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Varsha Seshan

Crackers

November 3, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Some writers stun me with the range of stories they write. Elizabeth Laird, for instance. Look at just the stories I’ve read by her: And now, Crackers, which is completely different from anything else I’ve read by her. The strangest part for me as I read it was how similar it is to something I’ve […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Crackers, Elizabeth Laird, reading, review

Secret Friends

October 16, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I love Elizabeth Laird. And Secret Friends was another beautiful read, a heartbreaking story about wanting to fit in, but never quite managing it. Lucy is the first to tease Rafaella, and this is something she regrets right through her life. Rafaella has enormous ears, and Lucy, unthinkingly, coins the name ‘Earwig’, a name that […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, Chapter Book, Elizabeth Laird, reading, review, Secret Friends

Top Six Young Adult Books I Read in 2020

January 5, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve already shared two lists of books, but I think it’s important to say – again – that reading levels differ widely, and in multiple ways. For instance, I know that as a child, my linguistic level (in English) was higher than that of some of my peers, but I often read books for children […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Broken Soup, Elizabeth Laird, Half Brother, Jenny Valentine, Kenneth Oppel, Moonrise, Nomads Land, Paro Anand, reading, reviews, Sarah Crossan, The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, Wai Chim, Welcome to Nowhere

Welcome to Nowhere

November 15, 2020 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Book cover Text: Welcome to Nowhere Where do you go when you can't go home? From the prize-winning author Elizabeth Laird Image: Illustration of a man, seen from the back, gazing at a land beyond water

When I read books like Welcome to Nowhere, part of me reads with a sinking heart for I realise that I don’t have the courage to tell stories like this. Yes, I do know that every story matters and each one has a role to play, but powerful books like this are in a class […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Elizabeth Laird, middle-grade, reading, review, Welcome to Nowhere, Young Adult

Top Ten: Young Adult Books in 2018

January 8, 2019 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

There’s so much happening in the world of Young Adult books! Some people may classify a few of these books as MG rather than YA, but again, I put forth the usual disclaimer – associating an age with a reading level is impossible. Many of these books are crucial – they deal with ideas and […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: boy 87, Daddy Come Lately, Elizabeth Laird, Fire Colour One, how not to disappear, Invisible People, Just Henry, Magic Flutes, reading, Red Sky in the Morning, review, The Lie Tree, The Thing about Jellyfish, When She Went Away

Paradise End

November 15, 2018 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Especially when I’m struggling with my writing, I find myself wondering all kinds of things. What makes a good book? What keeps me reading? When do I roll my eyes at melodrama, and when do I have to swallow a gulp in my throat? Where are all these boundaries? Also, I’m a picky reader. I […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Elizabeth Laird, Paradise End, reading, review

The Witching Hour

October 30, 2015 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Seventeenth century Scotland. The Presbyterians are convinced that the word of God is not equivalent to the word of King Charles, sitting far away in England. The Black Cuffs are everywhere, rounding up suspected Presbyterians because by the law enforced by Charles Stuart, it is illegal to pray outdoors; you can be fined for not going to the […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Elizabeth Laird, reading, review

Oranges in No Man’s Land

May 22, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I find that so may writers seem to have a compulsion to write long, complex, layered work. So many new books are thick paperbacks, full of things happening on every page. Oranges in No Man’s Land is not like that. Not at all. Elizabeth Laird manages to write a beautiful, heart-warming story in the course of […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Elizabeth Laird, Oranges in No Mans Land, reading, review