16 and abandoned

A young adult novel about a 16-year-old girl trying to deal with her mother abandoning her family, taking care of her grief-stricken father and brother, and a cute guy who helps her come out of her shell.

Andaleeb Wajid seems extremely calm and composed for an author who has been extremely busy the past year. She recently launched her eighth book called When She Went Away, a young adult novel with a heart.

Wajid started writing very early on because she realised that writing was what she was best at. After releasing several short stories and getting published for the first time in 2009, there was no looking back. She talks to us about her most recent novel, “When She Went Away is the story of a 16-year-old girl, Maria Sulaiman, who is trying to deal with her mother abandoning her family. She sees her father and brother deal with this event in their own ways but sees it all from afar. A lot of things happen after that, their aunt tries to marry off their father and Maria meets a cute guy, K, who helps her come out of her shell.”

The More Than Just Biryani writer goes on to say, “In an Indian society, there’s a perception that the fabric of a family is held together by the mother. Once the mother leaves, it is upto the family left behind if they let it disintegrate or keep the bonds held together.”

When asked if the characters were inspired by people she’s met, she smiles, “Definitely. Maria is actually inspired by something I saw when I went to visit my uncle in Dubai when I was 12. Something similar happened to a neighbour and I saw the young daughter taking care of the family. I was left wondering how she managed and that had I been in her position, I would be utterly lost. Also, a little bit of me creeps into every character I write.”

The author who loves to spend her time reading Rick Riordan’s work tells us that young adult fiction has been a genre she is extremely comfortable because at heart, she herself is a young adult. She says, “People tell me I get the voice of the protagonist, a teenager, just right. They also like the fact that the book doesn’t come across as judgmental of the mother or the daughter.”

She is also coming out with a new book in April and a contemporary romance novel in November this year.