MISSION MUMBAI

This adventure-filled quest through the streets of Mumbai becomes a lesson on the value of family and friendship.

Visiting Mumbai with his best friend, Rohit Lal, is the opportunity of a lifetime for budding photographer Dylan Moore. The vacation is a welcome escape from his bickering parents, and Mumbai is the perfect place for Dylan to shoot an award-winning picture. But Rohit’s foul mood makes it hard for anyone to have fun. When Rohit’s aunty threatens to keep Rohit in India due to his rudeness, Dylan is afraid that his holiday will be cut short—and that their friendship may be over for good. Dylan’s perspective as a food-loving tourist and a photographer with keen observation skills leads to lavish descriptions of the setting. Narsimhan details the sights, sounds, and smells of Mumbai vividly without turning the book into a travelogue. Although much of the tension between Rohit and Dylan stems from lack of communication, both boys are remarkably self-aware and honest about their feelings. The strain on their friendship and their respective worries about their families provide an emotional core that anchors their high jinks.

An adrenaline-charged exploration of Mumbai with two likable guides. (Fiction. 8-12)