FEBRUARY 1, 2025. ROBIN AGE.

In this book, six desperate words are thrown into a daring adventure where every word comes with a price. 15-year-olds Asha and Zeb challenge the oppressive Word Bloc and its ruthless leader Gunther Glib by defying the rules and painting graffiti. Their rebellion sparks a crucial battle for freedom of expression… As they navigate this dangerous quest, they unravel the true cost of reclaiming their voices in a world where speaking out can mean risking everything.

DECEMBER 1, 2024. READER’S DIGEST.

One morning five years ago, I woke up, grabbed the first sheet of paper I could find, and jotted down whatever I could recall of a half-remembered dream. It was a warehouse of living words I’d dreamt of, the only one of its kind, in a world where you had to buy your words to use them…. Woebegone’s Warehouse of Words—I knew what my book was called long before I knew why the eponymous hero Woebegone was lost, or what he needed to find.

NOVEMBER 1, 2024. THE TELEGRAPH.

In Woebegone's Warehouse of Words, Payal Kapadia builds a dystopian, allegorical world that will make you uncomfortable from the get-go. Facets like closely-monitored citizens, the Supreme Leader with grand promises, a section of society providing coerced labour and living in squalid conditions, widespread censorship and inflation will end up making the reader wonder if it is an alternative fantasy at all. That is what makes the book so powerfully political.

AUGUST 16, 2024. YOUTH KI AWAAZ.

Woebegone’s Warehouse of Words by Payal Kapadia is an exhilarating and thought-provoking novel that offers a chilling glimpse into a dystopian world where the very act of speaking has been commodified. With one of the most outstandingly unique premises I have encountered in recent memory, this world is visceral, disquieting, and surreal, yet there’s a tentative thread of revolution and hope bubbling just beneath the surface that makes the narrative both engaging and inspiring.

AUGUST 4, 2024. SUNDAY MID-DAY.

In her latest book, Woebegone’s Warehouse of Words, this Nepean Sea Road resident creates a world where you have to buy words to use them. These words are living beings made of flesh and ink. “As I wrote this book, I began to see the parallels with the world we live in. Tyrants have become more sophisticated. If I have to silence you, I don’t have to cut off your tongue, I just have to take away your words. You can rule very effectively by controlling what stories people hear. If a lie is told repeatedly, it starts sounding like the truth.”

MAY 1, 2020. BOOKS AMEYA.

Twice Upon A Time deserves a score of 4.5 stars out of a possible 5. Its simple and straightforward storyline, well-etched characters, witty moments and subtle lessons make the novel an enjoyable read, particularly for teenagers. The vivid descriptions and fluid language add life to the plot and invite young readers to visualize the scenes. Kapadia uses interesting idioms and witty quotes to round off the splendid experience. The awe-inspiring illustrations by Sandhya Prabhat add an element of appeal to the plot.