The joy of reading

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, she reads every book on the list. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too.

Review Quote

"A remarkable, heartwarming debut about the power of fiction." —Popsugar

Additional Book Details