Vanished by Sheela Chari stars Neela an Indian American who must solve a huge mystery when her Veena vanishes. Neela brings her Veena (a traditional Indian instrument) to school to show her music class as they study world instruments. While walking home she ducks into a church to escape the rain and stows her Veena in a closet. When she leaves she finds that her Veena has vanished. Neela's Veena was a gift from her grandmother in India and she finds out many special things while searching for it.
I enjoyed reading about Neela's life. Her parents are immigrants and she has to learn how to be both an American girl and an Indian daughter and her more traditional cousin. I didn't however love the story. It wasn't a light and easy read like I expect for books written for this age group. It seemed more like one of those books that's on your teachers bookshelf that you read because you have to. It's interesting enough but not anything that you would pick to read on your own.
Appropriateness: I would recommend this book to readers from 10-14. There is nothing that parents would find objectionable in the book.
