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ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Vanya and the Wild Hunt
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.sangumandanna.com/
CITY: Norwich
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: SATA 379
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1989, in Bangalore, Karnataka, India; immigrated to United Kingdom; married; husband’s name Steve; children: three.
EDUCATION:Attended Lancaster University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Sangu Mandanna grew up in Bangalore, India, but relocated to the United Kingdom after graduating from Lancaster University. She began her first young-adult novel during a summer break from college, and it was eventually published in 2012 as The Lost Girl. Inspired by a reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Mandanna’s novel captures the perspective of a similarly created being through the story of a created girl named Eva. Mandanna is also the author of the “Celestial” young-adult fantasy novel trilogy as well as the middle-grade novel “Kiki Kallira” series.
(open new1)On her personal website, Mandanna revealed that she wrote her first story at the age of four. However, she noted that “the first time I decided I was going to be an author, I was about nine years old. I wrote a story about a brave and intrepid heroine named Sangu who saves a group of kidnapped girls while on a seaside holiday. I printed it off the computer, stapled the pages together and stuck a photograph of myself on the back to make it look like a book.”(close new1)
In The Lost Girl, although sixteen-year-old Eva appears human, she is actually a clone-like “echo”: Created by people called Weavers, echoes are designed to order and made identical to specific humans, except for the brands with which the Weavers mark them. Eva has been created at the behest of the parents of Amarra, an Indian girl, to replace their beloved daughter should she die. To fulfill her role, Eva lives with a human foster family and studies Amarra’s every gesture, expression, and movement, noting what the teen eats, where she goes, and even how she kisses her boyfriend, Ray. When Amarra dies in a tragic car crash, Eva is immediately transported to India, where Amarra’s grief-stricken parents seem strangely ambivalent at her arrival. The echo worries that they will decide they do not want her, since that would mean her destruction. As she begins to question her own future, ponders the notion of God, and reflects on what it means to be alive, Eva also experiences first love and is threatened by a vigilante group that wants to eliminate echoes all together.
Booklist reviewer Cindy Welch noted of Mandanna’s debut that “the story is moving without being sentimental,” and in Kirkus Reviews a critic described The Lost Girl as “a provocative and page-turning thriller/romance that gets at the heart of what it means to be human.”
Mandanna launched her “Celestial” fantasy trilogy in 2018 with A Spark of White Fire. Inspired by the famous Hindu mythological narrative known as the Mahabharata, the story focuses on Esmae, a princess who is estranged from her family and living in secret on Wychstar, a kingdom set on the space station Kali. Alas, Esmae’s secret gets out when she wins an important archery competition to claim ownership of the warship Titania. Esmae had hoped to return home with the warship to help her brothers reclaim the throne from her usurper uncle. But now, with her identity made public, the princess must maneuver through a dangerous political atmosphere that threatens to lead to civil war. In an interview in the Quiet Pond website, Mandanna discussed the origins of her book: “The setting came from my son, funnily enough. He was three years old at the time and absolutely obsessed with space, planets and the solar system. And when your kid becomes obsessed with something, it’s all you ever hear about! It was pure coincidence that I also happened to be thinking about writing a Mahabharata retelling at the time. The two things collided and, weird as the combination seemed, A Spark of White Fire was born!”
Reviewers greeted this opening trilogy installment warmly, with Booklist critic Amna Haque noting that “Mandanna seamlessly blends old deities with space exploration as she crafts a progressively complex political tale.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor also praised the novel, calling it “an incisive story nuanced by dilemmas about love, belonging, and conflicting loyalties.”
In the second volume in the trilogy, A House of Rage and Sorrow, Esmae finds her loyalty to her brothers tested when one of them, Alexi, tries to kill her. Hoping to win the throne for herself, Esmae becomes increasingly bloodthirsty, while Alexi becomes increasingly sympathetic to readers. “Extraordinarily drawn characters and plot twists will keep readers’ hearts racing,” commented a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Haque, again writing in Booklist, remarked that “the high-stakes, lofty narrative reads like a mythology story of its own.”
The trilogy concludes with A War of Swallowed Stars, published in 2021. Now seventeen, Esmae is tired of fighting, and she begins to question her thirst for the throne, even as her own mother plots against her. A Kirkus Reviews critic called the final installment “a thrilling space opera and a fitting ending to an impressive trilogy.”
In an interview on the Verve website, Mandanna discussed her writing career: “it will probably come as no surprise to anyone to learn that when I started writing stories, they featured me. … As I got older, I wrote other stories, better stories, but they always had one thing in common: there was always a character in there who looked an awful lot like me, like my friends, and like the millions of other brown girls around the world who don’t see themselves in stories as often as they should.” She added: “I’m now thirty years old and I still write stories about girls like me. The only difference is the rest of the world gets to read them now.”
(open new2)In Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse, Lej informs Kiki that the Kaveri River has disappeared, threatening the lives of many people in Mysore. She joins her friends to help out. Kiki is surprised to find that her powers just do not work the same in that realm anymore. She also is more conscious of dealing with her anxiety, especially when faced with such high consequences of failing the people of Mysore. A Kirkus Reviews contributor pointed out that “those unfamiliar with Kiki’s story will find this novel accessible but will gain more from having read the previous book.” The reviewer found the book to be “enchanting and deeply captivating.”
With The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Mika Moon is a misfit who has never found her crowd. The orphaned witch was educated by a number of nannies and raised by a domineering older witch who was careful to keep Mika’s secret identity as a witch from anyone. When Mika grew up, she posted videos online of her “pretending” to be a witch to get engagement. Retired actor Ian Kubo-Hawthorn believes, however, that she is authentically a witch and invites her to Nowhere House, where they raise orphan witches. She is hired as a magic tutor, but her arrival at the house upsets some of the others there.
A Kirkus Reviews contributor labeled it “a magical tale about finding yourself and making a found family that will leave the reader enchanted.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly commented that “the masterfully shaded relationships between Nowhere House’s residents give rise to plenty of touching moments sure to tug on readers’ heartstrings.” The same reviewer called the book “charming.”
In Vanya and the Wild Hunt, eleven-year-old Vanya Vallen struggles to fit into life in the small English town where her Indian-descent parents own a bookstore. She is bullied over her darker skin color, and her ADHD often results in her getting in trouble for her behavior. But Vanya can hear the rare books talking to her. After she finds her mother fighting a monster, she realizes that her life was about to change drastically. Her parents send her to the Auramere magic school in southern India’s Nilgiri Mountains. There, Vanya makes new friends and learns to deal with her neurodiversity, while still trying to figure out her parents’ past lives that they kept secret from her. When the evil Wild Hunt appears at Auramere, the unprepared Vanya bravely steps up to face the challenge. A Kirkus Reviews contributor observed that “the vivid worldbuilding weaves characters from world mythology into a narrative that crackles with action.” The same critic called it “an engaging, well-developed introduction to a magical world.”
With A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, Sera Swan lost her magical powers at age fifteen after trying to cast a forbidden spell to bring her aunt Jasmine back to life. At thirty, Sera runs the Batty Hole Inn in Lancashire, which houses an odd assortment of people. Her nephew sneaks into the witch guild headquarters to find a spell that will give Sera back her powers. They are caught, and guild researcher Luke Larsen reluctantly offers a sympathetic ear to their problems. A contributor to Publishers Weekly suggested that “fans of mellow magical stories centering” around “family will gobble this one up.”(close new2)
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 1, 2012, Cindy Welch, review of The Lost Girl, p. 90; October 1, 2018, Amna Haque, review of A Spark of White Fire, p. 74; October 1, 2019, Amna Haque, review of A House of Rage and Sorrow, p. 76.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, September 1, 2012, Claire Gross, review of The Lost Girl, p. 35.
Guardian (London, England), February 19, 2013, review of The Lost Girl.
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2012, review of The Lost Girl; August 15, 2018, review of A Spark of White Fire; August 1, 2019, review of A House of Rage and Sorrow; September 15, 2019, review of Color Outside the Lines: Stories about Love; May 15, 2021, review of A War of Swallowed Stars; May 1, 2022, review of Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse; August 1, 2022, review of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches; January 15, 2025, review of Vanya and the Wild Hunt.
Publishers Weekly, August 20, 2012, review of The Lost Girl, p. 65; May 9, 2022, review of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, p. 38; May 26, 2025, review of A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, p. 34.
School Librarian, June 22, 2013, Sally Dring, review of The Lost Girl, p. 117.
School Library Journal, December 1, 2012, Necia Blundy, review of The Lost Girl, p. 124; November 1, 2019, Carol Youssif, review of Color Outside the Lines, p. 65; July 1, 2021, Monisha Blair, review of Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, p. 63.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June 1, 2012, Diana Geers, review of The Lost Girl, p. 179.
ONLINE
Owlcrate, https://www.owlcrate.com/ (August 31, 2021), author interview.
Quiet Pond, https://thequietpond.com/ (May 23, 2020), author interview.
Sangu Mandanna website, https://sangumandanna.com (August 9, 2025).
School Library Journal, https://blogs.slj.com/ (July 14, 2021), Elizabeth Bird, author interview.
She Reads, https://shereads.com/ (August 2, 2022), author interview.
Verve, https://www.vervemagazine.in/ (January 15, 2019), author interview.
Writer’s Digest, https://www.writersdigest.com/ (August 24, 2022), Robert Lee Brewer, author interview.
ABOUT
Sangu Mandanna was four years old when an elephant chased her down a forest road and she decided to write her first story about it. Seventeen years and many, many manuscripts later, she signed her first book deal. Sangu now lives in Norwich, a city in the east of England, with her husband and kids.
QUESTIONS ABOUT ME
How do you pronounce your name?
The Sang in Sangu is pronounced sung, like the past tense of sing. And I pronounce Mandanna so that it rhymes with bandanna.
How long have you been writing?
Since I was about four or so? I wrote my first story then, which my dad still has tucked away in his desk drawer, and then never stopped writing after that. The first time I decided I was Going to Be an Author, I was about nine years old. I wrote a story about a brave and intrepid heroine named Sangu who saves a group of kidnapped girls while on a seaside holiday. I printed it off the computer, stapled the pages together and stuck a photograph of myself on the back to make it look like a book!
How long did it take you to get published? How did it happen?
I did it the old-fashioned way, but it wasn’t quick. I sent out my first query when I was fifteen and signed with my first agent when I was twenty-two. With a completely different manuscript! There was a lot of hard work, a lot of rejection, and a lot of Stubbornly Refusing to Quit.
I wish I could tell you there was no luck involved, but I’m afraid that a lot of publishing is about luck and timing, especially if you’re an author from an underrepresented background.
QUESTIONS ABOUT KIKI
What inspired you to write Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom?
The mythology in Kiki’s story is all rooted in the folklore and stories I grew up with in south India. India is a huge country, with an enormously rich pantheon of folklore that changes depending on which part of the country you’re from, and I wanted to tell a story that was true to where I came from.
The heart of Kiki’s story is her art, and the way she uses it to cope with her anxiety and OCD. I’ve had OCD and anxiety since I was Kiki’s age, and I’ve used art and creativity to help me with my mental health since before I can remember, so Kiki’s struggles, adventures and journey are incredibly important to me. And I hope they feel just as true to every reader who struggles with the same things.
All your main characters so far have been girls of colour, and Kiki is no exception. Is that a deliberate choice?
Yes. I grew up with very few stories about brown girls, so those are the stories I now want to write. I want readers like me—and all readers—to read and love stories about brown girls who have adventures, fall in love, explore the stars, fight the system, and so much more. In Kiki’s case in particular, as my first middle grade protagonist, I very much wanted to write a character for brown kids her age, who so rarely get to see themselves in fantasy fiction.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CELESTIAL SERIES
What made you think of retelling the Mahabharata in space?
I grew up with the Mahabharata and had wanted to write an epic story inspired by it for years, but nothing ever felt right. Then, quite by accident, in 2014, my then three-year-old became obsessed with the solar system, space, planets, all of that. And the two things—space and the Mahabharata—came together in my head. After that, the story came easily. I knew I wanted to focus on Esmae, who is a version of the character Karna from the epic, and I knew I wanted to tell a story about love, rage and family.
How many books are in the series?
Right now, the main series is a trilogy: A Spark of White Fire, A House of Rage and Sorrow, and A War of Swallowed Stars. I also have a free short story set twenty years before A Spark of White Fire.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOST GIRL
How did you come up with the idea?
I was rereading Frankenstein at university, and I decided I wanted to tell a story from the Creature’s point of view. It took a few false starts after that before I came up with Eva and the Weavers. My stories always seem to start out like that—with an idea that starts and stops, evolves, and becomes something else before it feels right.
There were also a lot of other influences on the mood and tone of the story, like the quirky, eerie vibes of The Corpse Bride, and of course I was hugely inspired by both my hometown of Bangalore and the Lake District in northwest England, where I was living at the time.
Will there be a sequel?
I did have sequels planned, but they didn’t work out.
What’s with the ending? What happens after that?
Many of you have loved the ambiguity of the ending of the book. Many of you have hated it. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t intend it to be so ambiguous and final. My intention was to end the book in a way that felt right for the story, but the problem there was that the story wasn’t over. I wanted to have some closure and loose ends tied off, just in case the book never got the sequels I’d planned, but I also couldn’t tie everything off because that wasn’t how the story wanted to go. It’s an awkward line to walk, but that’s the nature of publishing. That’s why the book ends the way it does. If I could go back and change it, I’m not sure what I’d do.
OTHER QUESTIONS
I want to be an author. Can you read my work?
No, sorry! Unless I’ve offered you a critique in a giveaway or charity auction, I can’t read anything you send me. This is partly because I don’t have the time to give your work the attention it deserves, and partly for legal reasons.
Sangu Mandanna
Sangu Mandanna was four years old when she was chased by an elephant, wrote her first story about it, and decided this was what she wanted to do with her life. Seventeen years later, she read Frankenstein. It sent her into a writing frenzy that became The Lost Girl, a novel about death and love and the tie that binds the two together. Sangu lives in England with her husband and son.
Genres: Children's Fiction, Science Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Romance
New and upcoming books
March 2025
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Vanya and the Wild Hunt
(Vanya, book 1)July 2025
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A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Series
Celestial Trilogy
1. A Spark of White Fire (2018)
2. House of Rage and Sorrow (2019)
3. A War of Swallowed Stars (2020)
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Kiki Kallira
1. Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (2021)
2. Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse (2022)
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Vanya
1. Vanya and the Wild Hunt (2025)
2. Vanya and the Shifting Spire (2026)
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Novels
The Lost Girl (2012)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (2022)
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping (2025)
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Anthologies edited
Color outside the Lines (2019)
Magic Has No Borders (2023) (with Samira Ahmed, Shreya Ila Anasuya, Nafiza Azad, Naila Azad, Tracey Baptiste, Tanaz Bathena, Olivia Chadha, Sona Charaipotra, Sayantani DasGupta, Nikita Gill, Naz Kutub, Sabaa Tahir and Swati Teerdhala)
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Graphic Novels hide
Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic (2024)
August Guest Author Sangu Mandanna on The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
By She Reads Editors|August 2, 2022|Categories: Author Interviews|Tags: Guest Author
Who doesn’t love a summery witchy read? We could hardly wait for the August release of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. This fantasy romance appeals to our Practical Magic obsession (heavy on the powerful feminine magic!) and it’s Mandanna’s first novel for adults, to boot. Known as an acclaimed children’s author, Mandanna has crafted an uplifting read about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family—and love—changes the course of her life.
In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Mika Moon is one of the few witches in Britain, and she knows how to hide her magic and keep her head down. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age, she’s used to being alone and following the rules—with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos “pretending” to be a witch. No one will take it seriously, right? Then someone sends her an unexpected message, asking her to travel to the mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic, Mika decides to break the rules and go. Amidst the lives and secrets of her three charges—along with an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, and two long-suffering caretakers—Mika starts to find her place at Nowhere House, daring to dream that she might actual belong somewhere. Then there’s also . . . Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House who would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is an irritation, albeit an appealing one.
But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect the found family she didn’t know she was looking for.
Read on for our exclusive interview with Sangu Mandanna about second-guessing oneself, captivating a new audience, and the witchy power she would pick for herself.
What inspired the story of Mika Moon in The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches?
When I first started writing the book, we were several months into the pandemic and all I wanted was to lose myself in a warm, cozy, romantic fantasy that was the absolute opposite of everything the real world had become. Mika took shape very naturally out of that: her loneliness and ache for human connection was something I think we were all feeling at that time, and her fear of never finding a place she could truly belong came out of my own journey as a neurodivergent woman of colour. I knew from the start that Mika would find her happy ending, because I wanted this to be a hopeful story; a story that reflects my belief that there is a family for everyone out there.
You’re an acclaimed children’s author, especially for your representation of young girls of color and mental health struggles. With this being your first adult novel, what challenges did you face?
Thank you for that lovely description! Honestly, the biggest challenge was my own tendency to second-guess myself. For me, there’s a point in the writing of every book where I think the book is terrible, but this was the first time in a very long time that I questioned myself. I lost count of the number of times I paused in the middle of my first draft and felt overwhelmed with fear and doubt. Would I be able to captivate a new audience? Was I any good at this? Would I fail? Was it too late to scrap the whole project and go back to writing what I was used to? (As you can see, I’m an anxious overthinker, which is one of the reasons I write about mental health!)
Do you have a favorite magical element from the novel’s world?
I loved coming up with the idea of magic being present, visible and friendly to witches in the form of gold dust. Magic almost has a mind of its own in the book, and Mika sees it as a comforting, mischievous and loyal friend, and I just love that so much.
What is something you’d like readers to take away from this novel?
The world we live in is a complicated, difficult one for many, many reasons, so I hope that readers find the same thing in this novel that I found while writing it: a place to escape to, a quirky family to fall in love with, and a reminder that there are still good things in the world to look forward to. In short: comfort, hope, and a heaped teaspoon of joy.
If you could have a witchy power, what would you want it to be?
Oh, I’d love to be able to brew magical teas the way Mika can! Making a hot cup of tea on a cold winter’s day is such a comfort already, so I feel like the perfect progression of that would be the ability to spell the tea to fix every low mood and heal every woe.
What authors inspire you/what are you currently reading?
I’ve been inspired by so many authors over the years that it would be impossible to name every single one! For sheer whimsy, imagination and coziness, I’d pick Diana Wynne Jones, Jessica Townsend and Eiko Kadono. For romantic feels and emotional anguish, I’d have to say Sarah Maclean, Evie Dunmore, Ali Hazelwood and Talia Hibbert. For beautiful and spellbinding writing, I’d pick Neil Gaiman and Laini Taylor. And for gorgeous, fantastical storytelling, I’d go with Tasha Suri, N.K. Jemisin and Jacqueline Carey.
What are you currently working on?
I just announced my next children’s project, Vanya and the Wild Hunt, which will be out in Spring 2024, so I’m working on that at the moment! I’m also finishing up a draft of my next romantic fantasy for adults, which will be out in about a year’s time.
Don’t miss Sangu Mandanna’s Ten Book Challenge: Book-It List!
Sangu Mandanna: On Writing Her First Novel for Adults
Author Sangu Mandanna discusses the differences in her creative process when writing her first novel for adults, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Robert Lee Brewer
Published Aug 24, 2022 2:00 PM EDT
Sangu Mandanna is the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, and several other novels about magic, monsters, and myths. She lives in Norwich, a city in the east of England, with her husband and three kids. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Sangu Mandanna
In this post, Sangu discusses the differences in her creative process when writing her first novel for adults, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, what she hopes readers get from the experience, and more!
Name: Sangu Mandanna
Literary agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative Management
Book title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: August 23, 2022
Genre/category: Fantasy Romance
Previous titles: The Lost Girl (Balzer + Bray, 2012), A Spark of White Fire (Skyhorse, 2018), A House of Rage and Sorrow (Skyhorse, 2019), Color Outside the Lines (Soho Teen, 2019), A War of Swallowed Stars (Skyhorse, 2021), Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (Viking Children’s, 2021), Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse (Viking Children’s, 2022)
Elevator pitch for the book: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a contemporary romantic fantasy about a lonely witch who becomes a tutor to three magical children and finds love, belonging, and family along the way.
IndieBound | Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]
What prompted you to write this book?
My books in the past had had plenty of hope and humor, but they were, on the whole, darker and angstier than TVSSOIW. They had battles and monsters. And I still love reading and writing those sorts of books, but when I started working on this book, we were several months into the pandemic and all I wanted was to lose myself in a warm, cozy, safe place that felt very different from reality. That’s what inspired Mika and Nowhere House.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The idea first took shape in November of 2020, I started writing it in earnest in January of 2021, and it was published in August of 2022. So that’s almost two years from idea to publication!
And no, I don’t think the heart of the story changed at all because it was so clear and so important to me. Some of the plot details changed, and scenes changed, but the ideas of loneliness, belonging and family never shifted.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the writing and publishing processes for this title?
This was my first novel for adults, so there was a lot to learn! I think the thing that surprised me most was the difference in my creativity.
There’s a childlike wonder and joy that comes from writing a story for children, but also a responsibility to young readers that I take very seriously. When I write for children, I’m also writing for my younger self.
When I’m writing for adults, on the other hand, I’m writing for myself as I am now and that gives me room to be a little more myself.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Joy and laughter and swoony feels! Most of all, though, I hope readers find a welcoming, cozy world to lose themselves in when the real world feels a little too much.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Trust in your own voice. There’s no such thing as a new story, but there are new voices, especially marginalized voices, and you deserve to have your voice heard.
Mandanna, Sangu KIKI KALLIRA CONQUERS A CURSE Viking (Children's None) $17.99 5, 17 ISBN: 978-0-593-20700-0
In this sequel to Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom (2021), the Kikiverse is grappling with yet another curse: Will Kiki be able to harness her magic in order to save the day a second time?
Kiki is back to living her regular life in London after closing the tear in the Kikiverse when Lej suddenly appears in her bedroom saying Mysore is in trouble once again--the Kaveri River has disappeared, and everyone in Mysore will soon be wiped out if their water source is not restored. Kiki agrees to return and help out. Reunited with all her friends, she tries to harness her powers within the realm of this universe, which came to life through the art in her sketchbooks, only to realize things have changed, and her old approach will not work. Mandanna explores Kiki's mental health in more detail in this book, referencing a combination of medication and therapy to cope with anxiety. Kiki has a strong character arc in which she goes from self-doubt to fully embracing her flawed self. Kiki finds her way to understanding that the things we create never fully belong to us once we release them into the world. Readers get to see Kiki rewrite her own story and find nuanced ways of understanding how her mind works. Those unfamiliar with Kiki's story will find this novel accessible but will gain more from having read the previous book. Kiki is of South Indian and Scottish descent.
Enchanting and deeply captivating. (Fantasy. 8-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Mandanna, Sangu: KIKI KALLIRA CONQUERS A CURSE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A701896672/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3f025aca. Accessed 23 June 2025.
Sangu Mandanna. Berkley, $16 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-593-43935-7
A misfit witch finds her place in the world in this utterly enchanting fantasy from Mandanna (A War of Swallowed Stars). Witch Mika Moon has never felt like she belonged; as an orphaned child, she was raised by a controlling older witch named Primrose and educated by a succession of nannies, each of whom was whisked away before they could realize Mika's power. She's never told anyone her secret, but as an adult she takes a risk by posting videos online in which she "pretends" to be a witch. It's all harmless fun--until retired actor Ian Kubo-Hawthorn recognizes her as the real deal. He invites her to Nowhere House, home to a found family working together to raise three young, untrained orphan witches. The children's unchecked magic has become impossible to contain, and Ian recruits Mika to become the trio's livein magic tutor. But not everyone is pleased with the arrangement: "devastatingly handsome" Jamie Kelly, the house librarian, is hyperprotective of the children, and despite the immediate heat between him and Mika, he's determined not to let her melt his icy exterior. Mandanna crafts a cast of winningly quirky characters, each with their own part to play in Mika's path to belonging. The masterfully shaded relationships between Nowhere House's residents give rise to plenty of touching moments sure to tug on readers' heartstrings. This charming romantic fantasy is a gem. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative Management. (Aug.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 20, 9 May 2022, p. 38. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A706390543/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f2ded680. Accessed 23 June 2025.
Mandanna, Sangu THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES Berkley (Fiction None) $17.00 8, 23 ISBN: 978-0-593-43935-7
A British witch takes a job as a magic tutor and finds the place she belongs.
Mika Moon's parents died when she was a child, and she's spent her entire adult life moving every few months, never staying in one place for long or getting attached to anyone. At 31, she's been raised to keep magic secret; her sole contact with other witches is a small group she sees every three months, and she can't even text with them in between, as the group's leader thinks having too much magic in one place will draw unwanted attention. Mika does, however, do one thing that skates the edges of propriety: She posts online videos in which she "pretends" to be a witch: "Witchcore....Not quite as popular as cottagecore or fairycore, but it's up there." Then she gets an interesting request in her DMs, and Mika finds herself at Nowhere House, an old country estate, teaching three orphaned children how to control their magic. Suddenly surrounded by people who not only know her secret, but accept her for it, Mika is dangerously close to getting attached, both to the girls she's teaching and to their caretakers, including Jamie, the cute librarian who didn't want to send for her. But with the clock ticking until an upcoming visit from a lawyer who's suspicious about the "unconventional household" and the witch rules Mika's been raised with ringing in her ears, is this all just a bomb waiting to explode? The world Mandanna has created is exceedingly cozy and heartfelt, full of people bursting with love who have trouble expressing it due to trauma in their pasts. From the three magical girls to the elderly gay caretakers to the hot, young Irish librarian, each resident of Nowhere House is a lovingly crafted outcast reaching for family. Various threads laid out seemingly haphazardly through the story all come together in surprising ways in the last 30 pages for a finale worthy of the tale that preceded it.
A magical tale about finding yourself and making a found family that will leave the reader enchanted.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Mandanna, Sangu: THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A711906566/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d642a41a. Accessed 23 June 2025.
Mandanna, Sangu VANYA AND THE WILD HUNT Roaring Brook Press (Children's None) $17.99 3, 11 ISBN: 9781250899835
Magic abounds in this coming-of-age story about finding strength in the face of formidable odds.
Eleven-year-old Vanya Vallen struggles to belong in the small English city where her parents, both of Indian descent, run a bookstore. Her brown skin makes her a target at school, her ADHD gets her into trouble, and she seems to be the only one who can hear the rare books in the store talking. When she finds her mother battling a terrifying monster, she discovers a web of secrets shrouding her parents' lives. Before long, Vanya's parents send her away to Auramere, a school of magic hidden in the Nilgiri Mountains of South India, where they were once students themselves. Under the guardianship of Irish Jasper and his husband, Roman, old friends of her parents', Vanya makes new friends, discovers her strengths, and comes to terms with her neurodiversity, all the while trying to unearth the mysteries surrounding her mother's past. But when the Wild Hunt, a dark, sentient force, threatens Auramere, Vanya steps up to take on a burden she's unready for--and that could well destroy her. The vivid worldbuilding weaves characters from world mythology into a narrative that crackles with action. While taking little from the lore or culture of the region of India the school is set in, the book does feature nuanced characterization and positive portrayals of the diverse cast. Final art not seen.
An engaging, well-developed introduction to a magical world.(Fantasy. 8-12)
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"Mandanna, Sangu: VANYA AND THE WILD HUNT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A823102420/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=eb62dcc9. Accessed 23 June 2025.
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Sangu Mandanna. Berkley, $19 trade paper (336p)
ISBN 978-0-593-43937-1
A witch angles to regain her power in this pleasurable cozy fantasy from Mandanna (The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches). At 15, Sera Swan, egged on by enchanted fox Clemmie, loses her magic in the process of casting a forbidden spell to resurrect her late aunt Jasmine. When Albert Grey, her tyrannical mentor, discovers this transgression, he banishes Sera from the witch guild. Fifteen years later, Sera runs the enchanted Batty Hole Inn in Lancashire, which has gathered an assortment of oddball long-term lodgers, including Sera's younger cousin, Theo; older hippie Matilda; and Nicholas, a young man deeply committed to his role as a knight at a nearby medieval fair. When Theo and Clemmie sneak into the witch guild headquarters to steal a book with a spell that could restore Sera's powers, Albert's daughter, Francesca, now chancellor of the guild, catches them--and surprises Sera by dispatching researcher Luke Larsen to help them make sense of the spell's cryptic instructions. Luke is initially reluctant to help, having his hands full with caring for his autistic younger sister Posy who doesn't understand the need to keep her magic secret, but the Batty Holes quirky community soon thaws his steely shell. Fans of mellow magical stories centering found family will gobble this one up. (July)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 PWxyz, LLC
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"A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping." Publishers Weekly, vol. 272, no. 21, 26 May 2025, pp. 34+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A842109884/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5a1026c9. Accessed 23 June 2025.