Fiction

Manya badly, badly wants to be Shere Khan in her school play. The Jungle Book is her favourite film and she knows all the lines. She's sure she'll be a superb Shere Khan.

But not everyone thinks so. Her classmate Rajat is always making fun of her stammer. Her English teacher thinks its risky to let her get on stage and her principal seems to agree.

The more anxious Manya gets, the worse her stammer becomes. Will Manya lose her dream role? Can she overcome her fears and learn to roar?

This book was a winner in the Children First writing competition, organised by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts and Duckbill Books.

Rebel is a good dog, and he loves his simple, perfect life on the farm with his owner, Tom, until one day the war comes too close. Now Tom is determined to join the rebellion to defeat the King's men. But Rebel knows war is dangerous, and he will stop at nothing to save the human he loves.

The year is 1963 and India is about to embark on an audacious adventure - launching its first ever rocket into space. After much searching, a team of scientists led by the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai zero in on Thumba, a tiny fishing village off the coast of Kerala as the place to launch the rocket and India's dreams of space exploration.
Mary is all of 10 years old and bored of life in sleepy Thumba. Nothing ever happens here but fishing. That is, of course, until Dr Sarabhai and team arrive!

Topi Rockets from Thumba is an imagined account of the weeks and months leading up to the launch of India's first ever rocket, told through the eyes of the inquisitive Mary.

Eleven-year-old Loki—Lokanayaki Shanmugam—is cricket crazy. She wants to play on the local cricket league team, The Temple Street Tankers. But they have a ridiculous ‘boys only’ rule that they aren’t willing to change for a girl. And her parents seem to be too involved with her brother’s studies to bother with Loki. So she takes matters into her own hands and begins a petition to fight for her right to play cricket. But very few people are willing to sign this petition—even her parents refuse. Nobody takes much notice till anonymous Twitter sensation @_poetic_paati takes up Loki’s cause. Soon, Loki’s petition goes viral and the entire nation is rooting for her.  But will her parents, the team, and the guardians of tradition change their minds? And more importantly, if they do, will Loki be able to deliver the runs? Witty and fast-paced, Loki Takes Guard is as much a story about the joy of sports as it is about breaking outdated rules and standing up for oneself.

In this lyrical novel that will appeal to fans of Meg Medina, Maya turns to her trusty "wheel of fortunes" for guidance on the toughest questions—like why her best friend suddenly feels far away, or when her daddy will move back home. But can Maya find the courage to write her own fortune? 

Maya J. Jenkins is bursting with questions:

• Will she get the MVP award at this year’s soccer banquet?
• Who will win the big grill off between Daddy and Uncle J?
• When will she pass the swim test and get a green bracelet?

For answers and a dose of good luck, twelve-year-old Maya turns to her Wheel of Fortunes, a cardboard circle covered with the small slips of wisdom she’s collected from fortune cookies.

But can the fortunes answer her deep-down questions? The ones she’s too scared to ask out loud? Like, where did Mama’s smile go, the real one that lit up everything around her? When will Daddy move back home? And most of all, does she have enough courage to truly listen to the voice in her heart?

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house.

Every day, while her parents clean the rooms, Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.

Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.

Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—shehas to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Bestselling and award winning author Sherman Alexie tells the hearbreaking yet funny story about a boy living on the Spokane Indian Reservation who wants to break free of the life he was destined to live.

Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, based on the author's own experiences and coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

In this groundbreaking tour de force, Caldecott Medalist and bookmaking pioneer Brian Selznick sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories--Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruckis a stunning achievement from a gifted artist and visionary.