Hit for a Six

by Payal Dhar

Laila, a spunky thirteen-year-old whose life revolves around cricket, is badly shaken when the cricketer she idolises admits to match-fixing. Can her hero’s betrayal and her love for the game coexist? Things get complicated further when she discovers that her school is going to be home to the town’s first ever girls’ cricket club.
Meanwhile, working on a school project about their town’s historical spots, Laila and her friends find themselves asking questions that seem unrelated at first but point to a mystery just begging to be solved. What is going on in Old Mister Marshall’s house? Who are the anonymous benefactors who have sponsored the renovation of Laila’s school? What why?
An exciting read about precarious friendships, cricket and a niggling mystery, Hit for a Six is sure to be a big hit.

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 2017

About the author

Payal Dhar has been writing stories since they were seven years old. Unfortunately, no one will ever know what was in them because their dog ate everything. They write on a computer these days, and hopes they’ll never cross paths with a Pting.

In their day job, which they do at night because they hate mornings, they are a freelance journalist on science, technology and society. They also write books for middle-grade and young-adult readers.

If you’d like to get in touch, especially to recommend good books, you can do so at their website, payaldhar.com.

Reviews

[Vishnu Chevli · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are going on a short or medium trip, "Hit for a Six" by Payal Dhar would be a good companion for you. I selected this book based on cover & blurb.

As blurb suggested Laila, our protagonist used to come for lone time in an old mansion of her city Chandanisarai. She used to be a big fan of Indian cricket team captain. When she entered in 8th Standard things changed drastically. Her favorite spot - mansion suddenly got new occupants, who didn't allow outsiders to enter the house. Her school suddenly got renovated, her best friend Shalini drifted away from Laila. New students & cricket coach were also big addons. On top of that Laila got history project for which she selected Mansion purposefully to solve the mystery.

A very light story, that made me go to the last page without knowing it was coming. Though no big ups & downs or climax I there in the story, writing style made sure no boring moment awaiting readers. I liked cricket match part, which made me feel like listening to radio commentary.

Detailed Review Link - http://chevusread.blogspot.in/2018/01...

[Surabhi Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit for a Six is a story of a thirteen-year-old girl Laila. Her love for cricket, school, friendship and her rendezvous is what the story is all about. The story has a little mystery of an old Mr. Mashall’s house dated back to the nineteenth century. The house has a historical importance and holding many secrets and rumored as a haunted house. The house has been abandoned for many years and Laila’s secret hideout till new occupants of the house shifted in it.

If someone has just started reading books or you want to introduce your teenage kid or younger brother/sisters to books, this could be a good starter. The plot is good and the storytelling could have been better. It is a short book and won’t take much time to finish. I completed it in one go in around three hours. The mature or middle age readers or someone who is into books from ages would not find the pleasure of reading. The book is for teenage or young and school going readers.

https://thereviewauthor.com/

[Harini Gopalswami Srinivasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after the sequel, "It Has No Name", a YA book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a bit of a shock to find the seventeen year old Laila, Jasmine, Murad and co of that book were suddenly kids of thirteen. I had to make a mental adjustment, but then I got into the spirit of it and found I loved this book just as much. It's a school story with a little mystery and some history thrown in. Great characters, empowerment, inclusiveness, and good cricket. Move over, Enid Blyton!

[Amy's Book Cafe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Mysterious neighbours, a disgraced cricketer, a school project and cricket - we find all these in this wonderful book by Payal Dhar that took me down the memory lane. It took me back to my school days, not only because it features a school but also because I used to read these kinds of stories when I was in primary school. So this one brought a lot of memories back for me and I had a fun time with it. Do you ever read books like these which are written for really young people but you enjoy them too?
Also, the book features a couple of pages on sanitary pads which is something that I haven't ever seen before in books for children. And I am glad that it was there.
I am a huge sports fan in general and cricket fan in particular and I don't find a lot of books that talk about cricket. So that was fun. I also liked the part about you idolize someone your entire life and then learning that they did something illegal. Though if you are looking for something deeper on that then this is not the book for you.
But do pick it up if you want to revisit your childhood, love cricket or want to read about friendships.

[Vidhya Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story revolves around Laila and her love for cricket. It's about her idol who gets blamed for match-fixing after which she stops playing cricket. Things turn around when her school starts where she discovers that her school is going to be home to the town’s first-ever girls’ cricket club. Will she join? will she play cricket again?
Also, the story revolves around Pranati, Shalini, Jasmine, and Sameer. Her school project about their town's historical spots gets them to Old Mister Marshall’s house. The house has much more mystery than ever. Just find it ou!!!

I loved the plot. It's amazingly full of suspense and surprises. First of all, The author has used simple and interesting language with which one can easily connect with. It's a story of schoolgirls working on their project of Old Mister Marshall’s house where they discover the mystery. It's a short book which won't take much time and you'll finish it in a go. I loved how the author narrated each and everything. Be it Mansion or cricket. One can easily visualize each and every single thing. I loved the Narration of the Mansion. How a small conversation and clearing out doubts can easily change a person and their relations. This is what I learned. How Laila and Jasmine talked about their secrets and their equation changed and they became friends. The trio of Pranati, Shalini and Laila was also Interesting. The Ragging scene, cricket match, mystery and much more interesting elements were added by the author. The pace of the story is good, so is the tempo. The author also managed to create strong characters. The writing style of the author was impressive and interesting.
Overall it's a small, witty read full of Mysteries.

The book is for teenage or young and school going readers.

[Sneha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the plot. It's a fun quick read.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Dr Hanif Hassan Barbhuiya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am at a loss of words as to why I picked up this book. I guess I wondered it would be a pleasant read like one of Ruskin Bond's. But I was horribly wrong.

[Rajkst · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great mystery for kids