Don't be afraid to ask for help with the most critical first step of your writing journey - the query.
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My thoughts are in blue, words to delete are in red, suggested rephrasing is in orange.
When the mysterious dreams did not stop, This isn't a bad hook, but by using the in front of dreams your referencing them as if the reader is already aware of what they are about, which the reader is not. I'd open instead with what the dreams are, and present tense would help with immediacy Anokhi felt compelled to start writing them down. The subject is always the same: an enigmatic woman named Shaila who dances, but never speaks. Shaila’s dancing depicts intricate myths and human emotions. What myths? What emotions? If it's love stories and happiness, that's one thing. If it's Cronus eating his children and rage, that's a totally different thing. A feel for the tone - or if it's a range - woudl be good. Twenty-two notebooks later, Anokhi is no closer to knowing who Shaila is or why she appears in her dreams. But she is not one to give up.
Anokhi was adopted by her loving single mother as a baby from India. Her childhood in rural Idaho is marked by quiet unrest due to her visions of Shaila and a lack of clarity about what she wants to do with her life. Her internal turmoil eventually prompts her to drop out of high school. At eighteen, Anokhi travels to India in search of her biological parents. Her best friend Kale loves her but cannot find the courage to tell her, so she journeys alone.This is all backstory, as is (I think) the opening paragraph, due to the tense. It seems like you're starting the query in the wrong place.
Though initially overwhelmed, Anokhi soon loves India. Through an unexpected new friendship What does this mean?, Anokhi is immersed into the mystical world of Indian mythology and dance, all of which reminds her of Shaila. Anokhi realizes her search for her parents may have a bonus outcome: finally solving the mystery of Shaila that has haunted her for the past twelve years. That's nice, but there's not a lot of plot here. What does Anokhi want? What stands in her way of getting it, and how will she overcome those obstacles? Is the story about her as an 18 y/o and this journey? If so, the entire childhood paragraph needs to go, and the dreams, her adopted past, etc., all needs to be covered in a line or two. What is the actual plot of the present day narrative? Focus on that, everything else is backstory and taking up way too much room in the query.
Shaila’s Dance (50,000 words) Your word count is a little low, but I don't think it will be a problem. is a coming-of-age novel that will appeal to fans of A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley (later adapted into the major motion picture “Lion”) and The Direction of the Wind by Mansi Shah, as it explores the themes of uncovering one’s past and reconciling cross-cultural identities in the process of self-discovery.
I am a second-generation Indian American woman who grew up in the United States except for two years of grade school in India. I am a practicing general surgeon who has always loved to write. This is my first novel.
Great comp titles and bio. I wouldn't mention it's your first novel, as that's an assumed.