Tin Fish

In an elite boarding school in Rajasthan, fifteen-year old Barun Ray, aka Brandy, lover of canned fish and beefsteak, hater of Kipling, worshipper of Michael Caine and Mick Jagger, meets his soul mates - Fish, 'king' swimmer with a domineering, Muslim-hating father; PT Shoe, a princeling who wants to run away to America and marry a 'gora' chick; and Porridge, a cereal-loving jester caught between warring churches at home. Together, the four boys set about characteristically irreverent, sometimes hilarious rebellions against their regimental fishbowl existence at a brown-sahib institution in a turbulent, changing India. But growing up isn't always a breeze, and even as they eat toothpaste for dessert and make ambitious plans to write their own musical, Get Lost on the Ganga and All That, they struggle to make sense of incomprehensible adults, Indira Gandhi, the Emergency, urine therapy, girls, and try, above all, to preserve innocence in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Wry, witty and utterly unsentimental, Tin Fish is an exhilarating ride. A Children’s Bookshelf Selection: Each month our editor’s pick the best books for children and young adults by age to be a part of the children’s bookshelf. These are editorial recommendations made by our team of experts. Our monthly reading list includes a mix of bestsellers and top new releases and evergreen books that will help enhance a child’s reading life.