Books published by publisher Argo-Navis

Jeeta’s family is caught up in the whirlwind of arranging marriages for her two older sisters, but the drama and excitement leave Jeeta cold. Even though tradition demands the parade of suitors, the marriage negotiations and the elaborate displays, sixteen-year old Jeeta wonders what happened to the love and romance that the movies promise? She dreads her turn on the matrimonial circuit, especially since Mummy is always complaining about how Jeeta’s dark skin and smart mouth will turn off potential husbands. But when Jeeta’s smart mouth and liberal ideas land her in love with her friend’s cousin Neel, she must strike a balance between duty to her tradition-bound parents, and the strength to follow her heart.Kashmira Sheth was born in Bhavanger, Gujart, India and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. Sheth attended Iowa State University where she received her B.S. in Microbiology. She is married to a civil engineer and they have two daughters. Sheth is both a scientist and an author. Sheth has worked for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as a microbiologist. In 2012 she will teach at the Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program at Pine Manor College. In her free time Sheth teaches Indian dance to children."Warmly descriptive of life in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), this love story has a rich sense of place. Sixteen-year-old Jeeta's mother is consumed with the problems of arranging marriages for her three daughters and is sure that Jeeta's dark skin and smart mouth will turn off prospective grooms. But the teen's new friend, Sarina, opens her eyes to other possibilities. Discovering the pleasures of learning, Jeeta does well in her last year at school and enters college hoping to study law. Then, a handsome boy whom she meets at the swimming pool turns out to be Sarina's cousin. Because her mother forbids her to socialize with boys, she uses visits to Sarina to provide cover for their developing relationship. Readers may feel let down by the inconclusive ending, expecting at least an engagement, but the family's movement toward more modern ways is realistic. The novel reads like a memoir written by someone who wants to hold on to every detail of a remembered life. The tensions of family life in a small apartment are evident and the conflict between old beliefs and customs and the modern world is clear. Like the matrimonial ad her friend quotes, Jeeta is a girl with strong east-west family values, with all the contradictions that that statement suggests. This first-person narrative is a lush and loving exploration of coming of age." -Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.-School Library Journal

Each of us has a “silent thunder” – a quiet desire that rumbles from deep-down. For eleven-year-old Summer and her older brother Rosco, their secret dreams seem far out of reach. Both are slaves on a Virginia plantation in the year 1862. More than anything, Summer wants to learn to read and write. Rosco is eager to join the Union Army so that he can fight for the cause that would allow all people to be free. Told in alternating voices, this is a work of historical fiction by bestselling and award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney.

When twelve-year-old Seema Trivedi learns that she and her family must move from their small Indian town to Iowa City, she realizes she'll have to say good-bye to the purple-jeweled mango trees and sweet-smelling jasmine, to the monsoon rains and the bustling market. More important, she must leave behind her best friend and cousin, Raju. Everything is different in Iowa City, where Seema feels like an outsider to the language and traditions. As she begins to plant roots in the foreign soil, however, her confidence starts to bloom, and she learns she can build a bridge between two homes. With lyrical language and poignant scenes, Kashmira Sheth unearths the meaning of "home" and "family" in this tender debut novel. Kashmira Sheth's own experiences as a teenager who moved by herself from India to America inspired her to write this novel. She is a microbiologist and lives with her family in Madison, Wisconsin.Kashmira Sheth was born in Bhavanger, Gujart, India and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. Sheth attended Iowa State University where she received her B.S. in Microbiology. She is married to a civil engineer and they have two daughters. Sheth is both a scientist and an author. Sheth has worked for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as a microbiologist. In 2012 she will teach at the Solstice Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program at Pine Manor College. In her free time Sheth teaches Indian dance to children."When 12-year-old Seema moves with her parents and younger sister from India to Iowa City, she must leave her grandparents, extended family, and, most distressingly, her cousin Raju, who has been like a brother to her. Seema describes her adjustment to the newness of the U.S.–the food, clothing, weather, education–and her feelings: "I was always the outsider listening in…." Although she makes friends, she also encounters surprising hostility from another newcomer to her class, and ultimately learns the coping skills necessary to deal with this troubled girl. The writing is infused with evocative descriptions: "…the few leaves left clinging to the trees made them look like beggars in ragged clothes" or "the days… stretched out like a sari." Sheth uses Seema's letters to India and a classroom assignment to transmit significant cultural information, but at times this approach takes on a didactic and unnatural air. Still, the narrative advances steadily, with many opportunities for insights into the experience of this new immigrant, plus enough tension introduced through the bully to keep readers interested."-School Library Journal–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.“Filled with details that document an immigrant's observations and experiences, Seema's story, which articulates the ache for distant home and family, will resonate with fellow immigrants and enlighten their classmates.”Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved-Booklist

AN ANCIENT EVIL RETURNS TO THE DESERT LANDS OF THE CRUSADES, & ONLY THE TEENAGERS CLARINDA & RÍG CAN PREVENT THE COMING OF THE FINAL TWILIGHT! The Codex Lacrimae, a book of ancient evil, is loose again in the world. It’s the 12th Century, and Crusades ravage the Middle East. When the Book of Tears reaches the castle Krak des Chevaliers, it need only touch the unwitting hands of the prophesied Codex Wielder to ignite the Final Twilight. But hope remains -- the Norns foretell that two teenagers might stop the impending disaster! Ríg, an 18-year-old Hospitaller apprentice training to be a warrior-monk in the castle’s library, seeks only a quiet existence because of a haunted past. The arrival of the Codex Lacrimae and its supernatural temptations will force him to choose between the peaceful path of a priest or violent ways of a warrior. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, 17-year-old Clarinda Trevisan is a beautiful Venetian sea merchant’s daughter who is content to sail with her father’s fleet throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Soon it won’t be cargoes and crews occupying her time, but rather the strange creatures of Norse mythology, the Witches of Fate, the magical Nine World, and a tempestuous relationship with Ríg himself! The return of the Codex Lacrimae unleashes a host of evils that might challenge even the most star-crossed of lovers. Besides threatening Ríg and Clarinda’s lives (and immortal souls!), the Huntsmen of Muspelheim, Hela and her Wilde Jagd, and the Dragon Fafnir are all acting in concert with an unknown figure whose dark designs have been centuries in the making – but, for that plan to begin, he needs Ríg to awaken the first of nine magical artifacts that will open a Rune Gate to the Nightmare Realm and consume all reality in flames! If the two teenagers can’t stop their enemies, they’ll find the worlds of the Multiverse at the brink of annihilation!

Toco and the Rabbit Jack is a heart-rending tale of despair and hope. Toco, the thirteen year-old heroine of the story suffers from an auto-immune disease that has kept her hospitalized for over two years and now she is dying. Her father, who loves his daughter more than anything on earth, can’t stand to see his daughter suffer as she does and one day in the slim hope it may make her time left a bit happier, buys Toco a stuffed rabbit named Jack.One night the spirit of Toco’s mother, who died years before, visits her sleeping daughter who is not aware of her mother’s presence and tells Jack that God will allow Toco a full normal day – a day when Toco is as healthy as any thirteen year-old girl. It is how Toco deals with her last 24 hours that will decide if she gets to go to heaven and be with her mother or not. It is up to Jack to help guide her during her one day of health and her mother gives Jack the ability to talk so that Toco alone can hear him. So begins Jack and Toco’s 24-hour adventure as they are pursued by two demented nurses and others . Realizing they are now in real danger, they are on the run.Masahiro Hara was born in a small seaport town in Japan, the second son of a stonemason and a beautician. Since childhood, he has been influenced by Ray Harryhausen’s films and Ray Bradbury’s fiction. He graduated from San Francisco Art Institute Faculty of Filmmaking. After working for a Japanese movie studio in Los Angeles for five years, he moved to Tokyo. He has wanted to tell Toco’s tale for some time and now it has been written for children and adults of all ages.”Toco and the Rabbit Jack makes you believe in the miracle of love, all over again.”- Dick Duane ”The reader can’t resist Jack’s charm. It’s easy to see why Toco loves him.”- Robert Thixton ”A lovingly crafted fantasy tale . Toco’s poignant story of her life of illness, love and redemption, captivated me."- Peter Jones