes her sister Rukku away, determined to find a place where she can be safe. Amongst untrustworthy adults and bullies, she finds friends who are better than family. She finds home. The Bridge Home is a story of grit and love, of finding home outside home. As a creative writing trainer, I thought about it as a mentor text too, a wonderful example of how well a story told in second person can work. Viji tells the story as if she is talking to her little sister Rukku. We hear every emotion in her voice--her longing, her regret and the depth of her love. Everything that she does is with Rukku in … [Read more...]
The Letter with the Golden Stamp
The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q. Raúf is such a heartwarming story! As a lover of letters (psst: my first novel in letters, The Wall Friends Club, is just out!), I was drawn to the idea of a story about a special letter right away. With an enterprising protagonist at the centre, the book is completely unpredictable and utterly charming. The book opens with Audrey sitting in a police station, sure that she has been arrested even though the adults around assure her that she has not. They just want to know her story. And as she tells her story, the reader keeps wondering, What did she actually do? How outlandish could her ideas get? And the reveal doesn't disappoint! Stories with strong familial relationships and friendships always warm my heart. The desire to protect your family's secrets is so strong! It's what inspired my Sisters at New Dawn, and I keep encountering … [Read more...]
Echo
Do you ever read the author's note and acknowledgements? I love reading them! For example, at the end of Echo, author Pam Muñoz Ryan writes: It was [in the German Harmonica and Accordion Museum in Trossingen] in a glass case that I discovered the letters from thankful family members of soldiers whose lives were once saved by Hohner harmonicas, and the mutilated instruments, some with bullets still embedded, that had protected them. Echo - Acknowledgements I had gooseflesh as I read that because I would never have imagined that a harmonica could save a life. It made Echo all the more poignant because a harmonica, a very special harmonica, is what holds the whole story together. Echo is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy. It traces the story of an enchanted harmonica that finds its way to people who need it. In this gorgeous book divided into three parts, we read about … [Read more...]
Melissa
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...]
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...]
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...]
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
Diaphoresis and dyslexia. Mason Buttle has both, and both trouble him. But that's just the tip of the iceberg of his troubles. His best friend Benny Kilmartin is dead. His parents are dead. And his uncle has sold off parts of their apple orchard to make ends meet. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle is a beautiful story about innocence and friendship. Mason is a lovely character, a kind and gentle boy in a huge body. As he navigates a school where he is bullied, he finds a friend in Calvin Chumsky. With a new friend, it seems like Mason can finally begin to move on from Benny Kilmartin's death. If only the bullying would stop. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle is at the same time pacy and slow, gripping and gentle. As the story progresses, even though we can guess how it will all end, we keep reading, wondering how the reveal will happen. I love simple characters, … [Read more...]
The One and Only Ruby
Is there any child who doesn't love elephants? Magnificent African elephants with their enormous tusks, the gentler-looking Asian elephants with their smaller ears---I loved them all. So, of course I wanted to read The One and Only Ruby, the story of the little elephant in the gorilla Ivan's life. And just like when I read The One and Only Bob, I was blown away by how beautifully Katherine Applegate tells the story. Ruby is getting ready for her Tuskday. Or rather, she ought to be getting ready for it, but she is actually running away from it. When she sees a friend from her life in Africa, though, she is taken back to her childhood. She begins to tell her friends Ivan and Bob her story for the first time. As she tells the story, she begins another phase of her journey of healing. The One and Only Ruby is a beautiful story. Innocent and wise, gentle and powerful, it is a … [Read more...]
The One and Only Bob
Katherine Applegate's books are a treasure. Recently, I reread The One and Only Bob, a lovely book featuring an unforgettable character. About a month ago, I reviewed Odder, and I wrote about how authentic the voice is. And with The One and Only Bob, that's the first thing that comes to mind. It is a story about cruelty, loneliness, courage and love, and yet, what makes the book sparkle is Bob's voice. If you've read any of the other books in the series, you know exactly what Bob is like, a street-smart, wisecracking dog who refuses to take anything seriously. He moves with a swagger, makes himself out to be a lazy good-for-nothing, and pretends there's no softness to him. And yet, as we read The One and Only Bob, we see again that his attitude is nothing but a mask. He can't afford to show weakness, and he has made himself believe that he is selfish and looks out only for … [Read more...]