Category: Children’s Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Published in the Indian subcontinent as When the World Went Dark by Penguin Random House India
A poignant story of life in India during the pandemic that mixes loss, hope, and even a mystery solved by imaginative, lively, almost-nine-year-old Swara.
When the pandemic hits and India goes into lockdown, high-spirited Swara keeps up her daily chats with her just-as-imaginative grandmother, Pitter Paati, through video calls. But soon Pitter Paati becomes too ill to even call, and then Swara’s parents say she has died of the virus.
Swara can’t believe it. Pitter Paati would not just leave! It’s impossible!
As Swara investigates the mystery of her grandmother’s disappearance, she stumbles upon a neighborhood mystery as well. With help from her friends, usually-annoying brother, and clues she’s certain came from Pitter Paati, Swara solves that very real mystery and, slowly, comes to terms with the truth about her grandmother.
She also realizes Pitter Paati will be with her, in many important ways, forever.
The author: Jane De Suza