Saira Zariwala is Afraid - Shabnam Minwalla

Can t help but root for Saira, a heroine who rises to the occasion even as she is pitchforked into a most unexpected and scary adventure. Murder and mayhem, friendships and fights ... this is a can t-put-it-down book! Ravi Subramanian, bestselling mystery and crime writer Shabnam is a master at the silent sinister that creeps up onto you till you are glancing over your shoulder but you can't stop reading. Dive in if you dare Paro Anand, award-winning children's author It made me smile, it chilled my spine, it kept me guessing Shabnam strikes a fine balance between humour, horror and mystery in this wonderful book. You get an intimate sense of Mumbai and the characters who inhabit the city, you root for Saira, the funny, nerdy narrator, as she fights inner demons and outer villains. And you just might develop a lifelong terror of dolls. Anushka Ravishankar, award-winning children's author A suspenseful, fast-paced and fun read with a dash of Bollywood tadka set in the heart of Mumbai! What's not to love about this book. Ruchita Dar Shah, founder, First Moms Club A riveting page-turner written in a wonderful, easy, conversational style. Shabnam manages to make Saira and her story so relatable to urban teenagers and parents and yet so scary, and mysterious, enthralling her readers. Tara Sharma Saluja, creator of the Tara Sharma Show and devoted mom Akaash, where are you? Saira is thrilled about getting her own phone. What she's not so thrilled about is that most of the messages that arrive on it are for somebody called Akaash. As the messages get stranger, Saira's irritation gives way to curiosity. Who is Akaash? How has he disappeared so entirely that even his friends and family don t know where he is? Is he connected with the horrors that the police have unearthed in a fancy Mumbai building? Saira and her friends decide to play detective. But the light-hearted adventure soon turns dark and sinister. Someone is watching their every move. Someone thinks Saira knows much more than she does. Someone has killed once and is willing to kill again. Curiosity killed the cat. Will it kill Saira?".