• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 12

The wannabe-cool, Tamil-nerd vibes of Never Have I Ever meet the hidden life of Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim in this funny, poignant coming-of-age middle grade debut from Maria Marianayagam. A Sri Lankan boy’s life spirals out of control when he wins a prize in a stolen candy bar, pushing him to navigate his identity amid his ever-watchful family.

Ajay Anthonipillai has a million-dollar problem.

Ajay has lived his life dutifully following the rules set by his Tamil parents.

Rule #3: Straight As only

Rule #5: There is no such thing as a no-homework day.

Rule #10: Never watch scary movies.

However, moving to a new school gives Ajay a new rule to follow: Get on seventh-grade all-star Jacob Underson’s good side.

When Jacob asks him to steal a Mercury bar from Scary Al’s convenience store, Ajay feels this is his chance to finally “get cool” and stop eating alone. But Jacob rejects the stolen chocolate bar, leaving Ajay to unwrap it and discover that it contains Mercury’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Grand Prize…one million dollars.

Faced with an extreme dilemma, Ajay will have to bear the weight of his actions and battle his morality in deciding whether to claim the prize that may change the life of his family forever.

Maria Marianayagam is a Tamil Sri Lankan Canadian children’s book author, engineer, and wannabe-cool nerd. She was born in India and grew up across Canada. Maria fell in love with children’s books (again!) after becoming an amma and now enjoys writing stories that draw on her identities and their intersections. When Maria is not writing, she can be found traveling the world, devouring books, and spending time with her wonderful family. She resides in Alberta, Canada, with her husband and two daughters. Find out more at marianayagam.com and follow her on Instagram @msmarianayagam.

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"Ajay Anthonipillai has just won $1 million—and he’s in huge trouble... The novel’s plot twists will especially entrance and surprise younger audiences and those able to suspend disbelief and go with the flow of this completely age-appropriate and appealing story. Utter fun."—Kirkus (starred review)
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A wonderful ­middle school story about family, friendship, and determining the right path." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"Marianayagam meditates on powerful messages surrounding family, identity, and finding friends in unlikely places."—Publishers Weekly
— Publishers Weekly

"A warm and thought-provoking tale that explores thorny ethical issues and the pressures of belonging to a strict immigrant family belonging to a strict immigrant family, otherwise... The author rolls generous quantities of Sri Lankan food and customs into a story that is... centered on the virtues of honesty, and adds an array of spicy side dishes ranging from sweet budding romance and a dollop of redemption for the bully." — Booklist (starred review)