Driving Home a Love of Middle Grade Books
Payal Doshi
Payal Doshi is the author of Rea and the Blood of the Nectar, a middle grade fantasy novel and recipient of the IPPY Gold Award. Her young adult short story, A Confluence of Fates, can be found in the YA anthology, My Big, Fat, Desi Wedding. Her forthcoming four-book series of chapter books, Magic Gems, published by Scholastic Inc. will be available in 2026. Payal has an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from The New School, New York. When she isn’t writing, you can find her nose deep in a book with a cup of coffee or daydreaming of fantasy realms to send her characters into. Born and raised in Mumbai, India, she currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and daughter. She loves writing stories that celebrate and champion her South Asian heritage.
Rea and the Blood of the Nectar
It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found.
It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortune-teller whose powers of divination set them off on a secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal to an otherworldly realm of Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy.
Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. But the clock is ticking. Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all?
My Big, Fat Desi Wedding
Drama. Food. Fashion. More drama. More food. Nosey aunties and uncles--and, of course, the universal language of love. These elements are a must-have for any Desi wedding, inclusive of people indigenous to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In this anthology, authors from various parts of the Desi community share genre-bending stories that explore the lush traditions of their region, translating that universal language through the familiar lens of the Ultimate Family Gathering.
In this collection that centers hope, love, and family, readers will enjoy eight stories from both award-winning and debut authors, including Payal Doshi, Prerna Pickett, Aamna Qureshi, Syed M. Masood, Tashie Bhuiyan, Noreen Mughees, Sarah Mughal Rana, and Anahita Karthik
Magic Gems #1:
Journey Through the Waterfall
Dragon Girls meets Love Puppies in this new chapter book series starring a group of friends who protect animals with magical gemstones!
A little sparkle goes a long way!
Lily the Water Gem helps her family take care of otters who splash around near the lake. When one of the baby otters is injured, Lily rushes to help. It soon becomes clear that the otter needs a special medicine made from flowers that grow beyond a powerful waterfall.
The Gem who goes on the mission to collect the flowers must be brave, strong, and fast-because time is running out. Lily volunteers to make the journey. She'll do anything to save one of her beloved otters!
Magic Gems #2:
Lost in the Crystal Caves
Dragon Girls meets Love Puppies in this new chapter book series starring a group of friends who protect animals with their magical gemstones!
Rio, an Earth Gem, is eager to earn his first gemstone in order to do more for his animal neighbors. One afternoon, a fox bounds up to Rio, clearly in distress. Another fox is lost inside the nearby Crystal Caves!
Without waiting for his fellow Gems, Rio heads into the caves. Once inside, finding a lost fox proves trickier than Rio thought it would be. He's worried he might get lost himself!
