Jasmine Skies by Sita Brahmachari (Young Adult)

March 2012, Macmillan
340 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Themes: life in a different culture, battling against the heat, epic traffic jams, family secrets, crossing over emotional lines, recklessness, exhuberance of youth, helping others, confusing feelings, cheating, lots of hard emotional parts needing tissues

Summary from Macmillan

Mira Levenson is bursting with excitement as she flies to India to stay with her aunt and cousin for the first time. As soon as she lands Mira is hurled into the sweltering heat and a place full of new sights, sounds, and deeply buried family secrets . . . From the moment Mira meets Janu she feels an instant connection. He becomes her guide, showing her both the beauty and the chaos of Kolkata. Nothing is as she imagined it - and suddenly home feels a long way away.

Before Mira leaves India she is determined to uncover the truth about her family, whatever it takes, and she must also make a decision that will break someone's heart. 

Nayuleska's thoughts

I haven't read the first book, and from the way this one ended I sure hope there's a third on the way. Mira does something really bad, and through learning about her family's past she grows to understand the present. Priya is a lovable nutcase, who entices Mira's risk taking self out. Although I don't approve of all that Mira did, as a reader I felt her emotions as situations unravelled in my own heart. This 9/10 story is a prime example of how being curious can have a negative impact on life.

You can find out more on Sita's website.

Suggested read  

For more of the chaos of India try The Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck