Rajani LaRocca Books In Order

Publication Order of Midsummer's Mayhem Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of My Little Golden Book About... Books

Rajani LaRocca
Author Rajani LaRocca was born in Bangalore, India and immigrated to America when she was a baby, spending the majority of her childhood in Louisville, Kentucky.

She attended Harvard Medical School and Harvard College, training in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has worked as a primary care physician since the year 2001.

Rajani has always been an omnivorous reader, and now is an omnivorous writer of nonfiction and fiction, picture books, and novels, poetry and prose. The books she read during her childhood helped shape who she is to this day in ways that she is still discovering. Books have inspired her to pursue medicine as a career, they made her yearn to live in other worlds, and helped her consider what it must be like to walk in somebody else’s shoes.

Some of the books that are dearest to her, that changed her the most, were the ones she read when she was a kid. So she wanted to write those same kinds of fun stories, filled with heart and humor, for kids today.

Some of her books reflect her experiences as a book nerd, immigrant, and food, while some explain medical topics to kids. Some are just ideas that pop into her mind and won’t leave her alone.

Rajani’s debut novel, called “Midsummer’s Mayhem”, was released in the year 2019.

“Midsummer’s Mayhem” is the first novel in the “Midsummer’s Mayhem” series and was released in the year 2019. Can Mimi undo all the mayhem that was caused by her baking in this contemporary retelling of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Mimi Mackson, age eleven, comes from a huge Indian American family: Mom is a successful businesswoman, Dad is a renowned food writer, and her three older siblings each have their respective accomplishments. It is easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, however her dream of proving that she isn’t the least-talented family member seems possible once she learns of a contest being held at the new bakery in town. Also, it will start her on the path of becoming a celebrity chef just like Puffy Fay, which is her culinary idol.

However when Mimi’s father comes back from a business trip, he has mysteriously lost his highly honed sense of taste. Mimi, without her dad’s help, is never going to be able to bake something impressive enough to propel her to gastronomic fame.

Drawn into the woods behind her home by an oddly familiar song, she meets Vik, a boy that brings her to areas of the forest that she has never seen. Who knew there were wild boars and banyan trees in Massachusetts? Together they find some exotic ingredients and bake them into enchanting and delectable treats.

However while her father acts even stranger every single day, and her siblings’ romantic entanglements cause all kinds of trouble in town, Mimi starts wondering whether the ingredients she and Vik discovered are the cause of everything somehow. She needs to utilize her skills, epicurean and deductive, to piece together what has happened. In the process, she learns that in life, just like in baking, not everything is actually sweet.

“Much Ado About Baseball” is the second novel in the “Midsummer’s Mayhem” series and was released in the year 2021. Baseball and math combine with savory snacks to cause calamity and confusion in the town of Comity.

Trish, age twelve, can thrown a mean fastball and solve tough math problems. However because of her mother’s new job, she now faces a summer of trying to make new friends all over again in a new town. That is no easy task, and her mother is much too busy to notice just how miserable Trish is.

However at her very first baseball practice, she realizes that one of her teammates is Ben, the sixth grade math prodigy that she beat in the spring Math Puzzler Championships. Everybody around them seems to think that with their love of baseball and their math talents, it is just logical that they would become friends, however Ben makes it clear that he cannot stand Trish and still has not gotten over that loss to her.

Making things worse, their team is unable to win any of their games. However they meet Rob, who is an older kid that smacks home runs without even breaking a sweat. He tells them about his family’s store, which sells these odd snacks that are sure to make them better players. Trish is dubious, but is still willing to try just about anything that’d help out the team.

When this mysterious booklet filled with math puzzles that claims to reveal the “ultimate answer” shows up in her mailbox, Ben and Trish begin getting closer and solve the puzzles together. Ben begins racking up hits, and their team becomes unbeatable. Trish is happy to continue riding this wave of good luck. Until they arrive at a puzzle that they cannot solve, with some tragic repercussions. Can they possibly figure out the answer to this ultimate puzzle, or are they going to strike out right when it counts the most?

“Red, White, and Whole” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2021. An own voices novel in verse about one Indian girl whose life gets turned upside down when her mom gets diagnosed with leukemia.

Reha feels like she is torn between two worlds: home, with her family’s holidays and traditions, and school, where she is the only Indian American student. However her parents do not understand why she is conflicted, they just notice when she doesn’t meet their strict expectations. She feels disconnected from her mom, or Amma, even though their names are linked, as Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”, however they’re a universe apart.

Then Reha learns that her Amma is sick. Incredibly sick. Reha, who dreams about becoming a doctor someday despite being unable to stomach the site of blood, is determined to make her Amma well once more. She will be the perfect daughter, even if this means saving her Amma’s life.