READING FOR YOUNG ADULTS

These five books will keep your 11- to 16-year-olds occupied during the long summer break

MAGIC OF MYTH The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

This is a book that I was inspired by when I did my play DraupadiWill my Spirit Live On?. This re-imagining of the Mahabharata told from the point of view of Draupadi takes us back to the time. It is half history, half myth, and wholly magical!

HISTORY IN THE MAKING Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh

The historical novel was one of the first published accounts of the partition of India in August, 1947. It’s set in Mano Majra, a fictional border village where Muslims and Sikhs lived in a bubble and were surrounded by mobs of Muslims who hated Sikhs and vice versa.

ECO-FRIENDLY A Cloud Called Bhura by Bijal Vachharajani

This thought-provoking, funny and inspiring story about the changing global climate and the havoc it can cause, as well as the forces of friendship, trust and community that give hope and will help counter this deadly threat to humanity.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is a dystopian novel in which the protagonist Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her sister’s place in the Hunger Games, a televised competition in which children fight to the death. It is set in a futuristic country called Panem that’s divided into 12 districts and controlled by a Capitol.

AN EARLY START The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

In this book, Percy Jackson, a sixth-grader finds out he’s actually the son of the Greek god Poseidon. This introduction to Greek mythology is a must.