‘Zabrina woke up, only to see her brothers, Phillip and Zach staring at her silly.” So begins The Secret of the Goldbug Castle, a work of fiction spanning a few vacation days — in part an imaginary story of a castle, part dream and part ghost story, this spellbinding fictional account is at its core a tale of how children remain curious and inquisitive throughout.

If one goes by the book’s glitzy title, it seems to assure a reading experience with lots of spooky thrills and spills. And therefore one should be prepared before venturing in as this is the most exhilarating and adventurous study where the devils and monsters do repeatedly appear out of nowhere and are always shrouded in mysterious raiment.

The fictional narrative is essentially for kids, of kids and by a kid. The author, a ten-year-old girl has put together her imaginations in pursuit of storytelling. It’s the rare book that has portrayed five twelve-year-old kids as central protagonists known to each other for five years and an even rarer book that surprises readers on every single page, as author Tannistha Nandi quite emphatically does.

The harrowing and gripping tale effortlessly weaves multiple narrative threads as a fascinating cast of characters interacts with ghosts and spirits. In an age when the line between childhood and adulthood is blurrier than ever, reading this book helps one to go back to childhood days to connect with the sentiment to savour the imaginary space.

The Summeres triplet, Zabrina, Phillip and Zach visited the house of their friends Lisa and Max, the twins, during summer vacation that led to exploring Goldbug Castle. As children went inside the castle, three mighty captors appeared and locked the kids in a room. The captors, who were later found to be thieves, incidentally featured in the wanted list and were also sought by police for arrest. Afterward, as children struggled to escape, they discovered a wooden box full of gold and diamond, which the thieves were actually planning to plunder. Zabrina, in the author’s imagination, somehow managed to get out of the castle to inform police who ultimately arrested the thieves and recovered the jewelleries.

Later, the twins visited the triplets’ house and happened to revisit Goldbug Castle, but, in a new look while traversing a garden in close proximity. During their voyage, the children have been attacked time and again by the devils but they struggled and survived each time trouncing the assailants as per the comforting routine of our everyday world.

The young author’s imagination knows no bounds. Framing the story is an encounter between an upset King Simon whose last wish was not fulfilled and the scared children who were desperate to escape from the castle. King told the children he needed their help in retrieving the royal crown, which was kept in the tree house of fears” across the city. The King was sad as he was imprisoned during his son’s coronation, who never made it to the throne and had been poisoned and killed. He asked the children to travel all the way to the city and warned them of many enemies, ghosts and monsters on the way.

Accordingly, the children filled with trauma, fear and hopes of survival embarked on a quest to get back the royal crown as per the magical map provided by Simon. True to King Simon’s words, the children overcame several life-threatening situations before recovering the royal crown, which was finally handed over to the King. It made the King extremely happy and he rewarded the children with one month’s extended summer break. The kids cried with joy as they enjoyed the prize. Soon after, the gigantic castle went inside the ground, leaving no proof of existence as children bade goodbye to it and King Simon.

The fantasy and chronological elements blended well together, creating “The Summeres Diaries” that really stood out.

Although lucidly written, the book is dense with engaging elements, which could prove frustrating for those who fail to view the uncanny situations through the children’s prism. After all, it is kids who won’t shy away from taking adventurous and exploratory journeys if they help in quenching their inquisitive mind.

Readers would indeed be amazed at Tannistha Nandi’s maiden 21-chapter book integrating elements of a ghostly dream. Thus a grade-schooler’s foray into fictional terrain is but phenomenal. It’s one of those books ostensibly written for teens but will be equally adored by readers of every generation.

The reviewer is chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group