Eleven-year-old Viji has had enough. Her mother might believe that her father is repentant and will stop abusing her. But when he hits Viji and Rukku, she makes a decision. However harsh life on the streets may be, it is preferable to being home with a drunken, abusive father. And so, Viji takes her sister […]
The Letter with the Golden Stamp
The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q. Raúf is such a heartwarming story! As a lover of letters (psst: my first novel in letters, The Wall Friends Club, is just out!), I was drawn to the idea of a story about a special letter right away. With an enterprising protagonist at the centre, […]
The Chocolate Touch
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling is an old book, unlike most of the others I select for my book clubs. Its copyright dates back to 1952! And that’s not the only thing that makes it different from the books I usually choose. Another important distinction is that it has a clear moral, something I […]
The Paradise Flycatcher
It’s impossible to write about The Paradise Flycatcher without mentioning the gorgeous illustrations. I felt the same way about The Golden Eagle, which we read at my book club some time ago. Krishna Bala Shenoi’s art work, right through the book, is stunning, and if for nothing else, I would have picked The Paradise Flycatcher for one of my […]
The Clockwala’s Clues
We’re going to read my hOle book, The Clockwala’s Clues at my book club in April 2025! I’ve done many author events based on the book, but they’ve all been in-person sessions. Looking forward to my first online session with the book. Puzzles Jasmine and Sheba love puzzles. Do you? Can you solve a set of puzzles […]
Echo
Do you ever read the author’s note and acknowledgements? I love reading them! For example, at the end of Echo, author Pam Muñoz Ryan writes: It was [in the German Harmonica and Accordion Museum in Trossingen] in a glass case that I discovered the letters from thankful family members of soldiers whose lives were once […]
Melissa
I’ve been meaning to read Melissa for a while, and more so since I read Rick some time ago. It’s an important book for young readers, one that I found myself mulling over long after I’d finished. George knows she is not a boy. She looks like one, and everyone sees her as one, but […]
The Scent of Roses
From the author of Boy, Bear, a poignant story that has stayed with me, comes The Scent of Roses, a book about fear, grief and loss. This latest hOle book by Adithi Rao is made all the more beautiful by Krishna Bala Shenoi’s brilliant illustrations. When Sajad’s Abu disappears, his Mauji and Badebub try to […]
The Wish Fish
Would you believe in a fish that could grant wishes? Namita wants to, but … The Wish Fish by Lesley D. Biswas and Aratrika Choudhury is a charming story set in a small village in the middle of a big mangrove forest. Namita’s father is a fisherman, and Namita loves to help her father pick […]
Gawa’s Bag of Good Regards
Lots of adults I know hated the question What do you want to be when you grow up? I know I loved it as a child. I had so many dreams, and I loved talking about them. Sometimes, I delude myself into believing I always wanted to be a writer, but an old, old diary […]
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
What a lovely, lovely book! I don’t know anything about baseball. I’ve seen what the bat looks like, and I’ve heard random terms like ‘home run’ and ‘strike’, but that’s the extent of my knowledge. And yet, I loved Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!, a book that’s all about baseball! Vivy Cohen is fed up […]
Leeva at Last
If you like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, you’re sure to enjoy Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker! Leeva’s parents, in a perfectly Roald Dahl-esque way are impossibly cruel. They have all kinds of rules for Leeva. She can’t go to school; in fact she isn’t even permitted to step out of her yard. When, one day, […]
Top 5 Young Adult Books – 2024
I finally read a few more young adult books last year, so I don’t have to combine my late middle-grade and young adult books! I loved all these books, three of which are by writers I’ve read before. I highly recommend these books for ages 13+! Spin I am not usually a fan of mythological […]
Top 10 Middle Grade Books – 2024
I read many, many middle grade books last year, but somehow just one Indian book stands out this time! Here are my top ten, in no particular order. I highly recommend these books to readers ten and above! The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them) Last year, I read many books in verse, […]
Top 10 Early Middle Grade Books – 2024
Many of the titles on this list of my favourite early middle grade books from 2024 are book club reads. Some, the children enjoyed thoroughly; others, I enjoyed more than the children did! On the whole, I recommend these books for ages nine and up. In no particular order, here are my top ten early […]
Top 7 Picture Books and Chapter Books – 2024
It’s time for my yearly roundups! I have no idea how many books I read last year (I never count), but I know I read a significant number. I read fewer picture books than usual, but I made up for that by reading dozens of chapter books. I always share these annual posts of mine […]
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom opens with the oracle at Delphi predicting the fall of the Titans. The future is misty and the oracle’s glasses are foggy, so she can’t quite tell what will happen. What lies ahead? Dancers? Oh, no. Danger. Danger lies ahead. On that humorous note, we begin the story of […]
The Lucky List
Are you the kind of person who finishes a book once you’ve begun? Or are you perfectly happy abandoning a book that doesn’t work for you? I’m usually the second, but I’m so glad I stuck with The Lucky List! Two chapters in, and I was not invested in the story. Teenage girl, isolated from […]
The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them)
How are such few people reading verse novels? They’re so lovely, so full of emotion and magic! My latest read was The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them), a beautiful middle-grade book about love, stories, and friendship. Nyla Elachi is of mixed heritage, and she’s bullied for it. But in some ways, that’s […]
The School for Bad Girls
I was reading The School for Bad Girls and I mentioned how much I was enjoying it to an acquaintance. Immediately, she said, “I thought Anandibai Joshi was the first female doctor from India.” We looked it up, and of course, I found myself going down a rabbit hole. When I finished reading the book, […]