Children’s fiction is one of the most upgraded forms of writing – teaching children (and parents!) about the world around them, benefitting by the short stories, inputting it to use and perform in reality, living the childhood, modifying the child’s perceptions, reliving the bliss of one’s life.

Similarly in this book “Mixed Emotions” by author “Lakshita Bhargava” tends to come up with a story of two cousins who are also good friends. Nancy and Natalia being the protagonist of the story drives the reader’s flow through the rollercoaster of memories taking place in one’s life during the vacations somehow or the other.

The author “Lakshita Bhargava” shows how favourite the subject ‘English’ was for her since her school days. A mother and a literary writer is a great combination of writing and combining thoughts from the adventurous life she leads to through the eyes of literature as well as the child she explores with along with the days passing by with hustle and bustle. There is also an incredible experience of creativity when writing children’s literature or children’s fiction books with often magical elements to its plot lines or short stories, and it helps to explore exciting storytelling techniques in order to present the work for different audiences. A good fiction book builds a sense of belongingness, relive childhood, creates good number of memories, improves the child’s vocabulary, opens a variety in thinking and exploring, and most importantly if there are illustrations it leaves a great impact to the reader’s as well as the writer to further have a wide variety of experiences to put in with certain notions and thoughts.

The book revolves around friends who meet after years and how they enjoy and face the vacation depicts the childhood memories we had while we visited certain places or visited our family and explored enjoying every bit of it.

This book not only has fictional characters and plots but also has the best of illustration to mesmerise the children and get a hold onto their attention.

The author dedicates this book to her brother and her daughter. She says that her brother was the only one who believed in her when the society and the world did not as well as he was there through all the thick and thins, she came across. She also mentions her daughter, acknowledging the fact that she would have never been adventurous and come up with such childish contexts and factors if she wouldn’t have lived the life from her daughter’s childhood.

Therefore, this book can reach beyond the generations and mean so many different things to a variety of readers, because of the elements and inputs which illustrates a variety of colour and enthusiasm throughout the pages along with the bunch of words and dialogues between the protagonist in her story. This book is the bedtime story which a mother must read out to her children and also relive her childhood and plan a better version of herself within their children and add some colours to their lives too.

Review By: Soudia Parveen