TITLE: Misfit Madhu

AUTHOR: Divya Anand

PAGE EXTENT: 280

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️

SOURCE: Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Madhu is a shy middle-grade developer who spends her holidays creating her dream app, ‘School Santhe’. Soon, the app goes viral…and so does she! And why not? After all, an app where everyone at school can trade stuff is the app they’ve all been waiting for! Madhu now sets her sights on winning the GoTek young developers contest. 

But when School Santhe is used to sell leaked test papers, she’s faced with the hardest decision of her life:
a) Shut down the app that made her popular?
b) Or stay silent and become part of something…criminal?

As her dreams begin to crumble – with the entire school now blaming her for the mess her app has caused – Madhu realizes that sometimes, it’s far easier to debug an app than it is to debug your life!

Before I launch into my review(read ‘rant’), let me tell you that this is one of the most fun books I’ve read in a long, long time! After having been in a reading slump for more than a month, I picked up this cute book and boy, was I in for one hell of a rollercoaster ride, aka middle school! Haha! This is one of those books you MUST read in a single sitting, because believe me, there’s no stopping until you’ve read the last page and sighed with relief!

Madhu has always been the shy kid in class with not much to her credit, until she develops an app called “School Santhe” over the summer break which ends up going viral! I mean, V-I-R-A-L! The app which helps people trade items in school makes sure Madhu goes from being a nobody to a mini celebrity in an instant! But when has being a famous person ever been easy? The higher you climb, the farther you fall. When somebody at school starts using the app to sell (ahem, leak) question papers, things start taking a sinister turn. With a much-sought-after contest conducted by a company owned by one of her role models looming in the background, will Madhu catch the perpetrator before time runs out? Or will she have to delete the app for good?

First of all, here is the thing I love about Middle Grade books: FRIENDSHIP! Noor is the bestest friend anyone could ask for, who always stands for what is right and always, always has your back! Madhu and Noor make the perfect bestie pair and it was indeed one of the highlights of this book for me!

Being a person from the medical field, technology and coding are like Greek and Latin to me and I’m glad this book gave me an insight into the world of IT! I learnt quite a bit about cyber security and IP addresses and a bit about how coding works too! Divya Anand has managed to take something complex like coding and app developing into something super fun to read, for both readers young and old!

“Noor smiled back, and we linked arms as we entered my apartment complex, Oceanview Apartments. You’d think our apartment has a view of the ocean, but nope.”

This is the exact point in the story when I started howling with laughter! Being born and brought up in Bangalore, this was so, so relatable! Random apart complexes with even more random names which make no sense whatsoever can be found all over the city!

The Bangalore lingo used by all the students at Ideal School (yeah, sometimes schools have weird names too) took me back to my school days and it was a nice thing to reminisce, after all this while! It made my heart swell with joy when I read that the app is called “School Santhe” (“market” in Kannada, which happens to be my mother tongue too!)

This book gives you a bird’s eye view of middle school life: surprise tests, annoying classmates, competitions and contests, fun moments with your best friends, some not-so-fun moments, the mean and so-called “cool” gang, new friendships, pranksters, I could honestly go on and on!

Before I end my rant, let’s talk about the mystery element, shall we? It was indeed a well-crafted mystery that will have you guessing right through to the end, exactly the way it should be! It had me frantically turning pages and biting my lips with anticipation!

Kudos to Vedushi Sinha for the quirky illustrations that make this fun-filled mystery even more fun!

Phew, end of rant. If you’re in a reading slump and want a book that will WHACK you out of it, pick this one right away! Trade some hours for dollops of fun! See what I did there? 😉 This book is about a “Santhe” after all!

Which is your favourite book featuring geeky characters? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: The Ghost of Malabar

AUTHOR: Soumya Ayer

PAGE EXTENT: 204

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins India

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️

SOURCE: Received a copy from HarperCollins India in exchange for an honest review.

A spooky tale set in Fort Kochi, once a seaside town with a long colonial history!

Twelve-year-old Edwin blames his father, a wayward fisherman for everything rotten in his life. But when he encounters Velu his life is catapulted from rotten to outright chaotic. Velu is chatty. Velu is annoying. Velu is a ghost. The ghost of a fisherman who was slaughtered five hundred years ago by Kapitan Vasca da Gama.

Velu soon spirits himself into Edwin’s life … he follows him to school, accosts him at home, always appearing at the most unwelcome moments. Edwin tries everything to get rid of him, including rubbing garlic on himself. But Velu can’t be shaken off until the day Edwin banishes him from his life …

In the events that follow, Edwin discovers that Velu has actually helped heal his family in ways he had never imagined possible. But by this time, Velu is gone!

Will Edwin find Velu again and will Velu finally find rest after five hundred years of haunting the seaside town? Read this delightfully written and charmingly illustrated book to find out …

“Look at these waves, Edwin. They come and go, but still the ocean remains. Just like that, even if people in your life come and go, the memories remain. Appreciate the good times and learn from the challenging ones. That’s what I learned from my teacher, the sea and that’s what I’m teaching you.”

My eyes were glistening with tears when I turned the last page of this book. Who knew a book about the weird friendship between a young boy and a 500-year-old ghost would release the floodgates? 🥺

Edwin, a 12-year-old boy from Kochi, can see and hear ghosts! And much to his dismay, he’s being nagged by the ghost of a man who died 500 years ago when Vasco da Gama invaded India. And the worst part, Velu the ghost is super pesky and naughty and keeps chattering his head off! Edwin tries his best to get the ghost off his back without realising that the ghost has been helping him all along. But why is the ghost still haunting the place? Why can only Edwin see the ghost? How will he prevent his dysfunctional family from crumbling apart? Read the book to find out!

I love it when Middle Grade books discuss hard hitting topics and don’t shy away from packing the punches! Not only is this a tale filled with adventure and fun, it also deals with strained familial relationships and bullying. Bullying was something I endured as a middle schooler and I wanted to jump right into the pages and give Edwin a warm, warm hug! 🥺

You might wonder how a centuries-old ghost befriended a young boy but trust me, Velu is such an adorable goofball! 🥹 He might be a ghost but you would love to have him around and laugh at his hilarious pranks!

This book also highlights a dark period in the history of our country: how the Portuguese invaded India in the 1500s and massacred fishermen and their families alike. It’s important for young readers to know about the past, however sad, and this book does the topic justice.

Don’t we all love it when books transport us to places? This book painted the perfect picture of Kochi in my mind and now I desperately want to visit the beaches and munch on some banana chips!

A big shoutout to Isha Nagar for the adorable illustrations peppered throughout the book that add to the beauty of this poignant tale. 😌

If you’re in the mood for a heart-warming tale that will have you grabbing tissues and yet leaving a smile plastered on your face, pick up this book and go on a journey spanning 500 years along the shores of the Arabian Sea!

Which is your favourite read featuring ghosts? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: Unfair

AUTHOR: Rasil Ahuja

PAGE EXTENT: 186

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐💫

SOURCE: Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Life’s not always fair . . .
and neither are we

Auditions are on for the seventh grade annual play. Lina sets her heart and sights on the lead role, but the drama teacher seems to think Lina isn’t the right shade for the part. All Lina wants is a #FAIRCHANCE to try out for the role. Will narrow-minded Miss Deepa derail Lina’s dream?

Meher finds maths far more interesting, and less dramatic, than Macbeth. When her extroverted BFF Lina suddenly becomes distraught and withdrawn, Meher tries to figure out what she may have done wrong, but things just don’t seem to add up. Will their friendship fade or will Meher find a solution to this problem and score #FRIENDSHIPGOALS?

I have a soft spot for Middle Grade books that discuss serious topics in a way that’s palatable to young readers and this book is undoubtedly one of those.

Lina and Meher are thick as thieves. They’ve been best friends for as long as they can remember. Lina, on one hand, is an extrovert and loves reading and theatre. Meher, on the other hand, is more of an introvert who finds solace in logic and math.

When Lina doesn’t get the lead role in Romeo and Juliet because she isn’t “fair enough” for the role, she becomes distraught and depressed. When Meher notices a change in her usually bubbly friend’s demeanour, she makes it a point to get to the bottom of this and solve the problem no matter what! Will she succeed? Will she manage to help her best friend and save their crumbling friendship? Read the book to find out!

This book showcases what millions of kids in our country face on a daily basis: how people with dark skin are frowned upon and the extent to which they sometimes end up going, in order to comply with the norms set by society.

Lina’s journey of acceptance and self-discovery was something that resonated with me. Being of dark complexion, I have had tons of relatives and acquaintances reminding me of my skin tone and telling me how it would have been were I of a lighter complexion, and Lina reminded me of my younger version who was extremely insecure about his skin colour. I hope with all my heart that this book resonates with every single young reader the way it did with me and helps them realise that the shade of their skin should be no bar and they will achieve everything they set out to, nonetheless!

This review would be incomplete without mentioning the heart-warming friendship between the protagonists Lina and Meher. Meher is one of those friends who will stick with you through thick and thin and she is the friend we all want and cherish! Yay to amazing friendships in books!

Don’t we all want to have that one cool cousin who supports us and gives us hope that one we have at least one family member on our side? That’s Pia! She was one of my favourite side characters and her pep talks were the best!

In short, this is a cute, empowering book about being comfortable in your skin and not letting anyone get in the way of your success! Aditi Shastry’s illustrations peppered throughout the book along with the Shakespearean quotes at the beginning of Lina’s POV chapters were a fun addition!

A big thank-you and a warm hug to the author Rasil Ahuja for writing this very essential Middle Grade book!

What are some of your favourite books that deal with serious topics? Let me know down below!

TITLE: Naturalist Ruddy

AUTHOR: Rohan Chakravarty

PAGE EXTENT: 106

PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House India

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐️

SOURCE: Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Are you ‘Ruddy’ for adventure? In the forests of central India, where teak meets sal and plateaus meet hills, natural history meets detective fiction in an inquisitive Ruddy Mongoose’s investigations. Join Naturalist Ruddy as he unearths some of nature’s most fascinating mysteries in this one-of-a-kind comic book set across India’s various natural habitats.

Are you in the mood to visit some of India’s National Parks and discover the varied biodiversity they are known for, but all in the comfort of your reading nook? Then look no more! Go on a journey with Naturalist Ruddy as he visits every nook and corner of India and meets a myriad of creatures, some fun and some not-so-fun, in this fun-filled and superbly illustrated book by Rohan Chakravarty!

Wait, who is Naturalist Ruddy, you ask? He is a mongoose who also happens to be a super-sleuth! Travel with Ruddy as he dons his detective hat, grabs his binoculars and embarks on a quest to help his buddies and meet new ones!

This is one of the most unique books I’ve read! This is indeed the definition of ‘infotainment’. Not only do you have a great time enjoying the funny and accurate illustrations, you also learn quite a lot about the tons of creatures that call India’s lush forests home!

Every mystery Ruddy solves gives you titbits of information about an animal and its natural habitat, its life cycle, its food and so much more! And what’s more, you get to solve some cases with Ruddy along the way!

This book is undoubtedly one of a kind and definitely worth treasuring! A huge thanks to the author-cum-illustrator Rohan Chakravarty for coming up with this fang-tastic book! (sorry-not- sorry for my bad puns haha)

I was constantly googling and reading up about every National Park Ruddy visited and guess who wants to now go on a backpacking trip to these beautiful pockets of nature right away?

In short, you’re missing out if you don’t have this book on your shelves! What are you waiting for? Pick this book up and start your job as Detective Ruddy’s work assistant!

Which is the most unique book you’ve read? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: The Last Bear

AUTHOR: Hannah Gold

PAGE EXTENT: 306

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐️

SOURCE: Received a copy from HarperCollins India in exchange for an honest review.

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life…

This moving story will win the hearts of children the world over and show them that no one is too young or insignificant to make a difference. The Last Bear is a celebration of the love between a child and an animal, a battle cry for our world and an irresistible adventure with a heart as big as a bear’s.

Friendships are the sole reason why Middle Grade happens to be one of my favorite genres of all time and when I came across this book featuring an unlikely friendship between a young girl and a wild beast, I KNEW I had to get my hands on a copy! And guess what? Colour me super impressed!

April Wood, our 11-year-old protagonist, spends six months on Bear Island, near the Arctic Circle, with her scientist dad(who happens to be researching polar ice caps and global warming) and befriends a polar bear, OF ALL ANIMALS on the island! This unlikeliest of friendships will carve out a tiny piece of your heart and rest there forever! Trust me, this is one of those friendships that will make you giggle and smile and laugh and shiver and sniffle and sob and beam with pride!

Whilst having a gem of a friendship at the centre of its pulsating heart, this book is an extremely necessary reminder about climate change and its hazards, if not addressed soon. This book incorporates themes of global warming and climate change and how they impact the lives of not just humans, but of animals as well and ensures that every child who reads this book will take a small step towards making our planet a better place. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean, don’t they?

And did you know that the sun doesn’t set for SIX WHOLE MONTHS at the poles? I was super intrigued by this fact and ended up reading articles about this peculiar yet fascinating phenomenon! It’s just day, all day everyday!

Hannah Gold doesn’t shy away from packing the punches: this book deals with a few dense topics such as death of a parent, strained familial relationships, grief and bereavement. But fret not, the author has executed these seamlessly in the story.

April’s encounters with bear were written with a sense of anticipation and fear that gave me the “chills”! (Haha, see what I did there? 😉)

So here’s everything you have to do: keep a box of tissues ready, grab a copy of this book, snuggle up in your sheets, and dive right in! This poignant tale of heartbreak, loss, family, friendship, bravery and climate change is bound to take you on a wild, wild ride to the frozen glaciers and islands of the Arctic! And while you’re at it, don’t forget to admire Levi Pinfold’s GORGEOUS art that made me add visiting the Arctic region on my bucket list immediately!

“You just tell me whenever you’re ready. That’s the best time to tell a story. Not before and not after. But only when it’s ready to come out.”

TITLE: The Offline Diaries

AUTHORS: Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené

PAGE EXTENT: 246

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOURCE: Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A universal story of friendship, falling out and unforgettable characters that will resonate with all readers of 9 and up – from the authors of Slay in Your Lane

Ade is about to start at a new school. She is NOT happy with her stepdad for making them move here. Shanice has been at the school for a year already. Since her mum died, she’s been living with her dad and annoying older brother, spending most of her time outside school in her dad’s hair salon.

When Ade and Shanice meet in the salon, and spot each other’s diaries, an instant friendship is formed, and they start to chat online… but offline is a whole other story!

The Offline Diaries is a fresh, funny and contemporary story of friendship, told in the captivating voices of Ade and Shanice – two utterly unforgettable Year 8 girls who will seize the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere.

The Offline Diaries is an adorable, little book written from the perspective of two tweens, Ade and Shanice and the entire story is narrated in the form of diary entries and text conversations! I have never read a book narrated in this format and it had my interest piqued!

Extrovert Ade has moved to a new town(much to her dismay) with her siblings, mom and stepdad(whom she doesn’t like one bit) and is not excited to start at a new school whatsoever.

Introvert Shanice is not happy about having to return to school for the new year and loves pouring her heart out into her pink journal, while spending a chunk of time at her dad Mathew’s hair salon.

When Ade visits Mathew’s salon with her mother and spots a girl in the corner with a journal similar to hers, there is an instant spark of friendship between the two girls and what follows is a star-crossed friendship that is so real and tender you would want to give these girls a warm, bear hug!

It makes my heart swell with joy to say that friendships are an integral part of every Middle Grade book and this book has spades and spades of it! This is an account of the start of a new friendship, with its own share of laughter, conflict, joy and sorrow, a sour fallout and how it all falls back together again.

In the current generation, where social media occupies a major part of everyone’s daily routine, this book focuses on the pros and cons of social media not just in everyday life, but also in friendships and how it has the dangerous potential to make or break them.

Personally, if a book deals with dense topics and addresses them in a perfect manner, it’s an immediate extra star from me! This book highlights themes of broken families and how they tend to have an impact on the development of children. Shanice warming up to her brother while also dealing with the loss of her mother and Ade warming up to her stepdad had me smiling from ear to ear!

If you’re a fan of friendships in books and want to read one that radiates #blackgirlmagic in all ways possible, then this is the one to pick up next!

What are some of your favorite books that radiate #blackgirlmagic? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: Tales from the World

AUTHOR: Geeta Ramanujam

PAGE EXTENT: 164

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

SOURCE: Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Tales as old as time, retold
for readers, both young and old

Collected from storytellers on snow-capped mountains, and in eerie forests, opulent palaces and countries near and far, the captivating folk tales in this book have mesmerized generations.

Injected with freshness, mystery, adventure and magic, Geeta Ramanujam retells her all-time favourite stories with a song here and a twist there.

Travel along with this imaginative storyteller as she shares peculiar myths and incredible trivia from around the world in this magnificently illustrated volume of twenty tales from Russia, Japan, France, Tibet, India, Korea, Scotland and more.

From the glens of Scotland to the mountainous landscapes of Tibet, from the backwaters of Kerala to the cobbled streets of French towns, master storyteller Geeta Ramanujam takes us on a whimsical journey around the world in this potpourri of 20 tales, each of which will make you smile from ear to ear!

A huge shout-out to the illustrator Arkapriya Koley for adding a magical touch to these beautiful stories through her adorable illustrations, which definitely make this book a collector’s edition you would want to treasure!

What makes these stories even better is the fact that the author has added a note at the beginning of every tale about how and where she came across these tales in her 30+ years of storytelling experience!

Having been an avid reader of folktale anthologies right from childhood, this book was right up my alley and it didn’t disappoint one bit!

Nerdy me loves knowing random trivia and fun facts and the facts sprinkled throughout this book were the perfect dessert for a delicious entrée!

If you’re someone who has read the Jataka tales and loved them as a child(or as an adult, because there is no age limit to enjoying stories) and would like to read more such tales from around the globe, this amalgamation of stories is the perfect pick for you!

Did you read fairy tales and folk tales as a child? Do let me know in the comments below!

TITLE: The Astoundingly True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev

AUTHOR: Ken Spillman

PAGE EXTENT: 152

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOURCE: Received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Forever daydreaming-that’s Dev. Sitting in class or watching the clouds from the roof of Kwality Carpets, he floats off to places all over the world and has wonderful, bizarre adventures.

Mild-mannered schoolboy Dev is no stranger to survival in extreme environments. Classroom trances and home-made flights of fancy take him all over the place-what other kid could have visited Amazon rainforests, summited Mount Everest and crossed the Sahara? Along with the challenges of all this, he also needs to avoid the wrath of teachers and make Amma and Baba proud . . . Not so easy when your brain lives elsewhere!
In this volume, three wacky yet adrenaline-filled stories transport the reader into situations they can only dream of.

Set out with Dev on a solo expedition to reach the South Pole and report back to his teacher on global warming.

Find out which Dev finds more terrifying-going down a volcano or the baffling truth that a girl from his street has arrived there with him!

Join Dev and his trivia-mad friend OP as they become the first space stowaways on a moon landing mission.

For Dev, it has always been Access All Areas and no holds barred!

Are you in the mood for an adrenaline rush-inducing, action-packed-to-the-brim book that takes you on a wild journey to a volcano, Antarctica and outer space?!

Dev, a middle-schooler who is known for frequently escaping into his vivid daydreams and who went on a journey to the Amazon, across the Sahara and up the Himalayas, is back in the second instalment of the series with some thrillingly imaginative adventures to an active Volcano called Whakaari in New Zealand, to the South Pole and to the MOON! I kid you not, this kid has a wiiiiiild imagination! (Hehe, see what I did there😉)

Not only is this book super creative and fun-filled, it’s peppered with really cool science facts, ranging from moon rovers to the polar ice caps! I was today years old when I found out that there are no polar bears in Antarctica and they inhabit only the Arctic region. 🥲🙈

And, is a Middle Grade book complete without illustrations? Suvidha Mistry’s illustrations throughout the book make the experience all the more amazing!

What really impressed me about this book is the fact that the author actually asked children during one of his author visits where they would like to see Dev travelling to next and incorporated those ideas in this book! Can’t wait to go on more whacky adventures with our resident daydreamer!

Which place is at the top of your travel bucket list? Do let me know in the comments! Australia is at the top of mine!