When a precious heirloom vanishes in the mist of a Darjeeling tea plantation, twelve-year-old Sona must trade her schoolbooks for detective work to save her brother from a crime he didn’t commit.
National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins introduces readers to the vibrant hills of India in The Golden Necklace, a mystery perfect for middle-grade readers. The story centers on Sona, a bright Nepali girl dreaming of a scholarship to the prestigious Darjeeling International School. Her focus shifts when her friend Tara, a Bengali girl facing an unwanted arranged marriage, loses her valuable gold necklace. Suspicion immediately falls on Sona’s brother, Samiran. Refusing to let her family suffer for a crime they didn’t commit, Sona steps into the role of detective. She confronts class prejudices and gender expectations to uncover the thief before it’s too late.
This book works particularly well for students who need a bridge between early chapter books and denser middle-grade novels. Perkins and illustrator Maithili Joshi have designed a format that supports reluctant readers without simplifying the complex social themes. The physical layout features double-spaced text and shorter chapters, which reduces the visual crowd on the page that often intimidates struggling readers. Joshi’s expressive black-and-white illustrations are not only decorative; they provide crucial context for the setting and characters’ emotions, helping visual learners track the mystery. For English learners, Perkins weaves in South Asian vocabulary with built-in context, so a student can understand a word like “Daju” immediately. The sentence structure is straightforward, keeping the pace moving without getting bogged down in complex clauses. Earning starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, this is a strong pick for educators looking to discuss fairness and gender equality through a story that remains accessible to developing readers.
