May 6, 2025 by Lee & Low Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Pavi lives in Madras (now Chennai) in 1974 with her loving, extended family. She has a cousin, Ruku, with whom she is close, although the two sometimes fight. The family was devastated by the death of Pavi’s Uncle Silva at a young age, just five months after she was born, and some relatives seem to blame Pavi for this event. Through nine-year-old Pavi’s eyes, we see a good slice-of-life account of a specific time and place, based on the author’s memories. Episodes include Pavi stealing mangoes from a neighbor’s tree and hiding them under her bed, being more concerned with the police catching her than the rotting fruit, scenes at her protestant missionary school, sweet scenes with her grandmother in the kitchen, and Ruku and Pavi wondering about how babies are born, which leads them to eat some small wooden dolls. Pavi’s father is waiting to hear about job opportunities with a US company that could lead to the family moving, but when Pavi’s mother has a difficult pregnancy that doesn’t end well, these plans are put on hold for a while. Pavi finally talks to some family members about Uncle Silva and works through her residual guilt for his death.
This was quite interesting, and readers who enjoyed looking at life in different countries in books like Athaide’s Orange for Sunsets (Uganda), Nye’s The Turtle of Oman, or Nguyen and Lee’s A Two-Placed Heart (Vietnam) will find this look at 1970s India intriguing. Pavi seemed very young to me, so I will probably pass on purchase for my middle school.
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