Duckbill Books’ Not Our War (NOW) series is just what Indian young adults need. The series, in the publisher’s words, ‘deals with children growing up in times of conflict—powerless, vulnerable, and yet, against all odds, brave and hopeful of a better future’. Last year, Duckbill brought out two books in the series—Wanting Mor and The White Zone, both written by international authors, and set in the Middle East. Both the stories deal with life during the time of war and are set in the recent past. Their protagonists are children and, while their stories are set against the backdrop of war, some of their personal conflicts are universal. Wanting Mor was the winner of the Middle East Book Award (Youth Fiction Category) in 2009 and The White Zone was the Gold Medalist for the 2012 Independent Publisher Awards.
November 2014, volume 38, No 11