NPR's 2021 Books We Love

Neil ­– Neeraj when his parents are mad – Narayan is the narrator of this fast-paced, voice-driven debut novel. His rollicking tale begins when he’s a teenager living in Hammond Creek, Ga., with his parents’ expectations weighing on his shoulders and an unrequited crush on Anita, his neighbor and childhood friend. When he discovers that Anita and her mother have been brewing a secret alchemical concoction using stolen gold and ambition to help Anita succeed, he quite understandably wants in, consequences be damned. And the consequences? They are, indeed, damning. A gripping novel that’s as intelligent as it is fun.