'Yes, We Can!' by Nadishka Aloysius: Empowering Short Stories By a Sri Lankan Author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the author for this free copy.

Title: Yes, We Can!
Author: Nadishka Aloysius
Publisher: self-published
Pub. date: 15 September 2021
Series: anthology
Page count: 191
Source: author
Genre: middle-grade, short stories

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Celebrate the strength and resilience of women!
Written for upper middle grade readers this collection of short stories covers a variety of genres – fantasy, magical realism, contemporary, and science fiction – and a variety of writing styles. The tales are all based in in the Asian island nation of Sri Lanka and feature a common thread of female empowerment. Be it a young girl overcoming bullies and finding confidence in who she is, a group of friends applying feminist ideals to their own lives, sisters coming to terms with their relationship, or strangers dealing with love and loss, each gem will touch the hearts and minds of readers young and old alike.
This is an ideal resource for schools and libraries which focus on multicultural reading and diverse books.
The book is divided into two parts
PART 1
* Black as Ebony: White as Snow
* Weird Sisters
* The Mystery of the Missing Moonstone
* The Creature Under My Bed
* The Interview
* Saving Roo
* A Dog’s Life
PART 2
* Mohini
* Sonya’s Secret
* Duologue
* Dance Until Dawn
* I Hope You’re Listening
* Endgame
This is perfect for fans of the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.
So, enjoy some good stories, and find your inner strength and inspiration today!

Content warnings: bullying, hospitalisation, running away from home, teenage pregnancy, underage drug abuse

I was thrilled to be asked to review a book written by a Sri Lankan author! I have always found it hard to connect with reading Lankan literature since I was younger, so I hardly read many Sri Lankan author. I loved that Nadishka Aloysius was focusing her book on empowering young women and that she was choosing to write #ownvoices with Lankan culture and characters.

First of all, I loved how the anthology was divided into two parts with part one aimed at middle-grade readers whereas part two was ideal for upper middle-grade or young adult audiences. This reminds me of short story collections I had in my school English syllabus, so I felt like this format really makes this anthology ideal for a school setting.

The Lankan rep in the short stories was obvious in the characters and the locations the author has used. I found it so exciting to recognise the locations she mentioned! Is this what it feels like when people actually know the places that a book mentions? Wow! However, I would have liked reading about more exciting aspects of Lankan culture like our food and festivals weaved in with the story because young readers would have found that just as inspiring to read about and relate to.

The author’s writing was also a simple and lively voice that young readers would easily gravitate towards. I did not really notice a difference between the writing in part one and part two. However, part two contains stories dealing with themes appropriate for a slightly older age group than part one.

I enjoyed the diverse range of themes that the author addressed in this collection. There were stories that addressed colorism, teenage pregnancy, and family among many others. I also thought it was great that not all the stories were heavy but had lighthearted pieces scattered among them, so that it would not feel preachy to kids who read this.

However, I did get confused regarding the choice of stories for a collection that is aimed at empowering young readers. For instance, the story about the school kids who get duped into an illegal drug scheme did not sit right with me. I found it hard to justify this story as empowering unless the aim was to raise awareness of scams like these, but how does that make an empowering story?

Yes, We Can! is a fun, educational set of short stories by Sri Lankan author Nadishka Aloysius that would appeal to young readers for its lighthearted moments of friendship and family as well as its heartfelt lessons on colorism, bullying and more. Though I love the Sri Lankan representation in these stories and the author’s attempt at creating a collection that is empowering to her young readers, I wonder if maybe there should be a content warning issued when upper middle-grade books like this one addresses heavy issues such as drug abuse and teenage pregnancy.

Here’s more Yes, We Can! content you should check out: Gayani’s review and @reading_peony’s review

Nadishka Aloysius was shortlisted for the Best Children’s Book at the State Literary Awards 2019. She was a finalist at the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2019. She was also Longlisted for the Gratiaen Award 2019.

She is a teacher, actor, author, and book reviewer. As a teacher of Drama and English Language with 20 years’ experience, and a mother of two sons who love story time, she finds inspiration in the little everyday details of life. Although her books are based in her home country of Sri Lanka they are generic enough for an international audience. Her greatest wish is to Educate & Entertain and introduce Sri Lankan culture and wildlife to the world.

Nadishka loves reading crime fiction and fantasy and this is reflected in her writing for Middle Grade, YA, and adult audiences. She conducts creative writing workshops and school visits to share her love of literature. As an actor she prefers to play the antagonist since it allows her to explore the darker sides of human nature.