BEE BAKSHI and the GINGERBREAD SISTERS (2023, Harper Collins Publishers)
Inspired by Hansel and Gretel, this ghost story and touching debut investigates the gingerbread houses that we trap ourselves in when we don’t learn to love ourselves as we are, perfect for fans of Ghost Squad and The Girl and the Ghost.
Bee wanted to spend the summer reading Betsy Chillers books and exploring the new spooky theme park with her best friend. Instead, she’s spending the summer trapped at Storm Lake with her too loud, too thrifty, and too Indian family.
Luckily, Bee finds a place to escape her embarrassment—a magical house across the lake that transforms her into the cool girl she always wanted to be. Maybe cottage life isn’t so bad after all! But strange dreams are haunting Bee, and there’s a chill in her bones she just can’t shake.
Bee follows her hunch—and the scent of gingerbread—to Lucas, the dorky boy next door. He thinks there are ghosts in the forest, but new friend Alina tells her what Bee has feared all along: There’s a witch at Storm Lake. And she’s coming for Bee.
Cover Art by Lavanya Naidu
CHAI JINXED (coming October 22, 2024, Harper Collins Publishers)
Trouble is brewing at Margaret's Academy of Tea and Brewing, and unlucky Misha has one chance to fix it with the recipe for the perfect enchanted cup of chai, in this magical, heartfelt, and funny adventure about the power of believing in yourself, perfect for fans of A Taste of Magic and The Marvellers.
All it took was one majestic frog and a love brew gone wrong—and faster than you can say ribbit, Misha got expelled...again. Things aren’t much better back home. A rival tea shop opens across the street, and rumors spread that the Dayaans' tea is cursed. Determined to fix her family’s reputation, Misha’s only got one option left: attend the infamous Margaret’s Academy of Tea and Brewing and brew her way to the top of her class—even if it means a little bit of spice sabotage.
But when Misha finds herself up against the girl from the tea shop across the street and things start going wrong—ghostly tea leaves, living scarecrows, and rumors of missing tea witches—Misha starts to realize the truth: she’s jinxed. And if she can’t turn her luck around, her family tea shop, her classmates—and even all of Margaret’s Academy—will have a fate worse than cold tea.
Emi Pinto's heartfelt, hilarious, and hijinks-filled Chai Jinxed is a stand-alone adventure for everyone who has ever felt the pressure to succeed, with an affirming story about friendship, family, and self-love.