Toads and Diamonds

Toads and Diamonds follows two girls Dirbani and Tana who are blessed with gifts by a magical goddess.  Diribani speaks jewels and flowers which and her sister Tana speaks snakes and toads.  The two both find that their gifts are not as they initially seem and both present the girls with danger and with the ability to help others.  When their gifts separate them they have to figure out how to navigate life on their own and master their gifts.

This is a wonderfully delightful fairytale.  It is set in colonial India (although fictionalized) and the world building and setting makes for a beautiful read.  Although for much of the story the sisters are separated with the story moving back and fourth between narrators and location the book still manages to flow nicely.  I enjoyed the story and it gave me that nice warm feeling that fairytales often do.

Appropriateness:  There is no adult content in this book.  The characters are in their late teens and face adult responsibilities.  There is a bit of romance but not enough to turn off younger readers.  I would recommend this book to teens 13+ (and there is nothing to bother younger readers if they are interested).  The lexile is 820 putting it around a sixth grade reading level.