The Conch Bearer

by Roshani Chokshi

Like Anand, Aru discovers she's been chosen for an impossible quest that pulls her from ordinary life into a richly imagined mythological world—but Chokshi weaves Hindu cosmology into a contemporary setting with the same lyrical precision Divakaruni brings to her prose. The pacing has that same propulsive energy where you're learning the rules of magic at the same speed as the protagonist, making every revelation feel earned rather than explained.

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This one's my surprise pick for you—it's not a fantasy adventure, but it has that same intoxicating quality where a young protagonist becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about a mysterious object (here, a book rather than a conch), and the city itself becomes as magical and layered as any enchanted realm. Zafón's Barcelona is rendered with the same sensory richness Divakaruni brings to Calcutta, and the mystery unfolds with a page-turning momentum that belies its literary ambitions.

by Robin McKinley

McKinley crafts a fantasy where a young outsider must master magical abilities and navigate between two worlds—much like Anand learning to wield the conch's power while caught between his village life and his destiny. What makes this special is how McKinley treats the magic system as something that must be *earned* through discipline and understanding, not simply granted, which gives the adventure real stakes and emotional weight.

by George MacDonald

This is a quieter adventure than The Conch Bearer, but it shares something essential: both books are about a young person thrust into an unfamiliar world of power and protocol, learning to navigate it through intelligence and kindness rather than combat. Addison's prose has that same literary polish as Divakaruni's, and the worldbuilding unfolds through the protagonist's discovery rather than exposition—you're genuinely uncertain what's possible in this world, just as Anand is.