Summer reading -- and I don't mean Harry Potter

I am enjoying the readaloud edition of "The Conch Bearers" by Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni (read by Alan Cummings). Here is the story of Anand, a 12-year-old boy living in the slums of Calcutta, India. He meets a mysterious and kind man, Abhaydatta, who convinces him to join a journey to return a magic conch to it's rightful place, the Silver Valley, deep in the Himalaya Mountains. Tagging along is a street urchin, Nisha, a girl our hero's age. The three journey far, always followed by the evil Surabhanu, a former member of the Abhaydatta's Brotherhood of Healers. This quest is full of the exotic sights, sounds and flavors of India. If you like Harry Potter or the "Series of Unfortunate Events," you may find this book just as much fun. This is the beginning of a series, too, so you'll have more of the adventures of Anand and Nisha.