BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader

Maya Running by Anjali Banerjee [in AsianWeek]

Maya RunningAs the only South Asian in her middle school, Maya knows all about being different in her tiny Canadian town. She doesn’t speak Bengali, she’s at that awkward stage of pimples and endless limbs, she doesn’t want to move to California, and she’s madly in love with the coolest boy in her school who just might like her back. When her perfectly gorgeous cousin, Pinky, arrives from India to exacerbate Maya’s insecuritiesl, Maya prays to Pinky’s round-bellied Hindu elephant god, Ganesh, for help. She goes through a 13 Going on 30 sort of transformation, without the fast-forward, literally becoming an assertive, multilingual, overnight beauty. But then, getting her wishes granted is just the beginning to realizing what she really wants in life.

Review: “New and Notable Books,” AsianWeek, February 25, 2005

TidbitAnjali Banerjee was one of our many wonderful guests for SALTAF 2005 [South Asian Literary and Theater Arts Festival].

Readers: Middle Grade

Published: 2005

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