Pashmina

A Junior Library Guild Selection
Amazon Top Twenty Children’s Book of the Year
Amazon Best Book of the Month
Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
Texas Maverick Graphic Novel
Northern California Indie Bookseller Association Long-List Title

A heartfelt coming-of-age story about identity, heritage, and the search for belonging between two worlds

Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri’s mom avoids these questions—the topic of India is permanently closed.

For Pri, her mother's homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. But is this the real India? And what is that shadow lurking in the background? To learn the truth, Pri must travel farther than she’s ever dared and find the family she never knew.

Tender, magical, and emotionally resonant, Pashmina explores:

- cultural identity and the immigrant experience
- mother-daughter relationships
- fantasy as a lens for emotional truth
- self-discovery and belonging
- and the tension between imagination and reality

This title has Common Core connections.