Sweetness is such a wonderful ingredient, and so rare in a YA novel. When Stargirl joins regular school after having been homeschooled most of her life, she is something of a phenomenon. She dresses strangely and does odd things. She seems to know everybody’s name and everyone’s birthday. She strums her ukulele and sings ‘Happy […]
Diamonds and Daggers
When Piotr’s father is suspected of having stolen celebrity actor Betty Massino’s diamond necklace, the boy’s world seems to fall apart. For Piotr, the UK is home, but his father is fed up of being treated with suspicion simply because he is Polish. He is suspended from his job as a security guard, though he […]
Catching Up: Writing
On the writing front, things are moving slowly, as usual. I have lots of things in the air, waiting to become either concrete or virtual. In their own time. Older books continue to bring me joy, though, in their own ways. The Prophecy of Rasphora – A New Review Very few things make me happier […]
Catching Up: MG and YA Books
So many wonderful, wonderful books and so little time! Here are a few middle-grade and young adult books I read in the last couple of months. Gorilla Dawn I know a little about gorillas being endangered because I began to read up bits and pieces about it when I saw articles linking the fate of […]
Touching Spirit Bear
I’m usually not one of those readers who sits and finishes a book in a day. Unless a story is really compelling, I get distracted easily. I have a hundred other things to do each day, and I do them without being drawn back to my book. I also usually keep track of a storyline, […]
The One and Only Ivan
I just went onto Goodreads and saw that The One and Only Ivan has over 110,000 reviews. I’m not surprised, though. It’s exactly that kind of book, the kind that makes you want to tell everyone about it. It’s achingly sweet: a lovely story that leaves you sad, happy and everything else in between. Things aren’t perfect, but somehow, […]
The Mumbelievable Challenge
Isn’t the name itself delightful? Mumbelievable is such a fun word! The Mumbelievable Challenge, true to its name is a lovely read. It’s one of those rare books that is part of a series but does not require you to read the first one first! In fact, I didn’t even know that this was the second Dadventure […]
Moin and the Monster
Moin and the Monster has been on my list of books to read for a long time, and I finally got around to reading it mainly because of the essay I did for The Curious Reader on “The Problem With Monster Stereotypes In Literature”. Of course, it was impossible to read every book on monsters for a 1000-word […]
Before We Were Free
All of us know stories of the Holocaust. Recently, I read something on social media that claimed that The Diary of a Young Girl is among the ten most widely read books in the world. Don’t get me wrong; stories of the Holocaust are crucial. They teach us lessons that are horrifyingly relevant today. Yet, when we read stories about […]
The 13-Storey Treehouse
Have you ever read a book that was not at all “your” kind of book, but you ended up enjoying it anyway? The 13-Storey Treehouse was exactly that, for me. It was a gentle reminder that I never know what my “kind” of book is until I read it. Why was it not my kind of book? […]
The Explorer
With some writers, I feel I just cannot go wrong. Katherine Rundell is one of them. Sure, I like some books more than others, but at the end of each one, I find myself smiling, deeply contented. I didn’t write about the first two books I read by Rundell (The Girl Savage and Rooftoppers), but I did […]
The Case of the Candy Bandit
There were so many things I liked about The Case of the Candy Bandit! For one, I enjoyed the fact that the Superlative Supersleuths were a pair of girls – aided (temporarily) by another girl. I liked the seriousness with which Rachita went about the business of being a detective, and I loved all the sprinklings of humour, particularly the […]
His Royal Whiskers
I giggled and gasped at how imaginative this crazy story is. Full of puns and clever humour, I chuckled at Empurrer Alexander, six-year-old prince who is turned into a cat by a young alchemist, Teresa. It could have been a CATastrophe; instead it was purrfect. I know lots of people would not recommend this book […]
Operation Eiffel Tower
Jack hates it when his parents row. He wants to hide away from all the shouting, crying and smashing of plates. It is no different for his little sister Ruby. When their parents fight downstairs, Ruby sneaks into Jack’s room, afraid and anxious. Jack knows that somehow, he has to get his parents together again. […]
Karma Fights a Monster
Karma Tandin is a monster hunter, and he is determined to capitalise on it. With his friend Chimmi’s help, he makes posters advertising his services. Among other things, he hopes to impress pretty Dawa, who, for whatever reason, continually seems disappointed in him. Unfortunately, the poster does not turn out very well; the photograph of […]
The Mighty Miss Malone
Deza Malone’s teeth are rotting, but her family cannot afford the luxury of a dentist. Her elder brother Jimmie has achieved the grand height of a twelve-year-old and does not seem to be growing any further. Eating welfare food – sometimes filled with bugs – is normal for the Malones. Set in the years of […]
A Tigress Called Machhli
A Tigress Called Machhli has added at least three places to my neverending list of places I want to visit: Kokkare Bellur, the village of storks, Kalo Dungar in the Rann of Kutch and Jawai for the leopards. A collection of true animal stories promised to be delightful, and A Tigress Called Machhli did not let me down. I loved the lighthearted […]
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Doesn’t the title just grab your attention? The edition of Al Capone Does My Shirts that I picked up begins with a letter from the author Gennifer Choldenko, where she talks about having set out to write a book for boys. And somehow, Natalie, an autistic sixteen-year-old, slipped into the story, making it far more steeped in emotion than […]
One
Every so often, you come across a book that brings life around you to a standstill. It makes you stop and feel more than you think you are capable of feeling. It makes you hug yourself and breathe, so that you don’t get lost in the raw beauty of human emotion. And as I live […]
Hell and High Water
Recently, I wrote about rereading The Goldsmith’s Daughter by Tanya Landman and looking out for more books by her. I almost didn’t pick up Hell and High Water because the cover did not catch my eye. Only when I noticed the name of the writer did I pick up the book–and I’m so glad I did. Hell and High Water was just as […]