Winner of the 2020 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, In the Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen is an incredible coming of age story about family, friendships and dreams.

Nira Ghani is a teenager caught between two worlds. The Little Guyana world within the walls of her home and Canada the country she now lives, the country her [arents have brought he to to have all of the opportunties they didn’t while living in Guyana and of course all of the expectations of excellence that come along with it. So many things are changing for Nira, there are new friendships blossoming and a greater desire to begin to forge her own path in the world as opposed to the path set out for her by her parents. There are things she gets right and oh so many things she gets wrong making the book incredibly relatable to all teens but maybe even most for first generation Canadians.

There were many moments in the book that took me back to high school, to all of the feelings you have as an insecure teenager because let’s face it, even those teenagers that seem to have it all together are just terribly insecure and unsure under the surface. The conflicts with friends, the first job and the beginning to pull away from the family unit are things that all teenagers experience so all can see themselves and their experiences within Nira’s story. Nira being an immigrant to Canada adds another layer for readers with similar experiences. This story also allows those of us who have been born and raised in Canada to better appreciate our friends, neighbours and classmates.

In the Key of Nira Ghani was a fast read. I loved the typeface and the spacing of the paragraphs, it made the book feel more open and more welcoming for the reader and there was a lot of dialogue which I really really love! Chatty books are some of the most fun for me to read.