Author Padma Venkatraman narrates her own work, displaying the depth of feeling and caring between 11-year-old Viji and her 12-year-old intellectually disabled sister, Rukku. They flee an abusive home only to face new vulnerability in the city of Chennai when their money is stolen and they must live on the streets. Venkatraman describes the developing bonds as the sisters form a new family with two homeless boys while all of them desperately search a garbage dump to find salable scrap. In particular, Venkatraman portrays how Viji’s controlling relationship with her sister turns to tenderness and respect as Rukku’s necklace making supports them. Venkatraman’s Indian accent adds to the tone and setting, but it’s the range and believability of emotions that will draw listeners into Viji’s journey from despair to hope. A great family listen to launch important conversations. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Viji's gorgeous storytelling makes the book sing…The book wrestles with faith and religion…and celebrates the kids' resourcefulness…

★ 12/17/2018

In this exquisitely narrated novel set in Chennai, India, 11-year-old Viji and her sister, Rukku, run away from their abusive father after he breaks their mother’s arm and hits Rukku. On the city streets, the sisters find shelter by a bridge, adopt a stray dog, and meet brothers Mathu and Arul, who quickly become a kind of family to them. Venkatraman (A Time to Dance) vividly sketches the group’s precarious economic situation—the boys teach the sisters how to scale trash mountains for saleable metal and glass, a drunken waste man threatens them—and the care they take with one another as they face the rainy season and illness. Viji also attends to her sister, who discovers new independence on the streets, such as a gift for beadwork that makes them money. The narrative is told in a letter from Viji to Rukku, the writing of which, readers gradually learn, is Viji’s way of handling deep grief. This is a poignant portrait of love, sacrifice, and chosen family in the midst of poverty. Ages 10–up. (Feb.)

* “Venkatraman’s middle-grade debut tackles sisterhood, chosen families, and loss. . . . Viji’s narration is vivid and sensory. . . . The novel also touches on social justice issues such as caste, child labor, and poverty elegantly, without sacrificing narrative. A blisteringly beautiful book.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Exquisitely narrated novel set in Chennai, India. . . . Venkatraman vividly sketches the group’s precarious economic situation. . . . This is a poignant portrait of love, sacrifice, and chosen family in the midst of poverty.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* “The four individual children and their tightknit relationship are portrayed with conviction and finesse. Written in the form of a letter from Viji to her sister, the affecting narrative transports readers to a faraway setting that becomes vivid and real. While the young characters face unusually difficult challenges, together they find the courage they need to move forward. The author of A Time to Dance, Venkatraman offers an absorbing novel of love, loss, and resilience.”—Booklist, starred review

* “In her stellar middle grade debut, Venkatraman brings compassionate attention to the plight of India’s homeless children. . . . Venkatraman’s depiction of the streets of Chennai is a sensory experience. Her elegant prose tells a heartfelt, wholly captivating story while encouraging readers to consider larger issues including religion, poverty, and the caste system. An unforgettable tale of families lost, found, and moving ahead without leaving those they love behind.”—School Library Journal, starred review

* "Hopeful yet heartbreaking. . . . Venkatraman weaves a breathtaking story which takes the reader to the streets of India, where millions of homeless children fight to survive each day. . . . It is a story that must be told, and Venkatraman does a beautiful job describing everyday life and showing that a 'home' and 'family' doesn’t always correspond to a house with a white picket fence. This is a story that must be shared."—School Library connection, starred review

“An author’s note attests to the reality of all of the situations described in the book as having been drawn from first-person accounts; the tenderness of Viji’s love for her sister and her new ‘brothers’ will break hearts and inspire activist longings.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Readers will be captivated by the message of love and the true meaning of home and family. The book demonstrates how people, even if they are not related, can form a family.”—Voice of Youth Advocates

★ 09/01/2019

Gr 5–8—"Write her a letter" counsels a kind woman, as she helps Viji work through heartache after scraping out a living and sleeping in a makeshift hovel on a bridge near an large Indian city. Viji narrates her story speaking directly to Rukku, her gentle, artistic, and developmentally delayed older sister. For their safety, 11-year-old Viji and Rukku flee their abusive home, though it means perilous days scrounging for recyclables in the "Himalayas of rubbish" with two boys, Arul and Muthi, about their own age. The foursome strengthen each other, helped occasionally by generous street vendors and Teashop Aunty, while menaced by trash-picking gangs and the relentless weather. The choice to address the reader as "you" makes a challenging dynamic, as what happens to Rukku thus happens to the audience. The author's lilting and captivating narration employs almost musical tones for younger boy Muthu and others. VERDICT Venkatraman brings love, support, and humor to a story undergirded by tough issues. Curricular connections abound, including science, global studies, and ecology. A smart addition to any middle school library.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley Sch., Fort Worth, TX

★ 02/01/2019

Gr 4–6—In her stellar middle grade debut, Venkatraman (A Time to Dance) brings compassionate attention to the plight of India's homeless children. Fleeing their father's physical abuse, sisters Viji and Rukku end up on the harsh streets of the city of Chennai. Eleven-year-old Viji is younger by one year, but Rukku's unspecified developmental delays put Viji in charge of their survival. Seeking shelter on a crumbling bridge, Viji finds two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, who are willing to share what little they have. The four children become a fiercely devoted family, armed with nothing more than resourcefulness and Viji's faith that their fortunes will improve one day. Despite their determination, hunger and sickness eventually take their toll on the children: Viji's hopefulness falters when one of her steadfast promises to Rukku cannot be kept. The sisters' bond provides both the narrative's heart and its structure. Viji writes the novel as if talking to Rukku, words that comfort her just as the fairy tales Viji told every night on the bridge lifted their spirits. Characters grow along with their newfound autonomy; Rukku demonstrates skills overprotective Viji never recognized. Muthi and Arul begin to believe they have a future. Venkatraman's depiction of the streets of Chennai is a sensory experience. Her elegant prose tells a heartfelt, wholly captivating story while encouraging readers to consider larger issues including religion, poverty, and the caste system. VERDICT An unforgettable tale of families lost, found, and moving ahead without leaving those they love behind.—Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

Author Padma Venkatraman narrates her own work, displaying the depth of feeling and caring between 11-year-old Viji and her 12-year-old intellectually disabled sister, Rukku. They flee an abusive home only to face new vulnerability in the city of Chennai when their money is stolen and they must live on the streets. Venkatraman describes the developing bonds as the sisters form a new family with two homeless boys while all of them desperately search a garbage dump to find salable scrap. In particular, Venkatraman portrays how Viji’s controlling relationship with her sister turns to tenderness and respect as Rukku’s necklace making supports them. Venkatraman’s Indian accent adds to the tone and setting, but it’s the range and believability of emotions that will draw listeners into Viji’s journey from despair to hope. A great family listen to launch important conversations. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine