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. They were in love once; what changed? Is it ... could it be ... that there are too many children? Are Lauren, Jack, Ruby and little Billy the real problem?Lauren and Jack, being the oldest, come up with a plan to get their parents together again, a plan called 'Operation Eiffel Tower'. Paris is the most romantic place in the world and Lauren's teen magazine tells her that dinner in Paris is guaranteed to bring the spark back into any relationship. The problem is that the children need to put together two hundred pounds to make it happen. Operation Eiffel Tower is the … [Read more...]
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 him is awful.Additionally, his mother (incidentally one of my favourite characters in the story) notices that Karma has put his number wrong. So much for that.With this promising beginning, Karma embarks on his first adventure -- and I loved it. I enjoyed the story so much that I would go as far as to say Karma Fights a Monster is among the best middle-grade books I've read this year. The characters, the writing style, the wholly unique plot - everything was lovely.When I started reading it, I hoped there would be 'real' … [Read more...]
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 the Great Depression, The Mighty Miss Malone, the story of a black family in Gary, could have been a tale of woe that would make me weep. In fact, that is what I expected when I picked the book up.But The Mighty Miss Malone is, instead, a story of hope. Every character in the book speaks of love, optimism and sweetness.Sweetness in literature goes, for me, with a slowness of pace. Books that are sweet are not thrilling or action-packed. Rather, they are hopeful and gentle, full of life and the belief that something delightful is about to … [Read more...]
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 style, and how easily facts are woven into engaging stories. Perhaps you know about the tigon - the result of irresponsible mating between a tiger and a lion - but how does that become a story?Supriya Sehgal's storytelling style is simple, and the brevity of each tale left me smiling and satisfied.A story I found particularly striking was "The Sport in the Sky", which is about a creature that is not dear to me at all - the pigeon. Pigeons are messy - and what I hate most is when they come into the … [Read more...]
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 she had intended. And yes, boys did like it too. Boys do also like emotional stories, given a chance.The story of a family on Alcatraz, Al Capone Does My Shirts is a unique tale told from the point of view of Moose, a boy with a specially-abled sister. Adding to the layered narrative is the fact that autism has not yet got its name - the novel is set around 1935 - so Natalie goes from one school to another, trying out treatment after treatment.A sensitive, beautiful portrayal of family relationships, Al Capone Does My Shirts moved me and … [Read more...]
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 in the pages of a book like One, I find myself wondering, How can anyone write so beautifully?One is among the most moving books I've ever read. Twice, I was able to sniff and move on. Once, I had to put the book away and let myself cry before I got back to reading.Tippi and Grace are conjoined twins. They are privy to every detail of each other's life, joined in blood and bone. They are both two and one, and this creates a bond that no one else can dream of sharing. They hold each other up, hooking their arms around each other's waists, waking up to each other's nightmares, and … [Read more...]
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 good as Apache and The Goldsmith's Daughter. It is told from the point of view of a "darkie" Caleb, a boy of mixed race.When Caleb's Pa is transported as a convict for a crime he did not commit, Caleb learns of the existence of his aunt Anne, who Pa is sure will help him.The fifteen-year-old boy finds his aunt but is soon drawn into a wicked world where the wealthiest of criminals perform heinous deeds without being punished, while the poorest suffer for the slightest of crimes. Along with his aunt's … [Read more...]
The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare
I took a while to sink my teeth into The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare. I went slowly through the first few chapters: I found the narrative voice a little puzzling, and I could not figure out whether I liked the protagonist, Auden Dare.Once I got sucked into the book, though, it was a different story.The cover asks whether a friendship can save a world under threat - and the way Zillah Bethell deals with this idea is tender and moving, for the friendship is a most irregular one.A dystopian novel, The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare is set at a time when a war is being waged over the most precious commodity in the world - water. A country like the UK is slightly better off because it is surrounded by the sea, and though the water needs to be desalinated before being fit for consumption, there is access to it. … [Read more...]
The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day
As I read The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day, I realised yet again that Christopher Edge is a writer I want to look out for. The first book I read of his was probably Twelve Minutes to Midnight. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up buying two copies of it - one to keep and one to gift.Somehow, the sequel, Shadows of the Silver Screen, did not make such a powerful impression on me. I liked it, but I can barely remember it now - in my defence, I read it five years ago.Then, I read The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, which I loved. It was unlike anything I'd ever read before and I was drawn into Albie's world - a world of science that has at its core not just human curiosity but something even more deep-rooted than that - love.If I had read The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day … [Read more...]
The Bubble Boy
I had just started reading The Bubble Boy, when I came across an article on 'sick-lit', which made me think. There really are a lot of books about children who are ill, but I'd never thought about it in that way. And yes, the idea of the dying girl redeeming a broken man would irritate me.As a result, I was unfairly wary when I got through the first few chapters of The Bubble Boy. I didn't want the emotional manipulation that plays out like a formula in literature where someone may die, and I was more than a little sceptical.But I said 'unfairly' because The Bubble Boy is nothing like that. For one, it is not YA - the protagonist, Joe, is an eleven-year-old, who is called bubble boy because he is stuck in a bubble - a sterilised, temperature-controlled, heavily monitored hospital room. He has severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), and cannot ever leave his sanitised room. His … [Read more...]