Nirica Srinivasan’s goals for 2015 are ambitious; she’s challenged herself to read 120 books this year. The titles and genres in her to-read list are varied and vast, there’s science fiction, dystopia, steam punk and fantasy. A class XII student of Sishya, she’s part of a large group of young adults, all with the shared experience of reading books by authors from the United States and the United Kingdom that adults have heard either little or nothing about.
“Books that sell the best amongst teenagers are mythology series like Percy Jackson , or ones with action, like Divergent ,” says a representative from Starmark. Hemu Ramaiah, founder and ex-CEO of Landmark, has found that children have always been drawn to delving into the unknown. “Twelve years ago, at Landmark, we started a small book club that let children read and review advanced copies of young adult books,” she says. “We found that what appealed to them were the unknown authors and their work.”
Series like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or The Power of Five by Anthony Horowitz didn’t exist to parents across the city until their children began to read them. “I try to make sure my daughter reads a bit of everything, Indian authors included,” says Geena Burghes, whose daughter Natasha is a student at Lady Andal School. “But I hadn’t heard of those books from abroad before.”
While writers like Veronica Roth, Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare have unleashed a silent literary insurgency in the country, Indian authors struggle to make the same impact with a younger generation. “What Indian authors write is completely related to India,” says Kush Lunatth, a class VI student at Kids Central. “American authors write about things that are unknown and interesting, like futuristic societies.” “The market for Indian authors who write books aimed at this age group is limited,” says Uthra, an English teacher at Kids Central.
The Hunger Games sparked a global frenzy that gave rise to three-fingered salutes and glorified ideas of revolution while other writers watched and took notes. For Veronica Roth, authors working their own formula into a post-apocalyptic, dystopian work turned out pretty well. “The characters are everything we aspire to be,” says Karthi, a class XI student at Sacred Heart, Church Park. “The protagonist is a character who starts off as insecure and has to find oneself,” says Sandhya, her classmate. “All of us can relate to that.”
The Hellenic culture may be long forgotten, but its gods have found reincarnation in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. The story of a half-god, half-boy, it “combines elements of the present and of the Ancient Greek civilisation really well, while also portraying the gods as imperfect and almost human,” says Nived, a class X student of KFI. “As a character, Percy’s extremely brave,” says Zehra Marikar, who studies at Sishya. “He’s willing to fight for his friends and what he believes in.”
There’s also the fact that children are tackling harder themes and writing that goes beyond their years, believes Uthra. “I’ve never seen kids their age read books like these before,” she says. The Power of Five by Anthony Horowitz is elbowing its way to the top and has intrigued its fans, like Karun, also from Kids Central. “It combines a fictional religion with modern politics,” he says. “I love how the author’s managed to bind this world with a fantasy one so tightly.”
“This is a definite market with evolving tastes,” says Hemu Ramaiah, “There needs to be more writing by Indians in this space.”
Hot reads
Divergent
Set in futuristic Chicago, all citizens are sorted into factions based on a series of tests; Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Erudite and Dauntless. Tris Prior fits into more than one faction and is labelled Divergent, a secret that makes her a threat and could cost her her life.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
When Percy Jackson discovers that he’s the demigod son of the Greek god Poseidon, Camp Half Blood is one of the few places in the world he’s safe. With his companions Annabeth, daughter of goddess Athena and his satyr best friend Grover, they must fight against the Titan lord Kronos to prevent a prophecy that could destroy the world from coming true.
The Power of Five
Five children come together to defeat mystical entities known as the “Old Ones” who ruled the world thousands of years ago. Matthew Freeman, Pedro, Scott Tyler, Jamie Tyler, and Scarlett Adams are reincarnations of the ancient Gatekeepers who fought the Old Ones, and now must defeat them again.
