The Right Sort of Girl: The Sunday Times Bestseller

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The captivating story – which I read in just one day – encourages us to recognise and respect our family history. I got distracted by the rich visual imagery Rani painted and found the threads of the story were stretched as far out as they could go, before pinging back in again. She’s also put up with sexism and racism as she’s gone through life, although she has now started to speak out and found strength from speaking truth to power. I felt like I was driving along a road and suddenly I'd turn off, drive for ages along a very detailed cul-de-sac, just to whip back up the way I came and head back onto the main road for a while before the next extremely detailed diversion. Oh, and if her mother and the aunties don't stop asking her when she's going to settle down and start having babies, Baby might just lose it.

She would feel embarrassed about eating certain foods and wearing cultural clothing but as she gets older she starts to embrace who she really is wearing her Indian clothing with pride. One name that is synonymous with children’s publishing in the 21st century is Julia Donaldson, whose lyrical picture books have sold over 17 million copies worldwide and become undeniable modern classics – including The Gruffalo, Room On The Broom and What The Ladybird Heard. Melissa Cox said: ‘It has been tremendous fun working with Anita on this book which is full of the trademarks that make her such a beloved broadcaster – it is funny, moving and gives a voice to those who always feel slightly out of place, no matter how hard they try.Overall I enjoyed the book but found much of it just too detailed, I've never read such a comprehensive list of party food before. Anita shares the lessons she wishes her younger self could have known: 'Freedom is Complicated', 'You Will Fall in Love and Be Loved' and, most importantly, 'Your Anger is Legitimate'. I think at some point, you wake up and realise it’s time to make myself happy, because I think women do look after everybody, whether that’s because that’s what society expects, or whether it’s your parents or your husband or your children. This is a wonderful, enjoyable and thought-provoking debut and I can’t wait to read Anita Rani’s next novel.

There is some self-harm mentioned, the neglect of her private school to wonder why her grades were slipping, and also the difficult pathways her relatives and also other people in her Punjabi British community endured. At the heart of the book is her desire to learn more about her family but in doing so she begins to confront the complicated issue of her own identity and the struggles of not feeling 100% at home in either your adopted country or that of your ancestors. But she is still getting over the loss of her beloved father - and when she discovers letters belonging to her grandfather that suggest there is family history that has never been discussed, she decides it is time to visit India and learn more about her family. It might not be my religion but I appreciate parts of it and despite being so busy there is this calm to the temple and the pool that surrounds it!For that reason I really liked this book as the froth will draw in the casual reader but the meat on the bones makes it memorable. Nolan’s sophomore novel is set in a London council estate and mainly follows the story of the Green family, who turned up mysteriously a decade ago. She feels marked out as ‘different’ because she is an Indian living abroad, whilst discovering that she is equally guilty of having incorrect regressive assumptions about modern day India, as well as ignorance of its past. Zaffre, the flagship fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, is to publish broadcaster, former Strictly contestant, and Sunday Times bestselling author Anita Rani’s debut novel, Baby Does a Runner. What she doesn't bargain for is Sid, her guide (and unwilling driver) being annoyingly handsome with a knack for asking Baby the sort of questions that force her to look at what she really wants out of life.

I found it slightly far-fetched that anyone would imagine finding so much out on a single trip to India with only a first name to go by - but this book gets better and better as the trip plays out and I found myself laughing, crying, laughing again, crying again. She's fed up with her job and her colleagues, her love life is permanently casual, and underpinning everything is the recent grief of losing her much-loved dad. Perceived shame surrounding being single in your 30s, or even 20s, isn’t just a South Asian thing though, she notes: “It’s a woman thing, isn’t it? Anita Rani has created a brilliant character with Baby who is a sassy Bradford-born girl-about Manchester, living as an independent woman with her own flat and a good job in marketing. Making her escape Baby seeks her solace in her father's kambal, which she finds in her Dadima's peti.I loved bringing Baby to life and creating the sort of character I’ve always looked for in books but never found.