‘Ayesha thought for a bit. Her parents had told her never to talk to strangers. But they hadn’t mentioned anything about strange dolphins.’

Ten-year-old Ayesha has everything an adventurer needs—courage, cleverness, creativity, and a complete lack of caution. But even Ayesha has to admit that the mission Shekina (the Queen of the Seas, no less) has charged her with may be slightly out of her league.

After all, it does involve saving the world. Of course.

And it’s not like she has a fire-breathing dragon or a super-smart android as a sidekick. Try a snarky surfboarding snail instead.
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‘Ayesha thought for a bit. Her parents had told her never to talk to strangers. But they hadn’t mentioned anything about strange dolphins.’

Ten-year-old Ayesha has everything an adventurer needs—courage, cleverness, creativity, and a complete lack of caution. But even Ayesha has to admit that the mission Shekina (the Queen of the Seas, no less) has charged her with may be slightly out of her league.

After all, it does involve saving the world. Of course.

And it’s not like she has a fire-breathing dragon or a super-smart android as a sidekick. Try a snarky surfboarding snail instead.

Join Ayesha as she jumps headlong into an extra-extraordinary adventure that takes her halfway across the world (and a little beyond).
About the Author
Ajay Chowdhury is a businessman and theatre director. He started directing plays in India and now runs a theatre company in London. He has served on various boards, including Arts Council England and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in the UK.

Have to say my daughter and I really enjoyed Ayesha and the Firefish. It’s got thrills and drama and danger and best of all, it’s really funny in places too. The descriptions of Ayesha’s parents are priceless and no stereotypes here! Her mum is a hedge fund manager and her dad is a house-husband who watches telly and visits the salon. Ayesha is the smart female heroine, a self-styled Hermione Granger type (Indian version of) with her male cousin Alex who’s a bit older and helps her out here and there. She is assisted by the fantastical and somewhat bizarre talking, surfboarding snail. The dialogue between these characters can get quite snippy, especially from the snail – and Ayesha and her teenage cousin - but the combination of this quality with the general warmth and believability of the dialogues within the whole book just adds to its veracity. It’s difficult to achieve I think but this book manages it, surprisingly well considering it has such interesting themes. You’ve got aliens, adventure, the environment, a bit of a travelogue as Ayesha visits a whole bunch of countries on her mission to save the world and some history. My kid learned lots of stuff she didn’t know - as did I! Quality of writing: The author doesn’t talk down to you but uses evocative description and clever words that convey his meaning without being pretentious. It’s language that’s easy to understand but still with enough challenge for kids to widen their vocabulary and discover words that they may not have seen before - without alienating them. All in all, we loved this book and want more from the author! Definitely read it. It says 9 plus but I think older kids would enjoy it just as much and it’s the kind of book that I imagine kids would like to keep and re-read.