the author of Kiki Kallira breaks a kingdom He talks about having obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child, the feelings of shame that went along with it, and those who would try to hide stories about mental health from kids.
Sangu Mandanna’s Middle Grade Novel Kiki Kallira breaks a kingdom is about an 11-year-old Indian girl with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who creates a world in her sketchbook that turns out to be real. Mandanna, outlined in SLJcharacteristic of “Isn’t that okay? That’s okay,” talks here about her childhood OCD, the feelings of shame that accompanied it, and the importance of writing about mental health to empower readers.
What led you to write about a character with a mental illness? Why does this topic matter?
I was around Kiki’s age when my own OCD really kicked in, and what I remember most is how guilty and ashamed I felt. I didn’t know what it was or why my brain was doing these things, so I was so sure for a long time that something was wrong with me. And when I started writing about Kiki, I knew that was the story I wanted to tell. I wanted to tell the story of a girl who starts out feeling ashamed and thinks that she is weak and cowardly, only to discover that she is just as brave, strong and loved as anyone else. Young readers deserve to see all kinds of differences normalized in fiction, including mental illness.
What is the most challenging part of writing about this for middle grade readers?
To be honest, I think surveillance is the most challenging part! There are a number of publishing professionals, librarians, book buyers, and parents who believe that topics like mental illness are too important or too obscure for young readers, making it difficult for these stories to reach those readers. Most of the time, this kind of surveillance comes from good intentions, from a place of wanting to protect children, but I think children need these stories. They need to see their own feelings reflected and normalized, no matter how big or dark they are. he I did!
What do you hope readers take away from your book?
More than anything, I hope that any reader struggling with the same feelings Kiki struggles with comes out feeling stronger, feeling happier in their own skin, and feeling empowered to ask for help if they haven’t already.
Any recommendations for books with good representation of mental health?
the shape of thunder by Jasmine Warga is fantastic. I also recently read and enjoyed the gold fish boy by Lisa Thompson, and some kind of happiness by Claire Legrand.
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