In the author's note at the end of Queen of Earth, author Devika Rangachari talks of Queen Prithvimahadevi's story having been ignored by gendered historiography. That gave me pause. I've barely thought about that. I've barely thought about all the women who, most certainly, made significant changes to the course of history, but have been ignored by a patriarchal telling of the course of events. And that's why historical fiction of this kind is important. It brings alive untold stories that inspire wonder.Just like Queen of Ice, which I read three years ago, Queen of Earth is the story of a powerful queen. Daughter of a powerful Somavamshi king, Prithvimahadevi (later Tribhuvanadevi II) rises above being the "daughter of" a king and becomes a queen herself, one with a keen understanding of what it takes to be accepted by the people she is to rule, the Bhaumakaras. Though her father … [Read more...]
Moonrise
I've been so busy working with my online creative writing programme that I simply haven't had the time to write about all the books I've been reading. Two of them stand out, and one of those is Sarah Crossan's Moonrise.This is the fourth book that I'm reading by this wonderful writer, and it seems as if I can't get enough of her work. I began with the one I enjoyed most of all - One. I went on to Apple and Rain, which I loved for completely different reasons. Apple's poetry teacher, Mr Gaydon, is one of my favourite fictional teachers of all time! Toffee, somehow, was a little too sordid for me, so I didn't review it on my blog. Yet, it left its mark. I can't forget it.And now, Moonrise.With every beautiful verse novel I read, I realise how much I love this genre. The words are simple and sparse and for me, they create maximum impact because of this. A book like Moonrise … [Read more...]
A Week of Reviews
As a writer, receiving (nice) reader reviews is always delightful. This week has been special!One child read How I Feel as part of his weekly library activity and enjoyed it thoroughly. When he found out that I was the author, he was thrilled because he's read Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells too!And that was just one of the many responses I got from readers - young and not so young - this week!Handwritten notes are lovely, aren't they? The girl in the picture, I'm told, is little Shraavya, not me. I love the story "Treasure Hunt" too, so much so that that's the story I chose to read on World Read Aloud Day 2018. Take a look at the video here.And yes, do tell me if you like it! I don't mind if you don't include a picture of yourself. Not everyone can do self-portraits like Shraavya! Explore Dragonflies, Jigsaws, and Seashells Another … [Read more...]
Number the Stars
What does it mean to be brave? And how can we help one another to be brave?Number the Stars is a beautiful work of historical fiction set in Denmark during the second world war.I love historical fiction that comes alive to me. Some time ago, I wrote about ten works of middle-grade historical fiction set in ten different places, and if I had to rewrite the piece, I would add Number the Stars to the list.Annemarie, who lives with her family in Copenhagen, knows stories about courage, but she is sure that if her bravery is ever tested, she will fall short of the mark. Other people are brave, not she. In tales about the Resistance and stories about their beloved king, people are brave. Not she.However, just before the Jewish New Year, the rabbi announces that Jewish homes will be raided. Annemarie's neighbours, the Rosens, must flee. Young Ellen comes to stay with … [Read more...]
One Crazy Summer
I took a while to get sucked into One Crazy Summer. I was intrigued, yes, both by the setting and by the characters. Yet, I needed more. I wanted to like the characters, which I could not really do--also because you're not meant to.Delphine, Vonetta and Fern go to Oakland to visit their mother Cecile. Cecile is unwelcoming--she does not want them there, she never asked them to come, and she makes it clear that they must stay out of her way. Delphine, the eleven-year-old narrator, is shocked that she does not even call herself Cecile anymore. She is a poet, Nzila, actively involved with the Black Panthers, and she sends them off for a summer camp where they can get free breakfast and stay occupied all day.It is a turbulent time and Delphine is more than a little nervous. She is supposed to take care of her sisters, but how is she supposed to do that when her mother sends them away … [Read more...]
Inside Out and Back Again
When a ten-year-old is forced to leave Saigon and immigrate, what would she go through? After having been one of the smartest students in class back home in Saigon, she is at the bottom of the class in Alabama. What would that be like? Her new classmates can't understand that her name isn't Ha, but Hà, with the diacritical mark. How can she stop them from teasing her by saying 'Ha Ha, Ha Ha'?In the notes at the end of Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhhà Lai explains why she chose to write the book in verse. When the ten-year-old protagonist Hà is going through such a turbulent time, she would not think or talk in beautiful, formed prose. Her thoughts would be stark, simple, also bringing alive the sense that she is thinking in a language other than English.It was this simplicity that made the telling so sensitive. Hà is not the perfect protagonist. She pinches her partner in … [Read more...]
When Morning Comes
I haven't read or studied much about South Africa, though I do remember studying about apartheid and Nelson Mandela in school.Yet, when we're children, it's easy to think of things as 'long ago'. Even a year is a long time in a child's life. Reading When Morning Comes, I realised with quite a shock that 1976, the year when the book is set, was not so long ago. The Immorality Act astounded me, for I read about it with a clear understanding of how recently it was a reality. It made me think of posts I've seen on social media recently talking about pamphlets discouraging inter-racial marriage. It made me realise, again, how long the journey ahead is.I remember learning about Mandela being the first president of South Africa, and about him fighting apartheid. I was much older when I realised that what I studied was not history--he was the first president of South Africa as I was … [Read more...]
Flyaway Boy
What an unexpected book!I've been meaning to read Flyaway Boy for a while, but technological problems came in the way. I bought a Kindle edition only to learn that the ebook is not compatible with my Kindle, which meant that I had to read it on my laptop. Sitting at my laptop and reading doesn't feel like reading at all. It feels like I'm working, even though I do so much that is not work when I'm at my laptop. I love to lounge and read and my laptop isn't really conducive to that.But Flyaway Boy was a delight. I took a while to read it, much longer than I would have over a physical book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.I chuckled at the audacity of the book, revelling in how it surprised a laugh out of me at the oddest of places. The protagonist Kabir is a joy. He's a child after my own heart, a dreamer, an imaginer, a starry-eyed free spirit. But more, I love the storytelling, … [Read more...]
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
I met author Wai Chim at the Asian Festival of Children's Content in 2017. I didn't just meet her, we were part of the same panel, called Writing About Us. She came for my book launch, a poorly attended event because I knew very few people there in Singapore, and the launch was tucked away in the basement. Don't get me wrong. The basement was beautiful. It was the children's library and the most stunning one I've seen. The problem was there was no way of getting people's attention and having random passers-by attend.Wai Chim came for the event, though, I remember, and I was touched. That year, another book of hers was available at the festival bookstore, Closetful of Books - Freedom Swimmer. I was struck by the idea of the story, but somehow, though it's been on my list of books to read for a while, I never got around to reading it.A couple of weeks ago, I finally bought The … [Read more...]
The Misfits
The story of how I got my hands on The Misfits is a tale in itself. I ordered it during the Zubaan Women's Day sale, and it was dispatched about a week later. With the lockdown and then Nisarga, it never came. There was no way to track it and quite honestly, I didn't try very much. It was too tiny a problem to worry about when it felt like the world was collapsing around us. I just gave up, figuring that I would order the book again some other time.And then, out of the blue, on the 14th of June, a little over 3 months after I placed my order, I got a call from a courier company saying my parcel was at the gate. The cardboard cover was slightly worse for wear, but my books were intact!And I loved The Misfits. It was perfect in so many ways. It's the story of very real children in a very real school. We see two misfits in particular: one who tries to belong and one who realises that … [Read more...]