I didn't read very many young adult books in 2021, and several that I did read proved to be disappointing. With some, I know I was probably being unfair because I have high expectations of authors I've read and loved. I left a number of books unfinished; when there are so many books out there waiting to be read, why plough through books I have to push myself to read? Five YA books stood out to me, though, and I can't help seeing both how similar they are and how very different. Postbox Kashmir This is probably the first time a work of nonfiction features on a list of my top reads! Postbox Kashmir was not a quick read, no. However, for all readers, I think some books are just worth reading, however slowly you need to read them. With Postbox Kashmir, there was so much for me to process that I wanted to take my time over it. A balanced, objective story … [Read more...]
Postbox Kashmir
From the moment I came across Postbox Kashmir by Divya Arya, I knew I wanted to read it. The title, the cover and the subtitle - 'Two Lives in Letters' - everything appealed to me. I knew little about the book, and the little I did know was gleaned from random social media posts. Soon after I started reading it, I knew that it was a book for keeps.We're inundated with information. Sometimes, with a mild sense of panic, I realise that details of events I've quickly researched have become hazy again. For instance, I knew about the exodus of Kashmiri pundits, but vaguely. When I read Paro Anand's Nomad's Land, I read up about the history of Kashmir once more, but my research was cursory at best. Dates and details slip by, especially when we don't contextualise facts. What was happening in Kashmir when the Babri Masjid was demolished? Did the protests at Shaheen Bagh have any effect on … [Read more...]