areidj's review against another edition
4.0
Perkins has written another great YA fiction novel that crosses the ocean and invites the reader in with warmth, humor, and adventure. There is no other writer today who so graciously weaves faith into YA novels; I’m a huge fan!
anjreading's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. Katina is a teen living in L.A. who uses her jujitsu skills to fight off a boy who assaults her at school. Because she successfully defends herself and injures him, the case turns into a “he said, she said” and the boy isn’t punished at all. Kat is badly shaken by the assault and its aftermath, and her mother sends her off to a family friend in Boston to finish out the school year remotely. Kat gets drawn into a church youth group and ends up making two really good friends, and the three of them go to Kolkata, India for the summer to volunteer with a group that helps survivors of human trafficking. The story alternates between Kat and her youth group friend Robin/Ravi, a boy who was adopted from a Kolkata orphanage and is searching for his birth mother on their trip. I loved that this book was about friendship and self-discovery, not a manufactured romance or happily-ever-after in either teen’s life journey.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
5.0
I have been interested in this book ever since it released, and I'm so glad that I finally made time for it. It's incredibly powerful, and even though I would rate it four stars based on my overall enjoyment, I am giving it five stars because of how incredibly unique it is. I've never read anything like this, in so many different ways.
This book involves heavy topics, which is part of why I hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. The main female character is dealing with the aftermath of an assault, the main male character is dealing with emotional struggles related to his adoption, and the church service trip that they go on involves ministry to human trafficking survivors in India. The book is definitely heavy at times, but there is no graphic content related to abuse, and the author deals with all of these topics in an incredibly sensitive, realistic, and redemptive way.
I really appreciate this book's realistic, positive representation of people of faith, which is very rare in YA, and the story is incredibly powerful. I especially appreciated the plot line related to Ravi's adoption. This book honors his deep attachment to and love for his cross-cultural, cross-racial adoptive parents and his profound sense of loss and mystery related to his birth mother and first three years of life. Many stories about adoptees oversimplify people's experiences, making one of these realities cancel the other out, but this novel represents adoptee experiences in their true complexity. I've never read anything like this in a novel before, just in memoirs, and this is my favorite aspect of the book.
The novel has some pacing problems at times, in my opinion, and there are a couple of subplots that warrant less page time than they get, but I am very impressed with this book overall, and I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy books with international settings, are interested in social justice topics, or relate to the characters' life issues. This is also a wonderful book for readers who are looking for faith-driven novels. The characters' Christian beliefs and questions about faith are beautifully interwoven throughout the narrative without any of it being preachy, and while the faith content should not be a turn-off for secular readers, it will be very meaningful to people who share the author's belief background.
I would recommend this to both teens and adults. The only content concerns involve some occasional mild language, flashbacks to an assault, and the ongoing thematic issues related to human trafficking. The heavy topics could make this book inappropriate for some middle school kids, so I would primarily recommend this to people who are in high school or older, but this is very light on content and would be appropriate for some mature middle schoolers.
This book involves heavy topics, which is part of why I hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. The main female character is dealing with the aftermath of an assault, the main male character is dealing with emotional struggles related to his adoption, and the church service trip that they go on involves ministry to human trafficking survivors in India. The book is definitely heavy at times, but there is no graphic content related to abuse, and the author deals with all of these topics in an incredibly sensitive, realistic, and redemptive way.
I really appreciate this book's realistic, positive representation of people of faith, which is very rare in YA, and the story is incredibly powerful. I especially appreciated the plot line related to Ravi's adoption. This book honors his deep attachment to and love for his cross-cultural, cross-racial adoptive parents and his profound sense of loss and mystery related to his birth mother and first three years of life. Many stories about adoptees oversimplify people's experiences, making one of these realities cancel the other out, but this novel represents adoptee experiences in their true complexity. I've never read anything like this in a novel before, just in memoirs, and this is my favorite aspect of the book.
The novel has some pacing problems at times, in my opinion, and there are a couple of subplots that warrant less page time than they get, but I am very impressed with this book overall, and I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy books with international settings, are interested in social justice topics, or relate to the characters' life issues. This is also a wonderful book for readers who are looking for faith-driven novels. The characters' Christian beliefs and questions about faith are beautifully interwoven throughout the narrative without any of it being preachy, and while the faith content should not be a turn-off for secular readers, it will be very meaningful to people who share the author's belief background.
I would recommend this to both teens and adults. The only content concerns involve some occasional mild language, flashbacks to an assault, and the ongoing thematic issues related to human trafficking. The heavy topics could make this book inappropriate for some middle school kids, so I would primarily recommend this to people who are in high school or older, but this is very light on content and would be appropriate for some mature middle schoolers.
dhee_pa's review against another edition
5.0
Great prose, characters, themes and tone. There are so many great friendships in this book. They go above and beyond to care, support and protect each other.
Highlights: Both our protagonists try help others when they cannot help themseves.
Highlights:
Spoiler
Kat reaching out to Ravi in the taxi will always stay with me. It's so sweet given the demons she was wrestling with. It's such beautiful way to take on Ms. Dee's advice.diyashasen's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.75
gordonj's review against another edition
5.0
When Kat and Ravi travel to Kalkata, India with their church group they go with very different intentions. Kat wants to escape the past and Ravi wants to discover it.
Kat is the reigning teen Jiu-Jitsu champion of Northern California. But even her physical skills couldn’t protect her from sexual assault at her high school. When she leaves for India, she’s desperate to remove herself from anything that reminds her of the experience and the power it still holds over her.
Ravi is having a hard time imagining his future. Adopted from India as a baby, he’s never felt completely at home in his white community, always playing sidekick to his more popular friend. This trip to India is his chance to find his birth mother and come to terms with why she gave him up.
The trip to Kolkata challenges Kat and Ravi in different ways. For Kat, she must find the strength to help girls younger than herself who have traumatized by human trafficking. For Ravi, he must play detective to find his birth mother and confront the painful truths of why she gave him up. Both realize that coming to terms with the past is the only way to move forward. Their small acts of heroism make a big impact in each other’s lives and the lives of those they love.
Kat is the reigning teen Jiu-Jitsu champion of Northern California. But even her physical skills couldn’t protect her from sexual assault at her high school. When she leaves for India, she’s desperate to remove herself from anything that reminds her of the experience and the power it still holds over her.
Ravi is having a hard time imagining his future. Adopted from India as a baby, he’s never felt completely at home in his white community, always playing sidekick to his more popular friend. This trip to India is his chance to find his birth mother and come to terms with why she gave him up.
The trip to Kolkata challenges Kat and Ravi in different ways. For Kat, she must find the strength to help girls younger than herself who have traumatized by human trafficking. For Ravi, he must play detective to find his birth mother and confront the painful truths of why she gave him up. Both realize that coming to terms with the past is the only way to move forward. Their small acts of heroism make a big impact in each other’s lives and the lives of those they love.
allie_and_books's review against another edition
3.0
A solid 3,5 stars. Read it in one sitting!
I could have done without the religious references, but the story was well written, heart-warming and powerful. I especially loved Kat, a badass and endearing heroine.
Really curious to check out the other books by this author.
I could have done without the religious references, but the story was well written, heart-warming and powerful. I especially loved Kat, a badass and endearing heroine.
Really curious to check out the other books by this author.
lisapaige13's review against another edition
2.0
When three teens from different backgrounds, facing different challenges, go on a service trip to India, they each hope to find the solution to their worries and problems but they discover new friendships instead.
Perkins has great characters and they are fully fleshed out. Kat is recovering after a sexual assault by throwing herself into jujitsu; Robin is struggling with who he is and where he belongs while facing questions about his adoption from India. I liked that this was not a romance - that is becoming more and more rare in YA contemporaries. Instead Robin and Kat's relationship is strictly a friendship as they slowly become more comfortable confiding in each other and their other travel mate Gracie. Also, the characters were so diverse and the book offered a nice glimpse into everyday life in India, while also showing the dark side of human trafficking. Unfortunately though, I felt overall like there was something lacking in the story and that it felt a little rushed. The ending tied everything up very quickly, but at the same time left many things unanswered. I appreciate this book for what it tries to do and the fact that it is diverse (the 3 main characters were biracial, latina, and Indian) and is mostly set outside of the US. Still, I was left wanting more from it.
Perkins has great characters and they are fully fleshed out. Kat is recovering after a sexual assault by throwing herself into jujitsu; Robin is struggling with who he is and where he belongs while facing questions about his adoption from India. I liked that this was not a romance - that is becoming more and more rare in YA contemporaries. Instead Robin and Kat's relationship is strictly a friendship as they slowly become more comfortable confiding in each other and their other travel mate Gracie. Also, the characters were so diverse and the book offered a nice glimpse into everyday life in India, while also showing the dark side of human trafficking. Unfortunately though, I felt overall like there was something lacking in the story and that it felt a little rushed. The ending tied everything up very quickly, but at the same time left many things unanswered. I appreciate this book for what it tries to do and the fact that it is diverse (the 3 main characters were biracial, latina, and Indian) and is mostly set outside of the US. Still, I was left wanting more from it.
leticiamay's review against another edition
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5