What do you do when circumstances force you to let go of your dream?
You create another dream. And another. And another. Hold on to your sense of humour and don’t give up.
At least, that’s Nandhini’s way.
No Nonsense Nandhini, shortlisted for the Neev Book Award for Junior Readers 2021, is a book about resilience, about never glossing over the fact that life is hard, and about having the power and flexibility to change routes when life throws obstacles in your path.
Nandhini is a powerhouse of energy and determination, plus she is full of fun and mischief. As a child, she dreams of being a Collector. She is a good student and studies hard at school, but a week before her board exams, she falls off a guava tree and injures herself so badly that she has to skip her exams. That’s just the first of many things that go wrong. When she appears for her exams the following year, she is out of practice and the exams are tough. What can she do when she doesn’t clear her Maths paper?
With her zest for life and her confidence, Nandhini changes her path. She moves away from home to develop her tailoring skills and get a job. When things go wrong again, what can she do next?
Find another way. Become a farmer. Can she? Does she dare to take a risk, following new-fangled notions instead of age-old wisdom? Is it even possible to move away from growing paddy to growing flowers?
Yes, yes, and yes. Nandhini dares to do anything she believes in. She takes risks and she triumphs.
It takes courage to follow your dreams. We’re told that all the time. Equally, however, it takes courage to let go of your dreams, find new ones and chase those instead. And that’s what No Nonsense Nandhini is about.
| Title | No Nonsense Nandhini |
| Author | Aparna Karthikeyan |
| Tags | PARI, Chapter Book, Diversity |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 9+ |
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