Publication Date: July 2025

Blurb:

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. 

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What To Expect:

Readers can expect a heartwarming contemporary fiction story exploring how books bring people together and help through grief.

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Content Warnings:

Language: Moderate – Infrequent strong language, including f- and s- words

Sexual Content: Closed door, no sex scenes

Violence: Mild – Suicide

Substance Use: Alcohol use

Prejudices: None

Religious Themes: Main character is Hindu and attends temple

Other Topics: Mental illness. Cancer. Grief.

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