TITLE: Mehar’s World of Colours

AUTHOR: Arti Sonthalia

PAGE EXTENT: 160

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books (Penguin Random House India)

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️

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

Mehar loves books, art and colours and wants to make her own comic book one day with her best friend Ananya. But her mom wants her to swim like her big sister Saanvi and win competitions and medals.

When her school offers an after-school activity class to learn comic-making, Mehar is super excited and wants to sign up for it. But will her mom approve of anything that will make her miss swimming practice?

Dive into Mehar’s colourful world as she works hard to make her dreams come true!

This is undoubtedly one of the most wholesome books I’ve read this year! Having read and loved Simi Stands Tall last year, I knew I had to read Arti’s next book, and needless to say, it did not disappoint one bit! In fact, my eyes were brimming with tears when I turned the last page and I can assure you that these characters will stay in my heart for a long, long time!

So, who is Mehar? She’s a 5th grader who loves art, and wants to write a full-length comic one day. But wait, that’s not what her mother wants! Her mother wants her to be a star swimmer and bag medal upon medal like her older sister, Saanvi. Will Mehar manage to achieve her artistic dreams, while juggling friendships, complicated family dynamics and swimming, all at the same time?

This book highlights what most children go through: to live up to their parents’ preset super-high expectations, sometimes compromising on what they want. Parents also tend to ignore what their children want and instead focus on what THEY want for their children. I have a soft spot for books that reach out to you and give you a metaphorical hug, and make you feel seen. This book definitely takes the cake!

Teachers play a significantly huge role in every child’s formative years. The presence of a great teacher in a child’s life will go on to not only make the child a better human being, but also help them with some life-altering decision. A huge shout-out to Coach Shivani for being the perfect teacher!

If you’ve read my reviews of Middle Grade books, you know by now that one of my favourite aspects of MG books is how they let friendships shine gloriously! With Mehar, Ananya and Tanisha, we get to see a realistic portrayal of friendships, including the not-so-great components like jealousy and insecurity. This book also goes on to show how we sometimes tend to judge people way too quickly, only to have our opinions swamped later!

This review would be incomplete without mentioning how this book also addresses complex family dynamics like parental separation and its aftermath. Books like these are essential to show young readers how some families are not the same as others and that’s completely okay. Mehar’s Dadi is one of my favourites too!

You can’t help but fall in love with Mehar and her helpful nature! Not only does she help out with teaching underprivileged children, she goes out of her way to raise funds for making their classrooms better and if that’s not the perfect example of humans should be, then I don’t know what is! And wait until you start thinking in colours too!

All’s well that ends well! Once you turn the last page, you will have a broad smile on your face and you will hug the book tight to your chest and swim in the warm feeling!

What is the most wholesome book you’ve read? Let me know in the comments below!

TITLE: The Power of Nunchi

AUTHOR: Euny Hong  

PAGE EXTENT: 240

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books

GENRE: Self-help

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️

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

Why did she get promoted? Why does the party only start when he walks in? And why do they always catch the bartender’s eye? It sounds like they’re all experts in the art of nunchi, even if they don’t know it.

Nunchi is the guiding principle of Korean life, but anyone can use it: it’s the art of reading a room, your way of understanding what other people are thinking and feeling, and using that to get ahead.

Korean parents believe that teaching their children nunchi is as important as teaching them to cross the road safely. With great nunchi, it feels like the world is on your side. Without it, you might get hit by something you never saw coming.

If you’re thinking ‘not another Eastern fad, Marie Kondo already made me throw half my clothes away’, don’t worry: it’s not a fad. Koreans have been using nunchi to overcome slings and arrows for over 5000 years.

The great news is that anyone can hone their nunchi, immediately: all you need are your eyes and ears. In everything, from finding love to excelling at work, improving your nunchi will help you to open doors you never knew existed.

Improve your nunchi, improve your life.

How did South Korea go from being a third world country to a developed one within the span of less than a century? And what’s with Korean actors and K-pop stars making waves all over the world? How does this country manage to do everything perfectly: right from beauty products to high-class TV shows? The answer lies in one word: NUNCHI!

Well, what is Nunchi? It’s a Korean term that means ‘eye measure’. It’s the art of gauging people’s moods and tweaking your behaviour in accordance with the situation, in order to get the best results. To put it in simpler words, it’s how to ‘read the room’. But how does one cultivate it? Fret not, Euny Hong is here to help!

Being someone who rarely reads non-fiction, I’m so glad I picked this one up! Not only does the author explain how to master the art of Nunchi, she also elaborates on how to use this much-needed skill in friendships, relationships, at work, during travel and much more!

If you’re thinking that this is one of those over-the-board self-help books that will be an ordeal to get through, think again! The author has used an umpteen number of real-life scenarios as examples to illustrate how Nunchi can best be applied in day-to-day life, while also showing what a lack of Nunchi looks like. There are fun quizzes at the end of each chapter to help you get there faster!

If you’re someone who wants to get better at reading the room and avoid unintentional awkward situations, this book should be your next pick!

Do you read non-fiction/self-help books? If yes, drop in some recommendations for me!

TITLE: I Won’t Wash my Hair

AUTHOR: Aparna Kapur (illustrated by Ogin Nayam)

PAGE EXTENT: 40

PUBLISHER: Duckbill Books (Penguin Random House India)

GENRE: Chapter Book

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️

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

In Divya’ s hair, you will find pencils, peanuts and paintbrushes! All because Divya refuses to wash her hair. But how long can she go on like this?

Having started reading books during primary school, books like these take me back to those days when I would curl up with a cute little book without a worry in the world! And that’s also why chapter books have a special place in my heart.

In this adorably illustrated chapter book, we meet Divya, a girl who refuses to wash her unruly, massive hair. But how long can she go without it? And what does she do to find a solution to this? Read the book to find out!

You will fall in love with Ogin Nayam’s art style the moment you open this book! I read the book twice just to bask in the beauty of these illustrations!

And don’t forget: there’s a fun activity about tenses at the end!

Have you read chapter books? Which ones are your favourite? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: The Catch

AUTHOR: Amy Lea  

PAGE EXTENT: 416

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books

GENRE: Romance

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️⭐️

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

In a last ditch attempt to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? Burly fisherman Evan Whaler – who single-handedly disproves the theory that canadians are ‘nice’.

After a boating incident lands Evan in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancee by his welcoming yet quirky family. And, in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for just. one. week.

But reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult than expected.

Is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at true love in the wild?

BRB, GIGGLING BLUSHING AND LAUGHING MY BREATH AWAY! Wow, what a conclusion to the Influencer series! I had a ton of expectations going into this one, and needless to say, it lived up to every single one of them and some more! I am nothing if not a huge fan of Amy Lea’s quirky and hilarious writing style and she definitely knocked it into the ocean with this book! (You’ll figure out why I made this terrible joke, haha.)

If you’ve read the first two books in the series already, Melanie Karlsen needs no introduction. When Melanie’s hotel booking gets mixed up, she ends up in an AirBnb in a fishing village in Nova Scotia and much to her dismay, the owner of the B&B, Evan Whaler, clad in plaid and broad-shouldered(and very very hot) is as arrogant as they get. When a weird turn of events lands Evan in the ER, Mel lies about being his fiancée to his entire family. Girl, what were you thinking?! You can’t stand to be in the same room as that man and you lied FOR him? Does Melanie succeed at this fake engagement game? How will she save her career and help her brother out? And to make matters worse, she might be falling for the one person she never thought she would! Before I spill all the beans, pick up the book and find out for yourself! Hurry, hurry!

I love me a good romance novel that will constantly tickle my funny bone and add another book boyfriend to my never-ending list and also make me blush and giggle from time to time! The Catch is definitely ticks-across-the-board!

Fake dating/engagement is one of my favourite romance tropes(up there with enemies-to-lovers) and it was seamlessly executed in this book! Full of hilarious banter and am-I-even-faking-it-anymore situations, you can’t help but smile secretly as you fall in love with Mel and Evan over and over again! We all have moments where we hope for that tiny spark with someone who is not fictional but close enough to being as perfect as fictional men and this book is bound to ignite your imagination in every way!

Evan, must you be so perfect? You’re now on my list of book boyfriends that never seems to stop getting longer!

While Melanie navigates her fake engagement with Evan, a shocking realisation hits her: not only is she falling hard for Evan, she’s falling in love with his entire family too! The Whalers are such a wholesome bunch and they will have always have a place in my heart! And Nana, what with her sass and queen behaviour, definitely takes the cake!

While this book is light-hearted and fun most of the time, it doesn’t shy away from addressing the hardships in life. Melanie’s brother Julian’s struggle with depression struck a chord with me. Another highlight for me is how the author handled grief in the story. Melanie and Evan have their own mechanisms of coping with grief and this goes on to show a very important aspect of grief: how it manifests differently in different people and how everyone has their own way of processing it.

This review would definitely be incomplete without a shoutout to Cora’s Cove and its kind bunch of people! (I may have gone to great lengths struggling to find Cora’s Cove on Google only to realise it’s fictional 😂😂) I have an intense urge to go to Nova Scotia and do some whale watching! Hailing from a big city, I’m always in awe of close-knit communities in small towns and villages where everyone knows everyone else. I am craving some poutine right now!

There are cameos from the Chen sisters: Crystal and Tara, and their partners too! While this book reads perfectly well as a standalone, the cameos make more sense and you will enjoy them if you’ve read the first two books! So, that’s definitely a perk!

Phew, that was more of a rant than a review! If you’ve read up till here, I’m sure you have plans of picking this book up! And don’t worry, it’s definitely a ‘catch’! 😉

What is your favourite romance trope? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: The Misadventures of a Diamond Thief

AUTHOR: Lubaina Bandukwala  

PAGE EXTENT: 176

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books (Penguin Random House India)

GENRE: Middle Grade

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐💫

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

Sahabzada Hawa Singh Rafu Chakkar (Rafu), a descendant of the legendary Time-Travelling, Thieving Djinns, wants to abandon the family tradition of stealing jewels to pursue his true passion―cooking. However, when the king of djinns tasks him with a mission to steal the Shah-i-Noor diamond in the newly built city of Haiderabad, Rafu reluctantly accepts. His secret agenda? The diamond is his ticket to his dream.

With only two weeks to get the coveted gem, Rafu finds himself entangled in a web of cunning courtiers, mysterious thieves and a most annoying horse, all while the tantalizing aroma of pulavs and kebabs constantly distracts him. Racing against the clock, Rafu’s adventure unfurls as he strives to turn his dream into reality. How far will he go?

Having read and loved The Chowpatty Cooking Club, I KNEW I had to read this one the moment I laid my eyes on it! Fair warning: if you’re jumping into this book on an empty stomach, you are bound to have a horrible case of hunger pangs because the food imagery is chef’s kiss! Haha, see what I did there? 😉

In this action-packed blend of history, time travel and magic, we follow Rafu, a descendant of the Time-Travelling, Thieving Djinns(TTTDs), who doesn’t want to continue the family legacy of, you guessed it right, stealing! He wants to pursue his passion of cooking as stealing gems from various kingdoms from various times isn’t his cup of tea! But when has it ever been easy for a teenager, with parents having a ton of expectations!?! Phew! In order to make his parents proud in one last hurrah, Rafu agrees to steal the Shah-i-Noor from Haiderabad for the King of the Djinns! What follows is a fun and frolicky adventure set against the backdrop of the Charminar! Read the book and find out what happens!

I read this one from cover to cover in one sitting and I couldn’t stop flipping the pages to find out what happens next! Not only do we get to read a fun historical adventure, we also get to learn about architecture, encounter some mouth-watering food and gasp at some well-placed plot twists!

Zainab Tambawalla’s illustrations peppered throughout the book only enhance the reading experience! I will be visiting Hyderabad pretty soon, thanks to my piqued curiosity!

If you’re in the mood for a thrilling time-travelling adventure that will tingle your taste buds, you know what to pick up next!

Are you a fan of historical fiction? If yes, drop in some recommendations for me in the comments!

TITLE: Ostrich Girl

AUTHOR: Lesley D Biswas  

PAGE EXTENT: 80

PUBLISHER: Duckbill Books (Penguin Random House India)

GENRE: Chapter Book

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️

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

A visitor mistakes Ritu’s bird call for an ostrich’s and wants to see the bird.
But there are no ostriches on Henry Island! where will Ritu find one to show him?

Ritu lives behind the Ank Ank Guest House on Henry Island, West Bengal with her mother, who happens to work as a cook at the guest house. Due to the dwindling population of birds, Manager Babu has recruited a bunch of children called the Secret Songsters to mimic the bird calls (to trick the tourists! Ah, what a sneaky man!) When a tourist mistakes Ritu’s struggling efforts at mimicking for an ostrich’s call, his curiosity shoots up the roof and he demands to see it for real! But how can he, when there is no real ostrich in the first place?

I have been a huge fan of the Hole books for quite some time now and when I saw the latest installment in the series, I knew I had to read it right away!

Illegal bird trapping and trading rare birds as pets is rampant in our country and the fact that this book addressed this underreported yet extremely dangerous practice had me impressed! As someone who is an animal lover, I find this book an essential read for today’s younger generation of readers. Not only does it highlight the ill effects of illegal trade and poaching, it also shows how important it is for Animals Rights laws to be enforced.

Anupama Ajinkya Apte’s adorable illustrations add a nice touch to the story!

If you’re in the mood for a light read set against the backdrop of the Sunderbans, your next read is here!

Have you read books about biodiversity and conservation? Let me know in the comments!

TITLE: What Happened to Grandpa

AUTHOR: Nandini Nayar

PAGE EXTENT: 32

PUBLISHER: Puffin Books (Penguin Random House India)

GENRE: Picture Book

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️

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

Something strange is happening to Grandpa. Words and names are slipping away, and favourite faces and places are becoming distant memories.

As Grandpa’s family seems to be losing him, it is up to Neha to remind them about the things he stood for. She shares his adventures and spins his stories, but will that help them remember Grandpa and celebrate him?

In this heartwarming picture book about love, loss, and remembering, discover the priceless bond we have with grandparents and how their memories live on.

Picture books always have a special place in my heart: super simple and easy to comprehend, with adorable illustrations and bound to leave a smile plastered on your face!

In this cute yet impactful picture book, we follow Neha and her grandfather, who happens to be losing his memory. He can’t seem to remember people and places. But Neha takes it upon herself to remind everyone how amazing he is and how he showers everyone with love and affection!

Being a doctor, I have a soft spot for books that highlight medical conditions and present them in a palatable manner for young readers. This picture book throws light on age-related memory impairment and its effects on the family members as well. Kudos to Nandini Nayar for spotlighting this!

Aditi Anand’s illustrations remind me of a child’s imagination and perfectly capture the essence of the story!

You should definitely pick up this book about unconditional love, loss and the unique bond we share with our grandparents!

Are you a fan of picture books? Which ones are your favourite?

TITLE: What You Are Looking for is in the Library

AUTHOR: Michiko Aoyama

PAGE EXTENT: 252

PUBLISHER: Doubleday (Penguin Random House)

GENRE: Literary Fiction Anthology

MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️💫

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

What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.

But she is no ordinary librarian.

Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:

– The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
– The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
– The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
– The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
– The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for?

Which book will you recommend?

If you’re a part of the book community, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of the hype surrounding Japanese fiction. Here’s what I would say after reading this book: PLEASE GIVE IN TO THE HYPE AND READ THESE FEEL-GOOD STORIES! Trust me, you will not regret a single moment spent reading! Not only do they leave you with a feeling of satisfaction and joy at the end, they will also make you introspect and learn! If that isn’t one of the best things about a book, I don’t know what is.

In this anthology of short stories, we follow five people from different walks of life who happen to walk into the library at the Community Centre under different circumstances. They leave with a bunch of recommendations from the librarian, Sayuri Komachi, along with an adorable felted toy. Little do they know that they’re on the precipice of something great in their lives!

If there’s one thing in common between all of these people, it’s that they’re at a crossroads in life, with little to no idea how to move forward. This realistic portrayal of human emotions and situations reflects on what we go through in our daily lives and goes on to show how nothing is ever impossible, only if you make up your mind and start taking tiny steps towards your goal, no matter how small!

I have always had a soft spot for books about books, and that’s what drew me to this one in the first place! Being someone who always gravitates towards bookshops and libraries during outings, I couldn’t help but wish I could go to the Community Centre Library and meet Mrs. Komachi too! 🥺

Every story is centred around books and this shows how books, no matter the genre or size, can have a profound and lasting impact on people and their lives. Who knew picture books would have a deeper meaning hidden between the adorable illustrations? If you’re excited to read the titles mentioned throughout the book, there’s a list at the end with all the information you need!

All of the stories are interconnected by a fine thread and every time I noticed a link between them, I ended up smiling and reminiscing the warm, fuzzy feeling that I had at the end of every story that came before!

When I say you’re in for a feel-good, heartwarming treat, take my word for it and pick this book up right away!

Have you read Japanese feel-good fiction? If yes, what are your favourite titles? Let me know in the comments!