A review by lisapaige13
Forward Me Back to You, by Mitali Perkins
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.