Fifteen-year-old Ashwin has recently moved to a new city to live with his aunt and uncle. His parents—researchers away on an expedition to Antarctica—have left him no choice but to join a new school, and embark on the dreariest task of all: making new friends. However, his bumbling attempts to fit in end in catastrophe, earning him ridicule and social isolation. That is, until he meets Avnoor, a poised and magnetic classmate who seems utterly out of reach. Hopelessly smitten, Ashwin becomes determined to win her affection, no matter the cost. In this brand new coming-of-age novel, Almost Sixteen , Arsh Verma leads us on a bittersweet and irreverent journey through first love, fragile friendships, and the messy, often hilarious trials and tribulations of adolescence.