Tamarind and the Star of Ishta

May 16, 2022
Raised in England by her Indian father, Tamarind never knew her seldom-discussed mother, Chinty, who died from an illness shortly after her birth. But when her father and new stepmother, Chloe, who cues as white, leave for their honeymoon, Tamarind is sent to meet her late mother’s family and visit India for the first time, spending a week during monsoon season in the family’s Himalayan mansion. She arrives with big feelings—including resentment of Chloe as well as curiosity about her cultural heritage and her mother. But her extended family proves as mum as her father about the details of Chinty’s life and death. Tamarind meets an enigmatic spirit, Ishta, in the atmospheric mansion’s luxuriant gardens. As Tamarind works to accept changes, Ishta provides her with answers about her mother’s life and death—and allows the family to confront their frozen grief. In Bilan’s (Aarti & the Blue Gods) supernatural-leaning contemporary novel, lushly descriptive prose, presented in Tamarind’s reportorial first-person voice, underlines the book’s essential themes of family and heritage, while a sensitive excavation of loss and family dynamics grounds the title’s otherworldly elements. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2022

Gr 3-7-British actor Seema Bowri makes her narrating debut, her crisp, youthful voice an ideal match for 11-year-old Tamarind, a Bristol, England-raised girl meeting her late mother's family for the first time. Her father, recently remarried and on his way to his honeymoon, arranges to leave Tamarind in the Himalayan mansion her mother once called home. Tamarind's initial nervousness is quickly eased by the palpable welcome, especially from her grandmother and nine-year-old cousin Arjun. She might have even made a new friend in the sprawling, overgrown gardens. While Tamarind yearns to learn more about her mother, no one seems willing to share any memories. From mythical cities to the ancient goddess Ishtar, Bilan seamlessly infuses her sophomore middle grade novel with just enough mayhem and magic. VERDICT Bowri warmly enhances Tamarind's quest for answers and understanding.

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