What an unexpected book!Often, I don't know much about books before I read them. Some books keep showing up on my social media. Others are recommended to me multiple times by children I teach. Usually, it takes me a while to get around to reading them, and based on who recommends a book to me, I sometimes have preconceived notions about what a book will be about. For instance, despite its name, I expected When You Trap a Tiger to be realistic fiction, with no fantasy or fable thrown in. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong!Lily and her family move into her grandmother's house to take care of her. When the girl realises how sick her grandmother is, she knows that there's only one way to save her. The tiger from all her Halmoni's stories needs to be placated. She must do what it takes, and she must act on her own.The traditional Korean stories her grandmother has shared … [Read more...]
Amil and the After
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 home after the Partition cannot be the end of a story.And with Amil and the After, we see that it isn't. The struggles and questions Nisha and Amil face don't end with the end of their journey across an arbitrary border. Now, through Amil's eyes, we follow another kind of journey. A journey that involves settling in, finding friends, and building a new home.The emotions of the two adolescents in the story come alive to us. Most importantly, we understand their guilt. What right do they have to be safe when so many others didn't make it? How is it fair that they have a roof … [Read more...]
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 Lockard, who wishes she had a friend who would call her Lottie, or Charlie, or anything that made her feel closer, made her an intimate friend. But Charlotte she is, and Charlotte she remains, except online, where her name is Lottie Lock.And it's online that she meets Ben Boxer, who has his own set of problems. A strange sort of friendship emerges between Lottie and Ben. For Ben, Lottie is the one he would call if he won the lottery. For Lottie, online Scrabble with Ben feels like the one place where she's in control. And their friendship becomes something that matters, even as other … [Read more...]
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 than life, curious, trusting and altogether a delight.And that's what brings me to what I love most about Katherine Applegate's books - voice. Read The One and Only Ivan, and you hear the voice of the gorilla. Read Crenshaw and you can see both boy and giant cat. Recently, I reread The One and Only Bob, and was amazed at how Bob's voice rings true right through the story - cocky, confident, brave and silly.And finally, I come to Odder, a middle-grade novel in free verse. We see Odder on every page, and her unique worldview makes me shake my head in wonder. Glass, for instance, would … [Read more...]
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, I can't write complex worlds without it feeling like some kind of info dump!But of course, well written fantasy draws you in slowly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon was like that for me, as was The Last Windwitch. Even though much of it was predictable, I enjoyed the book and the way the story plays out, bringing together gentleness and wonder.Brida does not know much about her past. She knows that Mother Magdi, a powerful hedgewitch, took her in, but that's about all. And somehow, green magic doesn't work for her at all. She can't remember which herb is which, and she feels like a … [Read more...]
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 in the blurb happens in the last twenty pages of the book, and I would have loved to discover it through the book rather than before I started reading!Pax, Journey Home is the story of a boy and a fox, both of whom have suffered immense losses. The boy Peter is determined never to love again, never to find family and never to get attached. The fox Pax, on the other hand, is quick to forgive and quick to make friends. As the story unfolds, we walk two parallel journeys of healing. Pax and Peter walk side by side, never meeting, but forever aware of each other. And in their own ways, they trust, love, and find home.I … [Read more...]
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 was why it fell short for me. I've read too many of these - Inside Out and Back Again, In the Beautiful Country and Red, White and Whole come to mind immediately. While Other Words for Home is a sweet story, I was not drawn into it the way I was into the last two.When unrest begins to mount in Syria, Jude's family makes a decision. Jude and her mother will move to America, where her uncle lives. But her father and brother stay back. And so begins the story of a family divided by the ocean, struggling to figure out what home is. Jude sometimes feels like her mother doesn't want her … [Read more...]
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 then talk about her book, I knew that this was a book I was likely to enjoy.I didn't just enjoy it; I loved it.Maya and Chaya are identical twins. But when Maya tries to hide her anxiety from Chaya and even refuses to let Chaya talk to their parents about it, Chaya knows she must act. She must reinvent herself so that she isn't a shadow, an image pulling her twin down. They must be different, so different that Maya can shine with her own light.Maya, on the other hand, must be perfect. If she isn't perfect, the world will crumble. Even as she creates … [Read more...]
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 be intersectional for it to be meaningful.Ms Williams, an eighth grade teacher, invites her class to debate whether the mascot of the school should stay. Callie is convinced that there's no room for debate. It's absurd that people think it's okay to appropriate to use a copper-toned, muscled, tomahawk-wielding caricature as a mascot. Others, however, believe that the mascot honours Native American tradition and it is absurd to replace it with something else. Six eighth-graders from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs begin to talk … [Read more...]
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 the twentieth century, each book is a snapshot of what it might have been like to be a child during the independence struggle.Growing up in Mysore, Leela is relatively cocooned from the British rule. Under the Maharaja, many feel safe. The British struggle isn't relevant to their lives. But as the freedom struggle sweeps across the nation, questions emerge. How long will they be sheltered? And if Leela wants to join the movement, how can she?The answer is in the title itself: through music. Music isn't for everyone, but Leela discovers just how powerful it can be. Leela's bond with … [Read more...]