A snowy Wisconsin weekend provides the backdrop for Indian American Nina Soni to make new friends, enjoy quality time outdoors, and covertly surveil the Mystery Person whom she sees entering the home of a neighbor who is out of town. Old friends of Nina’s parents and their two children, newcomers to winter weather after a recent move from Florida, are spending the weekend with Nina’s family. Nina and her little sister Kavita introduce visitors Priya and Nayan to the seasonal joys of snowman construction, sledding, and a spirited snowball fight. Priya proves to be an eager operative in Nina’s spying efforts, even as their dramatic theory behind the Mystery Person evaporates when the mundane explanation is revealed. Making lists helps Nina stay organized and focused, a strategy that appears throughout this appealing wintertime story that explores new friendship in Nina’s relationship with Priya and reassurance that her existing friendship with her best friend, Jay, is solid, even when he spends time doing things with others. (Ages 7-10)

Lovable, distractable Nina Soni and her friends and family return in another entertaining tale of big plans gone awry and amusing solutions with unexpected consequences.


A long weekend and lots of snow sounds like a recipe for super-special fun to Nina. Best friend Jay is going skiing with his cousins, which is a little disappointing, but some family friends are going to visit and they've got two kids right about the ages of Nina and little sister Kavita. When Nina notices a strange car stopping at the house of neighbors she knows are out of town, she decides that it's time to be a Snow Spy--complete with a Snow Spy Snow Fort, to be built by Nina, Kavita, and new friends Priya and Nayan. Maybe together they can keep an eye on the neighborhood and figure out what MP (Mystery Person) is up to.