ADITI KHORANA READS FROM HER NOVEL MIRROR IN THE SKY

Mirror in the Sky (Razorbill)

For Tara Krishnan, navigating Brierly, the academically rigorous prep school she attends on scholarship, feels overwhelming and impossible. Her junior year begins in the wake of a startling discovery: A message from an alternate Earth, light years away, is intercepted by NASA. This means that on this mirror planet, there is another version of Tara, a Tara who could be living better, burning brighter, because of tiny differences in her choices. As the world lights up with the knowledge of Terra Nova, the mirror planet, Tara's life on Earth begins to change. At first, small shifts happen, like attention from Nick Osterman, the most popular guy at Brierly, and her mother playing hooky from work to watch the news all day. But eventually those small shifts swell, the discovery of Terra Nova like a black hole, bending all the light around it. Nothing on Earth—and for Tara—will ever be the same again.

In addition to its science fiction themes, Mirror in the Sky thoughtfully and acutely addresses issues of race, class, and gender through its Indian-American protagonist. “There’s a reason Tara is brown, poor and a woman in a world where privilege is equated with whiteness, wealth and masculinity,” said Khorana. “This is the modern world we live in, and Brierly is merely a microcosm of it. But Tara’s source of power is her narrative, her ability to see the world and the people she encounters through her own eyes, to tell a story in her own voice.”

The We Need Diverse Books organization listed Mirror in the Sky as one of its 2016 Must-Reads, with member and author Sona Charaipotra writing, “As a child, I longed to see myself in the pages of the books I loved so dearly—not just as a sidekick, but as the hero of the story. In Mirror in the Sky, scholarship kid Tara Krishnan gets to do just that: take charge, make change, and control her destiny—or at least try to.”

Praise for Mirror in the Sky

"From its first word, this book captivated me. Khorana weaves a story with nail-biting tension, mind-bending mystery, and stunning complexity. Rarely have I found myself so attached to such deeply flawed characters or so in love with those I once hated. Chilling, powerful, and real, Mirror in the Sky will have you thinking about all the tiny decisions that have shaped you and thrumming with the question, What if?"--Emily Henry, author of The Love That Split the World 

"In her thought-provoking debut, Aditi Khorana brilliantly blends the speculative with the contemporary. What results is a story full of layers, and rich with characters so engaging and complex I continued to think about them long after I turned the final page."--Stephanie Garber, author of Carava

Aditi Khorana spent part of her childhood in India, Denmark and New England. She has a BA in International Relations from Brown University and an MA in Global Media and Communications from the Annenberg School for Communication. She has worked as a journalist at ABC News, CNN, and PBS, and most recently as a marketing executive consulting for various Hollywood studios including FOX, Paramount and SONY.