(2) 4-6 Secrets of the Sky series. Fourth-grade fraternal twins Kinjal and Kiya couldn't be more different. Kiya, "Lady Logic," is all facts, while Kinjal believes magic is real and is often accused of being a "chaos monster" who gets into trouble. When their dog is taken from the backyard by a swirling gray cloud, they set out to find him and are transported to another dimension in the multiverse called the Sky Kingdom, which is populated by magical creatures from Bengali folklore. The twins find assistance from several pakkhiraj (winged horses), who give them a larger mission of saving endangered bees. Without the bees' honey, the pakkhiraj and other mythical beings will die. In this fast-paced adventure, the twins learn that their immigrant parents are magical beings from another world who were exiled from their homeland. Lighthearted in tone, full of sibling banter, and composed of short, easy-to-digest chapters with interspersed grayscale illustrations, this book gives readers much food for thought about the role of myth in the everyday and the importance of conservation. In the afterword, the author posits that "string/multiverse theory...feels in keeping with the immigrant experience" of feeling out of place and "not really knowing where you come from." DasGupta's (The Chaos Curse, rev. 5/20, and sequels) thoughtful first installment of a new Kingdom Beyond–set multiverse series will leave readers eager for what comes next.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) YA This retelling of Pride and Prejudice replaces the Bennets with a ragtag speech and debate team looking to make it amongst the more elite private academies. Leela Bose, an Indian American high schooler, is poised to reach the top this year with her fellow Longbourn High forensicators ("yes, it's a real word"). But then the team meets Firoze Darcy, a debate competitor for Netherfield Academy (and "Desi hottie"). An obnoxious comment from Firoze makes Leela, who has often faced racism and colorism, feel "ugly" in a way she hasn't felt since she left the nearly-all-white town where she grew up, and when Firoze becomes a regular presence at her high-school tournaments, she goes on the offensive. In her YA debut, DasGupta (author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond middle-grade series) balances everyday teen topics like crushes and arguments with more wide-ranging issues like sexism, sexual harassment, and racism. She evokes the feel of Austen through lots of references to the original and writes with a similar witty tone, while keeping the language contemporary and fresh. With its plucky cast of modern-day teens, this is a great entry point for new Austen fans.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series. Illustrated by Vivienne To. In the final installment of the trilogy, rumors of an alliance between evil Serpent King Sesha and the Demon Queen result in protagonist Kiran and friends, including the newly crowned Raja Neel, forming a resistance group of demons and humans to save the Kingdom Beyond Seven Oceans and Thirteen Rivers. Kiran leaves the Kingdom Beyond and travels across dimensions back to her native New Jersey, on a mission to rescue Neel's brother Prince Lal, aided by helpers: a bird, a gecko, and a gender-nonbinary tiger. But ever since Neel's coronation, Kiran has noticed something odd: reality is mixing with elements and characters from familiar tales, mashing stories from different cultures together (Pooh and Piglet appearing in a scene from a Bengali nursery rhyme, for instance). New Jersey brings further confusion: Kiran's parents have rejected their Bengali identities, and her best friend and her worst enemy have swapped places. But encounters with mythological Greek and Norse figures confirm her suspicions: she is in a different reality, and baddies have formed the Interdimensional Multivillain Anti-Chaos Committee to "destroy diversity" and collapse the multiverse into a singularity ruled by Sesha. DasGupta tackles metaphysics along with ideas of prejudice, colonization, erasure, and the importance of narrative complexity. Exploration of multiple realities also allows Kiran's development in recognizing her own biases and prejudices, in the Kingdom Beyond and in her life as a Jersey middle schooler.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(3) 4-6 Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series. Illustrated by Vivienne To. New Jersey sixth grader Kiranmala's parents have always told her she's a "real Indian princess," and she learns it's true when an inter-dimensional demon swallows the family up on her twelfth birthday. Guided by cranky Prince Neelkamal, Kiran quests through a shifting, wondrous, and frequently snot-soaked galaxy of Indian mythology to rescue her parents. Kiran's first-person narration is assured, appealing, and unfailingly funny.

Reviewer: Amy Bennett-Zendzian