Potato Chips

by Anshuman Mohan

We students are like potatoes. Only the finest of us will get made into chips!When Aman Malhotra is made to change schools, he knows that his goose is well and truly cooked. From the easygoing, friendly atmosphere of Akshar, he is thrust into the big, bad world of St Xaviers. The reason, according to his a big school prepares you much better for your future, i.e., IIT. Things, Aman realizes, are about to change and not for the better. The progress graph of his life plunges downwards in a sudden freefall-his grades suffer, his classmates snicker at him, his teachers think he is a brat.Struggling to make sense of his new, high-pressure surroundings, Aman casts his net far and wide for friends and finds Shubho, a boy with a crafty drop-shot and a mean backhand. As Aman gets to know Shubho and tries to help him out, he also begins to get his own life back on track. A hero, he finally understands, comes in the most unlikely of guises and isnt necessarily the most popular kid in school. An honest, in-your-face story of school life and adolescence-the highs, the lows, the pranks, the exams, the friendships, the fights-Potato Chips is crisp and smart, fresh and funny.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's amazing what a 14 yr old author can write. The book was brilliant! It's about a school going boy who has to change schools and is thus devastated at the thought of leaving his old friends. The story progresses to tell how he recovers and makes new friends. Well written and very descriptive the book gives everyone an excellent picture of a boy's student life. The story covers many fields of life, from how poor people suffer to how a child's life can change drastically change when his parents argue, or when a sensitive child is forced to change schools.
I would have given the book a higher rating but the ending, I think, was a bit too rushed, but still it's much better than anything I ever expected from an author so young.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as I read it when I was in class 8. Its a good book for the kids to read. And can I go as far to say that being a 13-yr-old, he wrote a better book than half of those "best selling Indian authors" who just write crap love stories? And he got published by Harper Collins. So there's that as well.

[Ishita Sood · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is amazing for the teenagers who are in the middle school ie 6th to 8th class. one should read this book as it is an amazing book about a life of the student . it is a funny, interesting and nutorious book.

[Sundarraj Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the age of the author, a phenomenal book. The author was only 13 years when he finished this book. The events narrated in the book are events that would have occurred as the author was going through those phases.

A nice book involving some adventure, some mystery solving and in general the life of students in the elite Xavier's school in Kolkatta.

[Gautam Dutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notwithstanding Sci-Fi and Fantasy, it is a challenge to write stories featuring a 12 year old kid as a protagonist. The reason is that most adults cannot resonate with a child of that age. It is a rapidly changing world. When the now adults were children, they had different hopes, fears, dreams, and aspersions than a child living today. It would be good to hear such stuff firsthand from a child- except that most 12-13 year olds have limited ability to express themselves. This is where ‘Potato Chips’ by Anshuman Mohan really scores.

This book is almost a decade old, and was published when the author was just 13. It is a tale of four boys studying in the 7th standard of the prestigious St.Xavier’s School, Calcutta. Though it is obvious that he got professional help as far as the proof-reading part is concerned (the book is published by Harper Collins, and hence mostly free of typos and grammatical errors), I am impressed by the amazing maturity he displays. Right from the title (which is a reference to the social pressure associated with getting to be among the crème-de-la-crème) to the way the kids observe and analyse the norms and follies of the adult world- the book manages to amaze you at every page and every sentence. It is hard to find flaws anywhere in the text, and is a benchmark that aspiring authors must aim for. In a rare instance, I am going with a full 5 star for ‘Potato Chips’.

[Rochak · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I picked this book up was that it was written by a thirteen-year old. And I must say, I was impressed with the pace of the story, choice of phrases and the diversity of contexts explored by the author, not just limiting himself to school-oriented topics such as homework and sports.
The various threads were tied admirably nearly three-quarters of the way down, ensuring no loose ends (something most young authors miss out on).
However, the ending seemed a bit hurried, specially when compared to the easy pace assumed over the better part of the book.

I wish the young author good luck on his literary journey.