The night after breaking Amma’s arm, eleven-year-old Viji’s Appa turns his drunken gaze on Viji and her sister Rukku. Viji decides that if she wants a better future, she needs to act now. She packs a few meager belongings and uses almost all of her birthday money to buy the girls one way bus tickets to the city.
Once there, they are overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and smells on the bustling streets. There is danger everywhere, but also possibility. Viji breaks a glass and pays by washing dishes until her hands feel raw, but she makes a friend and earns a bit of dinner for her trouble. Rukku’s doll is gone, but she finds a stray puppy to cuddle instead. The girls have nowhere to sleep, but they manage to find a spot on a ruined bridge, where they meet Muthu and Arul, two scruffy boys who already call the bridge home.
And home it turns out to be, at least for a little while. What keeps this novel from being too dark for its audience is hope. And faith in “togetherness.” The author strikes a wonderful balance between a life that’s harder than Viji, Rukku, and their new family deserve, yet full of kindnesses, both small and large. Kindnesses which Viji gives and receives as she finds her way. It’s a wonderful book.
--Lynn
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