The Battle for No. 19

Eight schoolgirls from the hills on a tour of Agra drive into Delhi the day Indira Gandhi is assassinated. They run into a violent crazed mob that pulls their jovial old driver Kartar Singh out and slays him brutally. In a blazing city lashed by violence the girls flee to seek refuge. They find it in an elegant and apparently empty house but is it safe? Its gallery of forbidding masks and medieval weapons is alarming enough but worse it is a house marked by the vicious mob because it belongs to a rich Sikh family with two children. In an adventure gone dreadfully wrong all that the girls can think of is going home but the vengeful enemy is right at the door! Led by sixteen-year-old Puja a masterful archer but with her own personal demons to fight the girls have to tackle one threat after another including a chicken thief in their midst. Mustering their wisdom stealth cunning and courage they valiantly keep their conscienceless attackers at bay until they are finally plunged into a quandary where there is only hair's breadth between killing and being killed. A gripping and powerful storyThe Battle for No. 19 highlights the moral dilemmas of young people in today's world where violence erupts round every corner and the line between right and wrong runs dangerously thin. About the Author Ranjit Lal has written fiction and non-fiction for both adults and children. His books for Puffin includeThe Caterpillar Who went on a Diet and Other StoriesWhen Banshee Kissed Bimbo andOther Bird StoriesThe Battle for No. 19 andFaces in the Water which won the Crossword Best Children's Book Award in 2010 and the Laadli National Media Award.