The Manic Panic

I love Richa Jha’s books. I don’t know how many I’ve read, but each one has been special – Love Like That, Boo! When My Sister Died, Machher Jhol … I didn’t know Richa would be at Neev Literature Festival, or I would have carried my copy of Giggi and Daddy for her to sign for me, but as it turned out, it was a good thing I didn’t carry the book. I ended up picking up The Manic Panic!

The Manic Panic is an adorable book. When I was a child, I remember learning the song “Be kind to your parents“, and I enjoyed it almost as much as my mother did. And The Manic Panic reminded me of that song – the irreverent, yet wholesome humour, and the sense of madness that inspires an idea like this.

What happens to all the grown-ups when there’s no internet? We all know the answer to that one, don’t we? The important question is: what are you going to do about it?

As I read The Manic Panic, I also rejoiced at how perfect an example it is of the second person narrative voice. At my creative writing programmes, we naturally work a lot with narrative voice, and there are very few examples of short, simple stories for children told in second person. The Manic Panic is perfect! Delightful pictures and easy, engaging text – the book is a treat!