The northern lights shine, women gather to eat raw caribou meat and everyone could be family in this ode to small-town life in Nunavut, written in English and Inuktitut. Sisters Angnakuluk Friesen and Ippiksaut Friesen collaborate on this story about what it’s like to grow up in an Inuit community in Nunavut. Every line about the hometown in this book will have readers thinking about what makes their own hometowns unique. With strong social studies curriculum connections, Kisimi Taimaippaktut Angirrarijarani / ᑭᓯᒥ ᑕᐃᒪᐃᑉᐸᒃᑐᑦ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᕆᔭᕋᓂ / Only in My Hometown introduces young readers to life in the Canadian North, as well as the Inuit language and culture. Angnakuluk’s simple text, translated into Inuktitut and written out in syllabics and transliterated roman characters, is complemented by Ippiksaut’s warm paintings of their shared hometown.

To earn something we know we have to lose something, but sometimes we lose everything and get nothing, and it leads us to the question whether we should leave our parents and our hometown for better future? If you are one of them who left their hometown, then this book is for you.

Mala Thomas, a 23-year-old Indian American, wants a big, multicultural city to escape her dead-end job and racial experiences in Indiana. She packs up her Acura Vigor and makes an impulsive move to Houston, Texas. In Houston, she doesnt get questioned about being Indian. The South is very different from the Midwest and Mala cant take the word yall seriously. On her career path, she lands a job in the energy industry and falls for work-obsessed Cyril, a Creole who works in her office building. The death of the sister she cant remember, her love for 80s rock, and her past racial experiences follow her everywhere she goes. "What would happen if you were a discontented, twentysomething Indian-American girl, living in a boring Midwestern city and working a dead-end job, still a virgin, living at home with parents you think should divorce, and suddenly decide to pack up and move to Houston, Texas? Read The Hometown and find out! Along the way you'll be entertained and enlightened by this smart and witty coming-of-age novel that gets to the heart of 'growing up multicultural' and making your way as a minority woman in America today." - Jim Barnes, Editor, IndependentPublisher.com "Finding a new home can lead to many unusual situations. "The Hometown" is a novel following Mala Thomas as she embraces a new spin of life in Houston, Texas and facing life as an Indian-American in the south. A story of career life and finding love, "The Hometown" is worth considering for general fiction collections." - Midwest Book Review "Author Leena Ceraveenis debut novel, The Hometown, examines the journey of a 23-year-old Indian American woman and her search for love, success, and something beyond the ordinary. The novel provides a witty and colorful illustration of what its like for an Indian American woman to beat the odds and embrace the unexpected." - India West 2011 London Book Festival Runner-Up, General Fiction 2011 DIY Book Festival Runner-Up, General Fiction

Faith Endures But Covid 19 Again Casts A Shadow On Durga Puja Celebrations The more things change, the more Links to celebrate talent and creativity, show- they remain the same, it is often cased the skills of children from Odisha and said. This seems to hold particu- other states. Read more about the event in our larly true for the festive season as report. it unfolds under the shadow of the It can easily be described as a Revolution on COVID 19 pandemic for the second year in a Wheels, particularly for those who have a pas- row. The Durga Puja will be held under strict protocols laid down by the state government, something that the organisers are bound to follow. Some of them have added their own set of precautions to ensure that the festivities do not lead to a rise in COVID 19 cases. But the spirit continues to remain high, as we find out in this edition’s Cover Story. The festive season is also a time for many to make a style statement as they follow the customs and traditions associated with it. We bring you a special feature on what to look at when it comes to Fashion & Lifestyle, with some useful information to help you find what you are looking for. Odia cuisine is an integral part of experienc- ing the richness and diversity that the state has to offer. The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) is doing its bit in popu- larizing Odia food through a recently-opened restaurant in Bhubaneswar. Freedom Fest 2021, organized by My City sion for speed as well as style. In City Lights, we catch up with two biking enthusiasts who have come together to offer riders the right kind of gear and accessories for safety as well as comfort. Addiction is something that not only affects a person’s health; it can also threaten lives and relationships. Nobody, perhaps, knows it better than someone who has not only been through this cycle of addition but has managed to come out of it. In City Beat, we catch up with Prabhu Dutt Patel, who beat alcoholism and is now engaged in alcohol and drug abuse pre- vention and treatment. In our Health & Fitness section, we speak to a senior cardiologist on some common concerns when it comes to heart attacks and cardiac problems as well their pre- vention and treatment. The section also looks at breast cancer, with a specialist explaining the risk factors, diagnosis and treat- ment.

Welcome to Connor, My Hometown is a novel about a small town in Ohio and, more importantly, its various people, their lives, loves, failures and successes, and their interactions with one another. It employs a device, first seen in Thornton Wilder's Our Town, whereas, in that play, the stage manager would talk to the audience several times throughout the play. In this case, the town's editor of the Connor Gazette speaks to the reader. He himself is one of the strongest characters in the novel, and his love of the town and its people becomes readily apparent. There is romance. Jenna, owner of the Chit Chat Cafe, which is the public gathering place for many of the town's locals, meets Brian, an engineer and contract specialist from Sedwick Electronics, and they fall in love and get married. Both of them are in their mid-thirties. Pastor Barry Yoder and his wife, Sherry, are among the most beloved of the town's inhabitants, and they minister to the people. They come alongside a couple who have separated and help restore the lost love from their marriage. Jim and Bessie Benson are loved by everyone. He owns the town's Marathon gas station, and Bessie makes the best pies in the town, but she finds out she has cancer, and the whole town comes together and prays for her. There is Miss Ruth Hennessey, principal of Marshall Middle School, who is a no-nonsense woman on the outside but has a heart of gold on the inside. There's Jim Morrison, general contractor, and Randy Colthirst, the town's dentist. All three hang out nearly every weekday at the Chit Chat café, and their interactions and banter make for some lively discussions. And that's what makes the Chit Chat Cafe seem more like a home than a restaurant. There are many more memorable characters, including the mayor, police chief, fire chief, other pastors. You will grow to love the town and its people. The editor, who used to be a columnist for a major Chicago newspaper for twenty years, brings it all together. I would love to live in Connor myself!