Title: Loki Takes Guard
Author: Menaka Raman
Publisher: Talking Cub, Speaking Tiger Books
Type: Paperback
Age Group: 9-13 years
I’m sharing this review written my 12 year old daughter, Aanya.
A cricket crazy girl, a twitter sensation and a wonderful writer. Put them all in a pot, stir three times, and leave it there. Because what you want is already in store: Loki Takes Guard by Menaka Raman!
I read this book in middle of the pandemic, and it brightened things up. At first, I was not willing to open it, as I am not a great admirer of cricket. But once I started reading it, I could not stop until I finished the book.
It is about a schoolgirl, Lokanayaki, or Loki for short, who loves to play cricket. But thanks to some nosy neighbours, she is not allowed to, as “it is not right”. So, Loki decides to start a petition, so she can be a part of Temple Street Tankers. But how did it go online? What will the neighbours say?
This is a light-hearted and funny book that also addresses the problem of gender discrimination. I agreed with Loki on her petition, burst into fits of laughter at Loki’s views on her have-an-opinion-on everything neighbours, and finished the book in a day.
Menaka Raman has so wonderfully created Loki, that it felt like I was there, witnessing the events. I did not know when the hours passed as I got lost in this book. Finally, here is one quote that I found very meaningful.
“Even though women can vote, drive cars, and send satellites to space for this country,
I am being stopped from playing cricket in this
country because I am a girl.“
This is not a boring story with a ‘Moral of the day’, or a cricket Wikipedia, or an ‘only girls’ story. It is a wonderful realistic fiction book for pre-teens and teens alike, and I strongly recommend it!
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