Most Popular Books by Sayantani DasGupta

This Pride & Prejudice retelling brings New York Times bestselling Sayantani DasGupta’s trademark wit and insight to her bright and funny YA debut! It is a truth universally acknowledged that Leela Bose plays to win. A life-long speech competitor, Leela loves nothing more than crushing the competition, all while wearing a smile. But when she meets the incorrigible Firoze Darcy, a debater from an elitist private school, Leela can’t stand him. Unfortunately, he’ll be competing in the state league, so their paths are set to collide. But why attempt to tolerate Firoze when Leela can one-up him? The situation is more complicated than Leela anticipated, though, and her participation in the tournament reveals that she might have tragically misjudged the debaters -- including Firoze Darcy -- and more than just her own winning streak is at stake...her heart is, too. Debating Darcy is bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta’s reinterpretation of beloved classic Pride and Prejudice -- imaginative, hilarious, thought-provoking, and truly reflective of the complex, diverse world of American high school culture.

As a child growing up in New Delhi, Sayantani Dasgupta wanted to go on adventures involving shipwrecks and treasure chests. Her parents wanted her to stay in school instead. She satisfied her curiosity by drawing maps, inventing languages with friends, and reading everything: English adventures, Russian folktales, Hindi comics, Bengali ghost stories. Brown Women Have Everything embraces the same spirit of wonder as we follow Dasgupta, now living and teaching in the United States, to cathedrals in Italy, pirate graveyards in North Carolina, hair salons in Idaho, her aunt’s kitchen in Bangladesh, graffiti-lined streets of Colombia, the hierarchical world of academia, and her marriage to a handsome Sikh. As she moves through the world, she examines issues of the body, violence, travel, and belonging with a mix of humor, joy, pride, and outrage. While the eighteen interwoven essays in this collection call out bigotry, bias, and othering, they ultimately celebrate the ties that bind our disparate, global lives together.

First in a new series. "Never a dull moment for our ordinary-girl-turned-demon-fighting-princess Kiranmala in this hilarious, action-packed romp. Also, there is snot. It''s, like, everywhere."--Lisa McMann, "New York Times"-bestselling author of The Unwanteds series.

From New York Times bestselling author comes a world packed with action and adventure, perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Soman Chainani. MEET KIRANMALA:INTERDIMENSIONAL DEMON SLAYER(Only she doesn''t know it yet.)On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey . . . until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents'' fantastical stories-like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess and how she comes from a secret place not of this world.To complicate matters, two crush-worthy princes ring her doorbell, insisting they''ve come to rescue her. Suddenly, Kiran is swept into another dimension full of magic, winged horses, moving maps, and annoying, talking birds. There she must solve riddles and battle demons all while avoiding the Serpent King of the underworld and the Rakkhoshi Queen in order to find her parents and basically save New Jersey, her entire world, and everything beyond it . . .

From New York Times bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta comes the story of a demon who must embrace her bad to serve the greater good. Pinki hails from a long line of rakkhosh resistors, demons who have spent years building interspecies relationships, working together to achieve their goal of overthrowing the snakey oppressors and taking back their rights. But she has more important things to worry about, like maintaining her status as fiercest rakkhosh in her class and looking after her little cousins. There is also the teeny tiny detail of not yet being able to control her fire breathing and accidentally burning up school property.Then Sesha, the charming son of the Serpentine Governor, calls on Pinki for help in defeating the resistance, promising to give her what she most desires in return -- the ability to control her fire. First she''ll have to protect the Moon Maiden, pretend to be a human (ick), and survive a family reunion. But it''s all worth it for the control of her powers . . . right?

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING, AND IT''S UP TO TWINS KIYA AND KINJAL TO SAVE IT ALL Ten-year-old Kinjal knows something strange is going on. But he does not expect his dog, Thums-up, to disappear before his eyes in the middle of the night! Even stranger, two enormous flying horses appear and insist on taking Kinjal and his twin sister, Kiya, to a place they have never heard of: the Sky Kingdom. The twins have no choice but to go if they want to see their dog again, even if that isn''t why the winged pakkhiraj horses showed up in the first place. They have come to this dimension to seek help -- bees are disappearing, along with the nectar the horses need to survive. Whisked away to a magical realm, the twins must use Kiya''s scientific skills and Kinjal''s love of books and language to help the horses. Once there, they discover that the disappearance of the bees is more nefarious than they thought, and the plot goes all the way to the top.

New York Times bestselling Sayantani DasGupta brings her trademark wit and insight to this bright and funny Sense and Sensibility retelling! Eila Das is used to following her head, rather than her heart. When she meets Rahul at Rosewood, a summer camp where campers are being scouted for the hit Bridgerton-like TV show, she experiences...feelings. Between the drama of the show and the drama of the camp, Eila will have to keep her wits about her to make it through the summer. But when she has to choose between her head and her heart, what will she do?

UNDERWATER PERIL AWAITS Kiya and Kinjal have succeeded in their first quest in the magical world of the Kingdom Beyond, but whatever good they achieved might not be enough. Their faithful flying horses Snowy and Raat reappear and whisk them back to the Kingdom to help the water pari--winged merpeople—who are slowly being poisoned by the very water in which they live. It is up to the twins to figure it out and put a stop to it. Fortunately, Kiya has the know-how to solve this mystery...if only she can put the pieces together before the evil serpent king Sesha knows they''ve reentered the Kingdom! EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING

Saving the multiverse is no game in this New York Times bestseller! When the Demon Queen shows up in her bedroom, smelling of acid and surrounded by evil-looking bees, twelve-year-old Kiranmala is uninterested. After all, it''s been weeks since she last heard from her friends in the Kingdom Beyond, the alternate dimension where she was born as an Indian princess. But after a call to action over an interdimensional television station and a visit with some all-seeing birds, Kiran decides that she has to once again return to her homeland, where society is fraying, a terrible game show reigns supreme, and friends and foes alike are in danger. Everyone is running scared or imprisoned following the enactment of sudden and unfair rules of law.However, things are a lot less clear than the last time she was in the Kingdom Beyond. Kiran must once again solve riddles and battle her evil Serpent King father -- all while figuring out who her true friends are, and what it really means to be a hero.

Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, a chapter book series about women who stood up, spoke up and rose up against the odds! In this chapter book biography by bestselling author and physician Sayantani DasGupta, readers learn about the amazing life of Virginia Apgar--and how she persisted. There weren''t many women who tried to become doctors when Virginia Apgar went to medical school--but she didn''t let that stop her. After a professor discouraged from becoming a surgeon, she became an anesthesiologist instead and created the famous Apgar test to check the health of newborn babies. It''s a test that''s still used in hospitals across the world today! Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Virginia Apgar''s footsteps and make a difference! A perfect choice for kids who love learning and teachers who want to bring inspiring women into their curriculum. And don’t miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted, including Sally Ride, Temple Grandin, and more! Praise for She Persisted: Virginia Apgar: "A fast-paced tale that will spark curiosity—Dr. Apgar would approve." —Kirkus Reviews "Equally appealing for report writers and readers looking for role models." —Booklist

A collection of Bengali folk tales. Among the stories of princes, devata (deities) and bloodthirsty rashash (demons), stories of women''s lives and images emerge. Women and their goddeses bring to life not only the nurturing Bengali motherland itself, but demons as well.

THE GHOSTS ARE COMING The Kingdom Beyond is overrun with bhoot (ghosts who live in trees), and Kiya and Kinjal are the best hope of finding a solution. The ghosts are angry and dangerous-with one look they can steal your soul-so the twins must be extremely careful and use all their wits to help their flying horse friends and the rest of the inhabitants of the magical land so important to them. But what if the bhoot are angry for a reason? What if it''s their very own home trees that are being cut down, leaving them with nowhere to go? This time, Kiya and Kinjal face danger from even those they are trying to help. Can they find out who is destroying the ghost forest?

Creating order out of chaos has frightening consequences in this New York Times bestselling series! Kiranmala must leave the Kingdom Beyond and travel to her hometown of Parsippany to save Prince Lal, who has been spirited to the unlikeliest of places -- a tree in the yard of her best-enemy-for-life. She also faces evil serpents (of course!), plus a frightening prophecy about her role in the coming conflict between good and evil. Most troubling of all, though, is the way reality all around her seems to waver and flicker at odd moments. Could it be that the Anti-Chaos Committee''s efforts are causing a dangerous disruption in the multiverse? Kiran must grapple with the increasingly tangled threads that threaten to ensnare her...and everyone in the world and the Kingdom Beyond.

From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience. This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders. A pair of star-crossed lovers search for a way back to one another against all odds . . . A girl fights for her life against a malignant, generations-old evil . . . A peri seeks to reclaim her lost powers . . . A warrior rebels against her foretold destiny . . . With stories by: Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series and winner of the National Book Award and Printz Award for All My Rage Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series Preeti Chhibber, author of Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma Sona Charaipotra, author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. Tanaz Bhathena, award-winning author of Hunted by the Sky and Of Light and Shadow Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Celestial Trilogy Olivia Chadha, author of Rise of the Red Hand Nafiza Azad, author of William C. Morris Award nominee The Candle and the Flame Tracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of the Jumbies series and Minecraft: The Crash Naz Kutub, author of The Loophole Nikita Gill, bestselling author of Wild Embers and Fierce Fairytales Swati Teerdhala, author of the Tiger at Midnight trilogy Shreya Ila Anasuya, New Voices selection Tahir Abrar, New Voices selection A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year for Teens 2023!

Narrative medicine is a fresh discipline of health care that helps patients and health professionals to tell and listen to the complex and unique stories of illness. The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine expresses the collective experience and discoveries of the originators of the field. Arising at Columbia University in 2000 from roots in the humanities and patient-centered care, narrative medicine draws patients, doctors, nurses, therapists, and health activists together to re-imagine a health care based on trust and trustworthiness, humility, and mutual recognition. Over a decade of education and research has crystallized the goals and methods of narrative medicine, leading to increasingly powerful means to improve the care that patients receive. The methods described in this book harness creativity and insight to help the professionals in being with patients, not just to diagnose and treat them but to bear witness to what they undergo. Narrative medicine training in literary theory, philosophy, narrative ethics, and the creative arts increases clinicians'' capacity to perceive the turmoil and suffering borne by patients and to help them to cohere or endure the chaos of illness. Narrative medicine has achieved an international reputation and reach. Many health care settings adopt methods of narrative medicine in teaching and practice. Through the Master of Science in Narrative Medicine graduate program and health professions school curricula at Columbia University, more and more clinicians and scholars have obtained the rigorous training necessary to practice and teach narrative medicine. This text is offered to all who seek the opportunity for disciplined training in narrative medicine. By clearly articulating our principles and practice, this book provides the standards of the field for those who want to join us in seeking authenticity, recognition, affiliation, and justice in a narrative health care.

From New York Times bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta comes the sequel to the critically-acclaimed Force of Fire Pinki never expected to be the leader of the resistance—in fact, she’s gone on record spitting at the idea. But as domination and persecution of rakkosh continues, she summons her courage for a triumphant return to reluctant leadership in this thrilling sequel. Readers will be brought back into the fantastical world of the Kingdom Beyond, where there are always serpents to fight, riddles to solves, and a corrupt government to overthrow.

A fun-and-friendship-filled follow-up to Maven Takes the Lead in the must-read middle grade series from Girl Scouts of the USA, starring a group of fifth graders who love making the world a better place. This novel written by New York Times bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta is perfect for fans of The Baby-Sitters Club and American Girl''s Girl of the Year series. Anika loves animals. She loves bird-watching in her backyard, volunteering at the animal shelter with her Girl Scout troop, and caring for her elderly neighbor’s parrot. Anika wants a pet, but her parents have a long list of reasons to say no, including that they aren’t sure Anika is up for the responsibility. When Anika discovers a stray dog in her neighbor’s backyard, she decides to take charge all on her own. Between friend fights at school and her mom working harder than ever, Anika could use the distraction. This is something she wants to handle herself. But then the pup doesn’t show up for a few days and Anika is worried something is wrong. With time running out, it’s up to Anika to build a web of support strong enough to bring the dog to safety. Look out for more incredible middle grade books from Girl Scouts: Maven Takes the Lead, the first book in this Girl Scout Novel series, available now! The Ultimate Friendship Journal, available now! Take Action: You Can Make the World a Better Place, coming Fall 2025

Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in this warm-hearted novel of interconnected stories that celebrates the diversity of South Asian American experiences in a local community center. Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in the fictional town of Maple Grove, New Jersey, where the local kids gather at the community center to discover new crushes, fight against ignorance, and even save a life. Cheer for Chaya as she wins chess tournaments (unlike Andrew, she knows stupid sugary soda won''t make you better at chess), and follow as Jeevan learns how to cook traditional food (it turns out he can cook sabji-- he just can''t eat it). These stories, edited by bestselling and award-winning Pakistani-American author Hena Khan, are filled with humor, warmth, and possibility. They showcase a diverse array of talented authors with heritage from the Indian subcontinent, including beloved favorites and rising stars, who each highlight the beauty and necessity of a community center that everyone calls home.

Ria Bailey finds herself in quite a fix, and it''s all because of a strange treasure that turns up in the mail one fateful day. It might be a ruby, and it just might hold the key to some troubling developments in her life. Most importantly, if she and her besties Miracle Owusu and Annie Hernandez can trace the significance and stay one step ahead of the mysterious strangers tracking their moves through the Metropolitan Museum of Art and out into the city streets of New York, then just maybe Ria can turn things around for herself. Sayantani DasGupta returns in rare form with a brand new story that''s part love letter to the Metropolitan Museum and New York City immigrant families, part twisting and turning heist, and completely an examination of where art belongs, who gets to keep it, and what it means to be on display.

Sayantani DasGupta, a young Indian American woman, entered medical school with a vision of saving lives and making the world a better place. What she found instead was a difficult path of politics, sexism, and red tape. Based on wry "field notes" she took throughout her journey in the healing profession, this enlightening story of learning to be a doctor will provoke tears, laughter, and thoughtful reflection. . . . In these pages, DasGupta''s trials and tribulations--and those of her patients--are vividly rendered. Whether it is a fourteen-year-old giving birth, a terrified AIDS patient, or elderly lovebirds with a less-than-ordinary sex problem, DasGupta illuminates the miracle of life and the struggle to sustain it. Yet she also shines a penetrating light on today''s medical landscape--the militarism of medicine (where the patient is often the enemy), the gender wars, and the increasingly restrictive practice of managed care. A remarkable account of medicine on the cusp of the twenty-first century, HER OWN MEDICINE is filled with wisdom and written with grace, lucid intellect, and a striking respect for life and the profession that heals it.

Women Who Misbehave, much like the women within its pages, contains multitudes and contradictions-it is imaginative and real, unsettling and heartening, funny and poignant, dark and brimming with light. At a party to celebrate her friend''s wedding anniversary, a young woman spills a dangerous secret. A group of girls mourns the loss of their strange, mysterious neighbour. A dutiful daughter seeks to impress her father even as she escapes his reach. A wife weighs the odds of staying in her marriage when both her reality and the alternative are equally frightening. An aunt comes to terms with an impulsive mistake committed decades ago. In this wildly original and hauntingly subversive collection of short stories, Sayantani Dasgupta brings to life unforgettable women and their quest for agency. They are violent and nurturing, sacred and profane. They are friends, lovers, wives, sisters and mothers. Unapologetic and real, they embrace the entire range of the human experience, from the sweetest of loves and sacrifices to the most horrific of crimes.

In Fire Girl, her debut collection of essays, Sayantani Dasgupta examines her personal story against the history, religion, popular culture and mythology of South Asia and her current home in the American West. Praise for Fire Girl These are exquisite essays, filled with savory language spiced just right. Sayantani Dasgupta''s generous intelligence and lively curiosity bring alive whole worlds-those of ancient stories and those of daily living, artfully considered. Cultures, languages, religions, landscapes, legacies-this is a writer who contains multitudes. -Peggy Shumaker, Author of Just Breathe Normally Sayantani Dasgupta writes with such keen intelligence and vivid clarity that we can''t help be taken in. Lyrical, compassionate, and compelling, these beautiful essays transport us to another world. In Dasgupta''s able hands, it is a world we come to recognize as our own. -Kim Barnes, Author of In the Kingdom of Men Sayantani Dasgupta brings together past and present as she considers childhood, violence, safety, family, monsters, goddesses, and the concept of home. These beautiful essays move between India and America, between selves and versions of selves, as Sayantani considers what is real and what is story or indeed, how the two are ever different. The range of landscapes and subjects is as breathtaking as the writing, showing us a powerful mind at work.-Bich Minh Nguyen, Author of Stealing Buddha''s Dinner The oscillations in the essays are sometimes gentle vibrations, other times beating drums, encompassing the tension between the home and the world, the past and the present, the brain and the heart. The stories constantly go away and come back and we undulate with them, rippling between delight, sorrow, rage, wonder. -Aurvi Sharma, Winner of the 2015 Gulf Coast Prize in Nonfiction:

Inspired by She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who stood up, spoke up, and rose up against the odds. This collection includes the first eight biographies in the series.