New age writings of love, confusion and erotica (IANS Books This Weekend)

Fresh and complex, funny and erotic, this week IANS bookshelf is stacked with new age writings that are about today's generation and their many ways of looking at life and love. Take a look.

1. Book: "Miracles"; Author: Ranjit Lal; Publisher: Inked by Penguin; Pages: 282; Price: Rs.299

Sixteen-year-old Trisha is hugely embarrassed by her hip mom who rides around on a monster motorbike called Smelly Beast. But along with her exuberant little sister, Shivi, they make for a quirky threesome, as Trisha adjusts to a new school, explores her talent for singing and falls head over heels for Akshay.

Trisha's happy-go-lucky world suddenly comes crashing down when a fatal illness befalls her mother. She struggles to make the transition from a carefree teenager to a responsible adult, hoping that some miracle will magically set things right. Poignant and deeply sensitive, this novel is a heart-warming coming-of-age of a feisty young girl's struggle against her fate.

2. Book: "Draupadi in High Heels"; Author: Aditi Kotwal; Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 216; Price: Rs. 150

Born into a well-known business family, Deeya is a high-flying, spoilt, rich girl who owns an elite fashion store. Her parents want her to get married and hold a swayamvar of sorts for her to select a husband. And she had a dilemma - to go with the extremely attractive and intriguing Karan or the dashing and outgoing Arjun.

She is determined to make the decision when she finds that her life resembles that of a Draupadi, from the Mahabharata, in more than one ways. Will she be able to find her own path in life? Or will she flounder? This novel explores the power of one's choice and how deeply it affects life.

3. Book: "The Life and Times of Layla The Ordinary"; Author: Minna Madhavan; Publisher: Inked by Penguin; Pages: 152; Price: Rs. 199

Sift through the journal of Layla, whose overnight transformation from pedestrian to popular sends her world spinning into a riot of endless lists that range from platonic love to first kisses to fashion faux pas to ideal coffee dates.

Accompany Layla into her chaotic world with disapproving parents, a detached elder brother and all the drama that ensues with sudden popularity. This account of an average teenager's life is simple and straightforward and will appeal to readers universally through its extraordinary use of wit. The assemblage of familiar but charming characters will have you hooked from the first page to the last.

4. Book: "Eighteen Plus: Bedtime Stories For Grown-Ups"; Author: Apurv Nagpal; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 172; Price: Rs.195

A computer programmer about to fly finds his least-likely-to-be-fulfilled fantasies and his mother's predictions - coming true after a woman takes the seat next to his.

Tauji, a politician, kidnaps a sexologist couple from their house on the Delhi-Haryana border, but he wants much more than ransom from them, as the good doctor reveals in "The Memoir of a Sexologist".

Meenu Verma addresses the Ladies' Kitty Party Group, North Zone, and shares a presentation about how she went down to rise up to the very top. These stories are desi, wickedly naughty and laugh-out-loud funny.