Varsha Seshan's Official Website

  • Home
  • Published Work
    • Books for Ages <5
    • Books for Ages 7-10
    • Books for Ages 10+
    • Reviews
    • Learning Resources
  • Workshops
    • Book Clubs
    • Creative Writing Programmes
    • School Visits
    • Workshops for Adults
  • About
    • About Me
    • Recognition
  • Blog
  • Contact

© Copyright 2013 - 2025
Varsha Seshan

Lion of the Sky

July 29, 2025 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

I love historical fiction, and I love novels in verse. A middle-grade work of historical fiction in verse? I knew I wanted to read it. And Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemnani didn’t disappoint. Set in Sindh in August 1947, Lion of the Sky tells the story of Raj and his family, who are […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for tweens, historical fiction, Lion of the Sky, Middle Grade, reading, review, Ritu Hemnani, Verse Novel

The White Lotus

June 15, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The White Lotus by Aditi Krishnakumar is a gripping work of historical fiction that, like the best kinds of stories, stays with you and makes you think. Layered and sensitive, it is perfectly paced, immersing you in the life and times of a village in south India in the early 20th century. Fourteen-year-old Arali is […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Aditi Krishnakumar, books for tweens, historical fiction, murder mystery, reading, review, The White Lotus, Young Adult

Until the Road Ends

May 12, 2025 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

What was it like for animals during the war? How did people have the heart to put them down? Food was scarce and feeding a pet was a “waste” of resources. Until the Road Ends is the story of three animals that survive thanks to a combination of bravery and sheer good luck. It’s the […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: historical fiction, Middle Grade, Phil Earle, reading, review, Until the Road Ends

A Demon in Dandi

March 31, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We all know about the infamous salt tax and the march to Dandi. What would the people of Dandi have felt at the time? Were people even aware of this huge political upheaval brewing in various parts of the country? A Demon in Dandi by Lavanya Karthik is part of Duckbill’s Songs of Freedom series, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: A Demon in Dandi, books for tweens, historical fiction, Lavanya Karthik, Middle Grade, reading, review, Songs of Freedom

Echo

February 5, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: books for tweens, Echo, fantasy, historical fiction, Middle Grade, Pam Muñoz Ryan, reading, review

The School for Bad Girls

November 29, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I was reading The School for Bad Girls and I mentioned how much I was enjoying it to an acquaintance. Immediately, she said, “I thought Anandibai Joshi was the first female doctor from India.” We looked it up, and of course, I found myself going down a rabbit hole. When I finished reading the book, […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: historical fiction, Madhurima Vidyarthi, reading, review, The School for Bad Girls, Young Adult

A Melody in Mysore

August 13, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

With Independence Day just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to read A Melody in Mysore by Shruthi Rao, a new addition to the Songs of Freedom series. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed most of the books in the series, some more than others. Set in different parts of the country in the first half of […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: A Melody in Mysore, books for tweens, historical fiction, Middle Grade, reading, review, Shruthi Rao, Songs of Freedom

Postcard from the Lushai Brigade

July 28, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What a beautiful addition to the Songs of Freedom series! Reminiscent of Private Peaceful although for a younger audience, Postcard from the Lushai Brigade is the story of a pair of brothers. And just like Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful, it is told from the point of view of a younger brother who idolises the elder, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Hannah Lalhlanpuii, historical fiction, Middle Grade, Postcard from the Lushai Brigade, reading, review, Songs of Freedom

Zen

June 20, 2023 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

What a book. I’m not sure I know how to begin reviewing a book as mighty as Shabnam Minwalla’s Zen. It is such a compelling read that even though it’s over 600 pages long, I chose to carry it with me when I travelled, instead of carrying my Kindle the way I usually do. How […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: contemporary fiction, historical fiction, reading, review, Shabnam Minwalla, Young Adult, Zen

Ramanujan

December 16, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What did I like most about Ramanujan?The chapter numbers! Each one is a mathematical problem that uses the chapter number and mathematical operators in such a way that the solution to the problem is, again, the chapter number. That sounds much more complicated than it is, but take a look: Do you see what I […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Arundhati Venkatesh, Great Minds At Work, historical fiction, Middle Grade, Ramanujan, reading, review

A Chera Adventure

December 7, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve been intrigued by the Girls of India series for a while, but I hadn’t read any of the books in the series until Penguin sent me A Chera Adventure to review. I enjoy historical fiction. And middle-grade historical fiction set in south India? I can’t think of a single example of a book that […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: A Chera Adventure, historical fiction, Middle Grade, Preetha Leela Chockalingam, reading, review

The Train to Tanjore

October 11, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

It’s 1942 in Tanjore, and Thambi wants to know more about the Quit India movement. Encouraged by his father, he visits the library regularly to scour the newspapers. But there’s precious little in the papers about anything except the war raging in Europe. Thambi wants to know about Gandhiji and the other freedom fighters! Not […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Devika Rangachari, historical fiction, Middle Grade, reading, review, Songs of Freedom, The Train to Tanjore

A Conspiracy in Calcutta

September 16, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A Conspiracy in Calcutta is the third book I’ve read from the Songs of Freedom series, and it’s my favourite so far! For one, Calcutta is a city that is close to my heart. I spent just a couple of years there, but they were important, full years. More than the setting, though (unlike with […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: A Conspiracy in Calcutta, historical fiction, Lesley D Biswas, Middle Grade, reading, review, Songs of Freedom

That Year at Manikoil

August 15, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I couldn’t have read That Year at Manikoil on a better day if I’d planned it. I don’t even remember how long ago I bought my copy, but it was today, Independence Day, that I sat down with it. And it was only when I was close to finishing it that I realised what an […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Aditi Krishnakumar, historical fiction, Middle Grade, reading, review, Songs of Freedom, That Year at Manikoil

The Chowpatty Cooking Club

April 13, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Who didn’t want to be a freedom fighter while studying about the independence movement? I know I dreamt of being a heroine – just like Sakina in The Chowpatty Cooking Club. I would do something meaningful and brave. I would do whatever it took! But like Sakina, the question was what? Bursting with humour, innocence […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: historical fiction, Lubaina Bandukwala, Middle Grade, reading, review, Songs of Freedom, The Chowpatty Cooking Club

The Nameless God

April 9, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Often, when I read a book written for children, I wonder if I would have liked it as a child. I was quite conservative in my reading tastes right through school. I wasn’t very willing to experiment, and I was drawn to just a few books. Yet, I think I would have enjoyed The Nameless […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: historical fiction, Middle Grade, reading, review, Savie Karnel, The Nameless God

The Tigers in the Tower

June 5, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve written about Julia Golding’s books – the Cat Royal series, the Peril trilogy, the Dragonfly trilogy, the Darcie Lock series … And now, The Tigers in the Tower. I would not say it is my favourite work by Julia Golding – not even close – but […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: historical fiction, Julia Golding, Middle Grade Book, reading, review, The Tigers in the Tower

Pirates, Legends, and Historical Fiction

May 30, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Yesterday’s guest session was full of stories! While we are familiar with Long John Silver and Davy Jones’s locker, how many of us are equally familiar with Kanhoji Angre and the pirates of the Malabar? We began with a discussion of myths, legends, and historical fiction, and this, I think, is an important idea that […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: creative writing workshop, guest session, historical fiction, online creative writing programme, online workshops for children, Radhika Seshan

Queen of Fire

May 27, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

When I started reading Queen of Fire, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy it. I expected to read something new and captivating, even though I knew that the protagonist was the rani of Jhansi. But all the opening scenes were familiar to me. We’ve studied the history of the independence movement in India […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Devika Rangachari, historical fiction, Queen of Fire, reading, review, Young Adult

Number the Stars

September 20, 2020 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What does it mean to be brave? And how can we help one another to be brave? Number the Stars is a beautiful work of historical fiction set in Denmark during the second world war. I love historical fiction that comes alive to me. Some time ago, I wrote about ten works of middle-grade historical […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: historical fiction, Lois Lowry, Middle-Grade Fiction, Number the Stars, reading, review

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »