It's been a minute since we've had an honest to goodness childhood favorite on this show. You know the kind, the book you're obsessed with for most of your waking life, to the point where it creeps other people out. For me, it's the Trumpet of the Swan. For Vaishnavi Patel, it might just be Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. Along with talking all things middle grade, writing nuanced characters, portraying trauma in a second world fantasy, and so much more, we also talk about Vaishnavi's own writing journey. Her book Kaikeyi is a retelling of the Ramayana with a focus on its most notorious villainess, and we chat about dealing with backlash, the editing and publishing process, how myths vary across time and space, and so much more. There are spoilers for Gregor, and we do focus mostly on Book 1 of the series.

Books discussed: Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. 

Buy Vaishnavi's book: https://bookshop.org/books/kaikeyi-9781668609798/9780759557338

April Short Story Book Club: https://www.thecut.com/2020/03/book-excerpt-samantha-irbys-wow-no-thank-you.html