Dear sixteen-year-olds of the world . . .
. . . I’m in a crisis right now and need your help. So, I was engaged to the love of my life. You know how it is in small towns: you meet a nice boy, especially if he’s from a known family, and get fixed for life. You are waiting to be together and . . . Bam!
Your father finds his dream job and you’re forced to move with your family to the US. No questions asked.
It was quite awkward at first, my clothes, my hair, my accent . . . even my scent. I stood out friendless, weird.
But things didn’t stay the same for very long. I was suddenly drawn into a charity organization and then to the cutest and sweetest boy in the entire school!
Tell me, can you possibly be in love and out of love at the same time? Especially when the guy you are engaged to; is certain you’re coming back.
Waiting for your response,
Yours, Lovetorn
Catagory: Young Adults
Boo! A Collection of Thirteen Stories That Will Send a Chill Down Your Spine
Boo is a collection of well-crafted spooky stories about a he-ghoul, a departed son’s soul, whispers and visitations from beyond, night howls, unearthly claws that erupt from bellies and the very first ghost in the world, among others. Penned by Shashi Deshpande, Kanishk Tharoor, K.R. Meera, Jerry Pinto, Usha K.R., Jahnavi Barua, Manabendra Bandyopadhyay, Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, Jaishree Misra, Kiran Manral, Madhavi S. Mahadevan, Durjoy Datta and Shinie Antony, the tales in Boo are sure to send a chill down your spine.
When Jiya Met Urmila
When Jiya meets Urmila, she sees a loud girl with a fierce expression and too-bright clothes. Urmila sees a snooty girl with a dull dress and no spunk. Can they ever be friends?
Timmi and Rizu
Timmi’s new friend Rizu is in trouble. Three boys lie in wait for him near the school every day. Timmi, Idliamma and Juju the giant are full of ideas to help him, but will any of them work?
Tiger Boy
Neel’s parents want him to win a scholarship, and go to the big city to study. But Neel doesn’t want to leave his beloved Sundarbans, with its beautiful trees and its magnificent tigers.
And then a tiger cub goes missing from the reserve!
The evil Gupta wants to sell the cub and sets his people to search for it. Neel and his sister Rupa are determined to find the cub and take it to safety before Gupta and his goons find it.
Racing against time, and braving the dangers of the dark, will Neel succeed in saving the little tiger cub?
Winner of South Asia Book Award 2016 and Neev Book Award 2018
‘A multicultural title with obvious appeal for animal-loving middle graders.’ Kirkus Review
‘(An) excellent book, offering adventure, suspense and food for thought, and is surely going to win awards’ Mirrors, Windows and Doors
Petu Pumpkin Cheater Peter
When Petu starts cheating, his friends are sure he is headed for a life of crime. They try everything to stop him–hypnosis, a home-baked truth serum, a D-I-Y polygraph … Will they succeed?
Year of the Weeds
‘Sometimes, Korok, it is best if the sorkar forgets you.’
Korok lives in a small Gond village in Odisha. His life is in the garden he tends every day. Anchita, an artist, lives in the house which has the garden.
One day, the government tells the Gonds they have to leave the village. A company wants to mine the sacred hill next to it for bauxite. The Gonds oppose it, but the government, led by police offi cer Sorkari Patnaik, is sure to win. So is the company.
How long will the Gond resistance last, when politicians, young activists and even Maoists arrive at the village?
What can a lone gardener and a girl with a sketchbook do against the most powerful people in the land?
Hunted by the Sky
GUL HAS SPENT HER LIFE RUNNING. She has a star-shaped birthmark on her arm, and in the kingdom of Ambar, girls with such birthmarks have been disappearing for years. In fact, it is this very mark that caused her parents’ murder at the hand of King Lohar’s ruthless soldiers and forced her into hiding in order to protect her own life. So when a group of rebel women called the ‘Sisters of the Golden Lotus’ rescue her, take her in, and train her in warrior magic, Gul wants only one thing: revenge. Cavas lives in the tenements, and he’s just about ready to sign his life over to the king’s army. His father is terminally ill but Cavas will do anything to save him. Sparks fly when he meets a mysterious girl-Gul-in the capital’s bazaar. As the chemistry between them grows undeniably, he becomes entangled in a mission of vengeance and discovers a magic he never expected to find. Dangerous circumstances bring Gul and Cavas together at the king’s domain in Ambar Fort . . . a world with secrets deadlier than their own. Inspired by medieval India, this is the first in a stunning fantasy duology by Tanaz Bhathena, exploring identity, class struggles and high-stakes romance against a breathtaking magical backdrop.
Split
Who needs love? It only leads to trouble.
Noor is having the worst year of her life. First her mother decides to leave her father. Then her dad’s mother, the Horrible Old Crone, moves in to look after Noor (who’s sixteen and doesn’t need looking after, thank you very much). And she just knows the HOC is going to be mean about her mother because she never wanted her son to marry a Muslim. And now Noor has to attend some children-of-divorce thing after school-and her gang canNOT find out.
THEN she meets Ishaan. He’s funny and nerdy, and likes all the same things she likes. Except love is stupid, as she’s told everyone, and Ishaan isn’t her type anyway. He wears glasses, participates enthusiastically in the lame children-of-divorce thing, and would rather read than play football in the break like all the other boys.
Could love happen with someone who is the complete opposite of everything you’ve ever stood for? Can forgiveness squirm its way in with love?
Familiar Strangers
What if your husband’s ex-girlfriend makes
a sudden comeback into your lives?
Priya and Chirag are like several other modern couples, living life at breakneck speed, unknowingly stuck in the rut of a marriage that is obviously dying, if not already dead.
But things start to change when Priya’s position in Chirag’s life is threatened by his past-his
ex-girlfriend, who returns when they least expect it.
A third person’s entry into their marriage awakens emotions that have been dormant for too long.
But is it too late? Is the damage beyond repair?