I read Journey to the River Sea years ago, probably over a decade ago. I loved it so much that it featured on my list of all-time favourite books for a long time. Eventually, I realised that even though I still thought about it as one of my favourites, I didn't quite remember the story. I remembered all the emotions I felt when I read it, but the story? I just had a hazy idea. It was time to reread it. And I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Maia's guardian Mr Murray has been hunting for relatives who will take the child in ever since her parents died. When he finds distant relatives of hers in the Amazon, she is ecstatic. She reads up about the Amazon and imagines all kinds of wonderful things about her family. Instead, she finds two very English girls who hate everything that's not English and are terrified of going out into the jungle. As Maia quickly gets … [Read more...]
The Henna Start-Up
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...]
My Favourite Late Middle-Grade and Young Adult Books from 2023
As usual, I begin my list of favourite young adult books wishing I had read more YA last year. Yes, I loved these books, but once more, I hope to read more young adult in 2024! Schooled Schooled is such a delightful read, featuring a quirky, fun character.I read many negative reviews about the book, which spoke of how it perpetuates stereotypes of homeschooled children not knowing how to behave in social settings, but that wasn't how I read the book at all! I made no generalisations about homeschoolers or, indeed, hippies, as I read--I enjoyed the book for what it was, a heartwarming story about a character I was rooting for! Book review The District Cup The District Cup recently won the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival prize for children's fiction, an award for which my Dhara's Revolution was shortlisted too! … [Read more...]
My Favourite Middle-Grade Books from 2023
It's only when I began writing this post that I noticed that most (six out of seven) of my favourite middle-grade reads from 2023 have blue covers! How odd!I made a conscious effort to read more middle-grade books this year, also because I want to write more middle grade. It's an age-group I enjoy interacting with, and I want more MG literature that moves and changes me, urging me to read on. Here are the books that I read and loved in 2023. An Alien in the Jam Factory I read this wacky book at the end of November 2023, and I loved it so much that it's going to be part of the February 2024 edition of Read, Write, Explore. An Alien in the Jam Factory is a book that I think most children can identify with, even though the protagonist is a genius who meets an alien, a situation that most children cannot identify with. What makes me feel it has … [Read more...]
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