A young germophobic boy learns how to overcome his fears.
Themes include tolerance and understanding of other cultures; family bonding; phobias; anxiety.
The story is based on rat-worship in the Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan and Mautam – an ecological phenomena that occurs in parts of India.
Narsimhan is an award-winning author. She has written four other middle-grade novels, a young adult trilogy, and two picture books.
The author is heavily involved with I Read Canadian Day in BC – was a team lead in 2021.
Cover blurbs from Eric Walters, Marty Chan, and Joel Sutherland.

Book nerd Krish hates the outdoors, and camping. But especially germs. When Krish and his father, Kabir, take a camping trip to Ladakh, he convinces himself that they will bond, despite their differences.

When they’re lost in a bamboo forest, teeming with black rats, and germs, Krish is at an all-time low. His GF (gut feel) and a couple of rats lead them to a hidden village, Imdur, unmarked on any map.

Krish and his father are allowed to stay, only if they follow rules. But Krish soon realizes the village has an odd custom of worshipping rats. They also have a secret. And so does his dad. Turns out, Krish has a secret too.

When all the secrets explode into the open, Krish and Kabir are in grave danger. Can Krish overcome his fears and phobias to take the chance offered to him? Or are he and his dad doomed to spend the rest of their lives among rats?