August 15, 2023
An economically privileged girl unexpectedly experiences urban homelessness. Lola and Amit, her brother, live a comfortable life with their widowed father. They have a servant, go to good schools, and want for nothing. But in quick succession, their housekeeper has a baby and quits working for them, the school break begins, and their father fails to return from work one day during the height of monsoon season. As days turn to weeks without any word from Dad, the children begin to fear the worst. They are ultimately evicted from their home and must adapt to street life. Their possessions are stolen, they do odd jobs, and they rest in dark corners and rusted-out train cars. Matters are made worse when Lola and Amit are separated by crowds during a festival. Lola links up with more seasoned street kids, who divulge the particulars of their circumstances with her. A terse boy named Rafi shares his shelter and supplies and helps her hold on to hope. This story succeeds as a page-turning survival adventure and as an indictment of global capitalism's brutality. However, with a tidy conclusion and a setting devoid of distinct cultural markers, it holds the real challenges of millions struggling in urban poverty throughout the world at arm's length. Contextual clues suggest that the story might be set in South Asia. Suspenseful and gripping, if lacking in texture: a fable of hope in harrowing conditions. (Fiction. 9-14)
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