Why did I not read this book earlier? It’s such a fun book, so witty and well written! I love it!
Neha and the Nose are teen detectives. And they’re not just your regular detectives – they’re so good that even the principal calls on them when there’s investigation required.
Of course, “the Nose” is something that Neha just calls her friend Johan in her head, but one that’s as apt as it gets because it’s the Nose that’s really her partner. Johan, who possesses the Nose, is just another boy, annoyingly good at everything he does. More annoyingly, he’s a teen at the mercy of his hormones. I can practically see Neha rolling her eyes!
But the Nose makes Johan special. He can sniff out anything, from perfume to the nuances of agarbatti. Subtleties don’t escape him. What a marvel that organ of his is!
The Nose is wacky, fun and brilliantly imaginative, but more, I love Neha! Her voice throughout the story is authentic – she’s a teen girl who detests those who giggle, who tries to convince herself she’s different from all the others, but who feels warm when she fits in with the cool gang. Witty wordplay make Neha and the Nose sparkle even more, and I chuckled with delight as I read on.
In a relatively slim book, there are dozens of characters, but each one feels real. Sure, we don’t get to know all of them, but we do see them on the sidelines, peopling the story and making it come alive. Even as I read Neha and the Nose, I found myself thinking, This! This is the book I can recommend the next time teens and preteens ask me what detective fiction to read!
| Title | Neha and the Nose |
| Author | Ruchika Chanana |
| Tags | Mystery, Child Detectives, School Fiction |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4.5 |
| Age-group | 12+ (more because of the delicious language than anything else. I’m not sure I would have fully appreciated it when I was 11!) |
thanks for your lovely review! glad you enjoyed Neha and the Nose:)