The Conch Bearer, and The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming

I've enjoyed all of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's books, and these two even got me to read fantasy! Some of her other books could be classified as fantasy too, but they're more like magic realism. The Conch Bearer was one of the nominees for the 2006 Young Readers Choice Award, so I read it a couple of times while promoting those books. It's about a young boy, Anand, whose father went away to make money and never returned. Anand's sister had a terrifying experience from which she has never recovered. Anand's family has become very poor, so he goes to work for a mean tea-seller. One day an old man comes by. Anand is drawn to him, and it turns out the man is a wizard and wants Anand to join him on a quest. Anand befriends a feisty homeless girl named Nisha, and they go off and have exciting adventures, which include restoring a magical conch shell to its rightful home. The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming is the sequel, in which Anand, Nisha, and the old wizard are thrown back in time and have to save the world from an evil wizard. I enjoyed it even more than The Conch Bearer. It looks like this series will continue, so I'm looking forward to the next installment!