Coming October 7, 2025. Pre-order today!The Golden NecklaceA Darjeeling Tea MysteryBy: Mitali PerkinsFriends from two worlds.Sona, a 12-year-old Nepali girl, has struck up a friendship with Tara, the niece of the greedy tea plantation manager who has promi
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By: Mitali Perkins
Sona, a 12-year-old Nepali girl, has struck up a friendship with Tara, the niece of the greedy tea plantation manager who has promised Tara’s hand in marriage in order to get his hands on her inheritance of precious jewelry. Then Taras golden jewelry goes missing. The search is on for the culprit, and Sona must use all her wits in order to prove it wasnt her beloved brother, Samiran Daju, who stole it.
Filled with vivid characters against a complex and multilayered political and cultural backdrop, this novel showcases a strong girl protagonist whom readers will root for. The Golden Necklace is National Book Award-nominated author Mitali Perkins’s latest and most compelling story yet.
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Mitali Perkins, author
Mitali Perkins was born in Kolkata, India, and has lived in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Mexico, Thailand, Great Britain, and Austria. She is the author of Bamboo People, Rickshaw Girl, Monsoon Summer, The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, and Secret Keeper. She regularly blogs about life between cultures at www.mitaliblog.com.
Read more about Mitali.
Kirkus Reviews
The daughter of a Nepali tea plantation worker in Darjeeling solves a mystery at the behest of a family friend.
Twelve-year-old Sona has plenty on her mind. As one of only three Nepali students with a shot at a scholarship to the prestigious Darjeeling International School, she must pass an English exam. Meanwhile, her older brother, Samiran, is struggling to find work after hes falsely accused of stealing a neighbors motorcycle. On top of that, her 18-year-old Bengalese friend Tara is engaged to be married to a cruel man 10 years her senior; the match was arranged by Taras uncle, and shes convinced hes only after the gold jewelry her parents left her before they died. Sona stands guard as Tara sneaks into the kitchen to catch one last glimpse of her family gold. But that very day, the gold is stolen, and Sona worries that suspicion will fall onto Samiran. Can she solve the mystery? Featuring an endearing, resolute protagonist, this expertly plotted story will enthrall readers. Perkins deftly captures the details of life in Darjeeling, including the power dynamics responsible for the social and financial issues Sona and her family face. In showing the friendship between Sona and Tara, Perkins teases out the ways in which socioeconomics and gender affect the trajectory of both girls lives, from unequal access to water (those who cant afford it must ration their supply) to the challenges of pursuing education.
A page-turner thats richly threaded with social conflict.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-373-0
Ages: 710
Page count: 112
6 x 83/4
Publication date:October 7, 2025
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