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 and a burning, childlike desire to prove yourself, The Chowpatty Cooking Club by Lubaina Bandukwala is a lovely read. It is the tale of three young children who are determined to be heroes. It's tough being a heroine when you have a strict grandfather, but Sakina must triumph. She, Zenobia and Mehul must do everything they can - learn to cycle, make flags, investigate the People's Radio ... But is it enough? Are they doing anything at all?They are, but they don't know it yet.Written almost like a murder mystery, The Chowpatty Cooking Club gives us glimpses of a … [Read more...]
The Nameless God
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 God simply because it is so relatable. The characters are so much like I was as a child!Do you know anyone who has always been perfectly rational, completely unwilling to believe in superstition? I don't. As a child, I didn't believe in good luck charms or in the idea that seeing a single mynah was bad luck. But even though my brain wanted to be rational, I found myself wondering, Where's the harm in keeping a twig for good luck? Or, A single mynah might not bring me bad luck, but another mynah would make me happy, wouldn't it?And then there was religion. I wanted to believe. With a little idol under … [Read more...]
Mostly Ghostly Stories
If you want to start a conversation with her, send her an email here and she promises to replyI paused and sighed. That's how Subhadra Sen Gupta's bio note ends, and even though I never knew or even met her, that line right there warms me up. And even if she cannot reply now, her words stay alive through all the wonderful books she's written.Mostly Ghostly Stories is a fun, pacy collection of six stories. The stories span across time - from one set in Vijayanagar during Krishna Deva Raya's rule to another set in the age of the internet and social media. And no, even though they are all ghost stories, they aren't horror stories. They're stories of witches with a sense of humour, ghosts with the ability to solve mysteries and grumpy spirits who insist that some rules about food cannot be broken. The title of the collection is important too: they are mostly ghostly stories. … [Read more...]
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
How does one even begin to talk about a book like The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise? Coyote - why is she called Coyote? Why does the cover image show her sitting on top of a school bus?Coyote's mother and sisters die in a road accident and for her father, the only way to overcome grief is never to look back. So, he begins to call himself Rodeo, and never lets Coyote call him Dad. Nothing, nothing should remind them of the past. And returning to a place full of memories? That's a no-go.But when Coyote learns that she is about to lose one tangible aspect of her memories of her mother and sisters forever, she must go back. And somehow, she must get Rodeo to take her back without letting him find out what she's doing because if he finds out, there's no way he'll take her there. How she does it is what makes her journey remarkable. The people she meets, the acts of kindness … [Read more...]
Unfair
Three years ago, when I read No. 9 on the Shade Card, I came across the concept of a shade card for the first time. As a child, conversations about skin colour bounced off me. People spoke of how one person was lighter or darker than another; they talked of having tanned too much after a trip to Goa; I knew people who wore socks no matter how hot it was just so that their feet wouldn't tan. None of these conversations pierced the bubble I lived in, much like Lina, one of the two protagonists of the story. Unlike Lina, however, there never came a time in my childhood when I had to come face to face with the fact that being fair was a real obsession, not something you could just roll your eyes at and forget all about.Lina loves drama. When she learns that the school production of the year is Romeo and Juliet, she's thrilled. Of course she'll audition for the part of Juliet! Unlike … [Read more...]
Rain Must Fall
Rain Must Fall by Nandita Basu is such a beautiful read! I devoured it in one sitting, and I loved it.Anya, Rumi's best friend, asks whom Rumi would like to go on a date with. Rumi makes the mistake of being honest and saying 'you'. After all, you can be truthful with your best friend, can't you? And it isn't really as if Rumi has a romantic interest in Anya; it was just a game. Wasn't it? Maybe not. Because gossip and cruel jokes begin on the school group. Soon, Rumi discovers that neither parents nor schoolmates can accept the idea of a non-binary individual. Schoolmates think it's a joke, and Rumi's parents think therapy is the "solution".Away from it all, in a small town, Rumi discovers and befriends a ghost, Rain. Both Rain and Rumi are trapped, alone and misunderstood. As human and ghost get to know each other better, Rain begins to remember snippets of his life, and … [Read more...]
The Boy Who Grew Dragons
Dragon fruit. Who hasn't heard the name and considered the possibilities? I remember when I first came across dragon fruit at Shivaji Market. Ooh! Dragon fruit!And the way I see it, that tiny spark lit a fire in author Andy Shepherd. She took the idea to its logical conclusion - a fantasy story about dragons hatching out of fruits on a tree!The Boy Who Grew Dragons is a charming read. Tomas grows his first dragon by chance. Soon, however, he realises that there's more to growing dragons than the thrill of having a fantastic pet. Firefighting becomes second nature to him as his dragon Flicker sheds exploding poo all over his room. That's not the only thing Tomas has to contend with, though. The class bully Liam is determined to prise out what Tomas is hiding. Tomas's little sister is too little to even understand that a dragon, however exciting, must not be shared with adults. … [Read more...]
Neha and the Nose
Why did I not read this book earlier? It's such a fun book, so witty and well written! I love it!Neha and the Nose are teen detectives. And they're not just your regular detectives - they're so good that even the principal calls on them when there's investigation required. Of course, "the Nose" is something that Neha just calls her friend Johan in her head, but one that's as apt as it gets because it's the Nose that's really her partner. Johan, who possesses the Nose, is just another boy, annoyingly good at everything he does. More annoyingly, he's a teen at the mercy of his hormones. I can practically see Neha rolling her eyes!But the Nose makes Johan special. He can sniff out anything, from perfume to the nuances of agarbatti. Subtleties don't escape him. What a marvel that organ of his is!The Nose is wacky, fun and brilliantly imaginative, but more, I love Neha! Her voice … [Read more...]
Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar left its mark on me. But Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame was something else altogether. I devoured the book. Each chapter made me read just one more chapter, as compelling as the previous one.Meera is an unlikely protagonist, one who seems a far cry from the typical feisty girl one expects at the centre of a story. The book begins with Meera up in a tree, trying to listen in while her father teaches village boys. She is not allowed there. In fact, she was once rapped on her knuckles for being where she was not permitted. As I read that part, I knew that Meera would be my fiery, determined, brave young protagonist. I was wrong. Meera is none of that. She does what she is told. She follows instructions. She knows she is supposed to obey. In some ways, she is like her mother, who speaks of women being as strong as fire and as fierce as flame, but cannot live … [Read more...]