Right there…behind you

 

(This book review was first written for Amritabharati)



Title: Saira Zariwala is Afraid

Author: Shabnam Minwalla

Pages: 352

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Book

 



Right there…behind you

An ordinary school girl’s life gets enmeshed with wannabe stars, the rich and happening set of Mumbai and the result is an edge-of-the-seat whodunit murder mystery. Saira Zariwala gets a silver iphone for her 15th birthday, but her excitement is elbowed out when she realises that her mobile number previously belonged to one Akaash and all the messages that pour in are for him.

‘Who is Akaash and where is he?’ Saira wonders as the evil forces quickly zero in on the teenager, who at first, is clueless about her role in the scheme of things. Saira’s history of panic attacks, protective parents, her outwardly cool but watchful elder brother, and a set of school friends and frenenemies keep the plot churning in Saira Zariwala is Afraid.

The book teems with characters, but not one is ‘unnecessary’ in terms of plotline. They all add to the atmospherics of the story and succeed in creating the scary, spooky adventure. Saira Zariwala is Afraid, which won the Atta Galata, Bangalore Lit Fest’s Best Young Adult Book 2021, gives us a peek into the pressures and insecurities that the youngsters these days deal with and how they try to stay afloat. It also has its sweet and laugh out loud moments with the author, Shabnam Minwalla, capturing the banter of school kids through her writing. All in all, Saira Zariwala is Afraid is an unputdownable book.

Excerpt

I don’t know what came first – the fear or the footsteps. But suddenly, I realised two things. That somebody was watching me intently. And that someone was walking towards me from behind. I glanced nervously over my shoulder and saw two figures looming in my direction.

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