Five years ago, I read The Night Diary. It’s a story that brings alive the bewilderment of children forced to move out of their homes during the Partition. But just like the “happily ever after” at the end of fairytales glosses over the beginning of a new, complicated phase of life, safely reaching a new […]
You Go First
I’ve been wanting to read Erin Entrada Kelly’s books for a while. As a writer of middle-grade, hers is a name that keeps popping up. I finally read You Go First, and what an unusual, charming book it is! You Go First tells two stories, stories that barely meet. One is the story of Charlotte […]
Odder
I love Katherine Applegate, and I’ve been meaning to read Odder ever since it came out. Finally, I borrowed it from Kahaani Box and devoured it. It’s such a lovely book! Odder is the story of a sea otter, an irrepressible character, who swirls and dances and leaps out of the pages. She is larger […]
The Last Windwitch
It’s been a while since I read fantasy! I often find it hard to get into fantasy because of the detailed world-building that it demands. I think that’s one of the reasons writing Uncontrollable in verse worked so well for me. In the same way that I don’t get sucked into a fantastical world easily, […]
Pax, Journey Home
I haven’t read Pax, but I picked up Pax, Journey Home from Kahaani Box. It’s a lovely book, but I have a warning – don’t read the blurb! I don’t often read the blurb before I read a book, and so often when I do, I regret it! A huge chunk of what is mentioned […]
Other Words for Home
Search for ‘verse novels for middle-grade readers’, and Other Words for Home is bound to come up. It’s a Newbery Honor Book and a New York Times bestseller. However, just like I said when I reviewed Red, White and Whole, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read yet another immigration story. And perhaps that […]
Mirror to Mirror
Stories about sisters are incredibly special. And sisters who would do anything to win each other’s heart? You have me with the premise itself. I read Mirror to Mirror only because I attended an author talk that Rajani LaRocca gave for the Neev Literature Festival Reading Challenge. Listening to her read from the book and […]
Mascot
Mascot by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell is the third and last book I read because it’s on the required reading list for an online workshop on revising your verse novel that I will be attending later this year thanks to my Highlights Foundation scholarship. A nuanced story in verse exploring multiple perspectives, Mascot reminds us that activism must […]
A Melody in Mysore
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 […]
Restart
What if you got the chance to start your life all over again? Would you make any changes? Restart by Gordon Korman is a powerful story about getting a second chance. The story opens with Chase Ambrose in hospital. He’s fallen off his roof and forgotten everything about who he used to be. And when […]
Red, White and Whole
Red, White and Whole has been on my wishlist for ever so long. I kept dithering. Would I enjoy the book? Would I not? I honestly wasn’t sure I wanted to read yet another immigration story. Yes, a sense of identity is important. Yes, many of us struggle with it; I know I do too. […]
Starfish
On nearly any list of “must-read” verse novels for middle-graders, I come across Starfish. I finally read it, and I completely understand why it’s on so many lists. There are so many things — some small, some big — that make this book special. Twelve-year-old Ellie has Fat Girl Rules to protect herself. She must […]
In the Beautiful Country
Verse novels are beautiful. I love how sparse and hard-hitting they are, and I’ve been reading them all the more because I’ve been writing verse too. Uncontrollable came out last year, and Fishbowl will be out later this year. But I read In the Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo because it’s on the required reading […]
How to Win an Election: A Most Unreliable Guide
It’s voting season, the best time to read How to Win an Election: A Most Unreliable Guide! I would argue, however, that any time is a good time to read the book because it’s hilarious, light, and fun. When Sachin is disqualified from standing for the middle school elections, he does the next best thing. […]
Sky Hawk
Even as a child, I loved stories about the environment, especially stories where children make difficult decisions to save an animal. So many books I’ve recently read fit the bill too–book club reads like the Bat series, Trunk Call for Ajju, and, in a very different way, At Least a Fish. Sky Hawk by Gill […]
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Recently, I reread The Girl Who Drank the Moon and then looked through my blog to see what I’d written about it the first time I read it. That’s when I realised I hadn’t written about it at all! It’s such a gorgeous read that I have no idea how I skipped writing about it! […]
Uncontrollable – The Story Behind the Story
I love to read about how a book that I’m reading came into being. What made the writer write this particular book? What are some of those little stories the reader knows nothing about? And that’s why I’ve written a post like this for three of my books: Sisters at New Dawn Dragonflies, Jigsaws and […]
Twitch
Often, I read books like Twitch with a very clear agenda in mind–to decide whether to read it with my book club. One chapter in, and I was sure I would not. The beginning seemed rather too violent for me to read with a group online, when I cannot necessarily gauge how each child is […]
Journey to the River Sea
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. […]
When Fairyland Lost Its Magic
We need more illustrated middle-grade books! I read When Fairyland Lots Its Magic on my way to Kolkata for the Junior Kolkata Literary Meet, and there was so much to love about it! The way Bijal Vachharajani plays with fairytales (like Gretel and Hansel), the comments about odd names (Little Red Riding Hood? Who names […]