“ My Nama is Cinnamon” is a heartwarming story of a thirteen-year-old boy named Roshan Rishikesh Paranjape nicknamed “ Cinnamon” by his parents. Cinnamon is adopted and raised by a Bengali mom and Marathi dad. Though Cinnamon loves them, he yearns to meet his birth parents too. Does he meet his birth parents? And if so, what happens? Well, one has to read the book to find out

Cinnamon loves to play football, likes to hang out with his friends and is a great foodie especially in love with sweets. Regarding academics he enjoys English and History however his relationship with Math is unfortunately strained. I appreciate the author for incorporating humor to portray Cinnamon’s state of mind when it comes to solving Math problems.

The narration is smooth, simple, interspersed with humor and all the characters who appear in the story are endearing in more than one way. The characters are also highly relatable. Also, I found the book replete with profound messages but never does it sound preachy at any point.

From the story we catch a glimpse of places like Pune, Kolkata and Nandurbar. I also enjoyed reading about the varied landscapes and the local droolworthy cuisines. It offered a great sensory experience.

The book also explores some issues like –adoption and stigmas associated with it, inter-caste marriage, living with a genetic issue, and the plight of tribal people.

The author also introduces us to a rare medical condition, Usher’s syndrome. I wished to know how Cinnamon dealt with it when he grew up. Maybe a few more additional chapters would have helped.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the debut novel by author Vikas Prakash Joshi. It is a book that will delight both children and adults.

I received the book from the author through Penmancy.

Do grab the book. It is available in Amazon.