A book that promised to be exciting, I think the best thing I can say about Sovay is that the story made me curious enough to keep reading until I finished the book. As I turned page after page, though, I found myself skipping large sections of the book because I wanted to know how it would […]
Sovay
The Truth about Leo
It’s unfair to compare any book with any other book, I know that. Yet, I could not resist comparing The Truth about Leo with Moon-Pie. The subject was similar – a dead mother and a drunk father. But Moon-Pie moved me in a way that The Truth about Leo did not. Leo spends each day covering up for his father Dr Rake. […]
Spellbound
Too much telling and too little showing. Never mind. I’ll read some more. This is strange and unbelievable. Never mind. I’ll read some more. That is exactly how I ventured into Spellbound. And before I knew it, I had finished reading it. Athene and Zach are opposites in every possible way. They just happen to be brother […]
Too Small to Fail
I read Now a while ago and I was not impressed. When Too Small to Fail caught my eye, I realised that it was by the same author, Morris Gleitzman, so I put the book away again. When I visited the library, it caught my eye again. And again. It was time to read it. Too Small to Fail was […]
Madame Pamplemousse and the Time-Travelling Café
What takes you back to old remembered places and half-forgotten memories? What makes you revisit forgotten parts of your life? Madame Pamplemousse and the Time-Travelling Café explores the idea that taste can make you go back in time and visit parts of history. A contraption that looks like a coffee-machine, fed with the right ingredients, can recreate in […]
Being Billy
When I started reading Being Billy, I felt uncomfortable, but I did not know why. I just could not lay my finger on what made me draw into myself and step back from the book. After a few pages, I realised I was supposed to feel uncomfortable. The book wanted to reach within me and squeeze something that […]
Clover Twig and the Incredible Flying Cottage
Clover Twig is a very tidy girl with very neat hair. She is very particular about things being clean and proper. She won’t do anything she is told not to do. In other words, she has a little bit of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. When Clover begins to work for the witch Mrs Eckles, she welcomes […]
Witch Fire
I always judge a book by its cover, and this one said: Ancient witchcraft. Modern world. And then the title Witch Fire. It intrigued me immediately, and it did not let me down. I did not do any research before I started reading. I did not find out whether Witch Fire was part of a series. As I read […]
Apache
It’s been a while since I wrote about what I was reading for some reason. I did read quite a bit, though. Some of the books were worth sharing, but I was too lazy to talk about them. Some were important for me to read – like The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Perks of Being a […]
Jatayu Moksham
The Kalakshetra troupe performed in Pune for the first time last evening. Finally. When I watch them dance, I understand. I understand why Kalakshetra is such a reputed name in the dance world. I am awed by the vision of Rukmini Devi, and her incredible imagination. I see dance as architecture, performance and storytelling. I am moved to laughter […]
Lari Don
I was introduced to Lari Don thanks to the Mythical Maze Reading Challenge, and if for nothing else, I’m glad of the challenge for that! Of the First Aid for Fairies series, I read the last one first, and then I had to read the others. Once again, I realised why children like series. A single book is not […]
David
I rarely read something that is ‘Not Suitable for Younger Readers’ and, to be honest, I did not notice that David had this warning. Yet (or maybe because of that) David struck a chord with me. In Florence in 1501, it was essential to know what your political inclinations were. Either you supported the republic, […]
Frederica
I was standing at the bank reading Frederica because even though it is not true that I ‘cannot’ put the book down, it is true that I don’t want to put the book down. There is nothing like a book that is addictive. It makes you want to read: during that one minute when the […]
White Dolphin
Who does not like animal stories? As a child, I wanted to be an environmentalist and a vet. The problem was that I was afraid of biology and dissection, so I contented myself with animal stories, knowing no other option. Gill Lewis’s White Dolphin filled my heart. It was a story that jumped out of […]
The Memory Cage
A truly wonderful book. What can a boy do when his grandfather has Alzheimer’s and everyone else in his family wants him to go to a home? How can he convince his family that it’s cruel? The Memory Cage is a stark depiction of war and loneliness. War is not about bravery and courage. Dulce […]
Street of Tall People
I was intrigued by the title; who wouldn’t be? The World War has not yet begun, but anti-Jewish sentiments run high. I know nothing of this time. Street of Tall People is set in East London, about which, also, I know nothing. Yet, the story reached out to me. Awkwardness and friendship. Loyalty, trust and betrayal. Loneliness and […]
Pocahontas
Intrigued by the title of the series ‘Before They Became Famous’, I picked up Caroline Corby’s Pocahontas. Just to make things clear, I haven’t watched the movie. In fact, I know nothing about the movie except the song “Colours of the Wind”. The book I read was lovely. ‘Pocahontas’ means ‘curious, lively, inquisitive’, and this […]
No Such Thing as Dragons
An unusual book, No Such Thing as Dragons puzzled me. I think the promise that the book cover held (yes, I always judge a book by its cover) led me to expect more. I found that the characters had so much potential, and the plot could have been much more exciting, considering the lovely seed […]
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg
Neverland. I remember my father reading out bits and pieces of Peter Pan to me. And I remember having an enormous book, probably as big as I was myself, with beautiful pictures of Neverland, Wendy and dreadful Tinker Bell whom I disliked so much, even though she was so pretty. Fairy Dust and the Quest […]
Charlotte’s Web
No other title do they know, The refrain is scarcely new – Tho the chances are their knowledge Came from a book review; They ask me if I’ve read it – I humbly whisper “No” (Thank God, again I’ve said it!) They clap their hands and glow. – From Louis L’Amour’s “I Haven’t Read Gone […]