  | Freedom seeker Author: Gupta, Ruchira | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Simi Singh has grown up with loving parents and grandparents in her town in Northern India. Then a rock thrown through her family's window during their Eid celebration changes everything. The threat of violence against them for her parents' interfaith marriage sends them on a journey to America, but the family becomes separated by unforeseen circumstances along the way. Will they ever be reunited?
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (06/01/25)
School Library Journal (06/01/25)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/06/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Other - 05/19/2025 Gupta (I Kick and I Fly) follows one immigrant child’s experience attempting a dangerous border crossing to seek refuge in this wrenching family story. Twelve-year-old field hockey player Simi Singh and her Punjabi family have happily lived in Chandigarh, India, all her life. Then her father is badly beaten by members of a conservative group that’s advocating to ban interfaith marriages, including that of Simi’s Hindu Sikh abbu and Muslim ammi. After Abbu applies for-and is denied-a visa to the U.S., he instead opts to travel there via the Donkey Express, "chartered planes that smuggle Punjabis to America illegally." Granted asylum in the U.S., Abbu works to send money back for Ammi and Simi’s escape. But complications during her own journey to the U.S. find Simi separated from her mother in Mexico. Gupta powerfully exposes how othering occurs via frank prose that details the rapid escalation of prejudice rhetoric in Simi’s neighborhood, the brutal conditions of the border crossing, and the cruel political bureaucracy Simi contends with during her travels. This sobering novel’s optimistic and steadfast tone- highlighted through Simi’s own self-determination, and in joyful instances of kindness and connection- rings true across grim depictions of loss. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) - Copyright 2025
School Library Journal - 06/01/2025 Gr 3–7—A 12-year-old is forced to flee Northern India and becomes entangled in an immigration nightmare. Simi is a regular tween in Punjab with a loving family, supportive best friends, and ambitions to play in a big field hockey championship. But Simi's Ammi is Muslim, and Abbu is Hindu-Sikh, while her parents' mixed-faith marriage marks them out for increasing discrimination and hostility. The family decides to leave when Abbu is brutally attacked, and he successfully claims asylum in the U.S. Simi and Ammi are not so lucky, however, due to a crackdown on "chain migration" of asylees' families that leaves them desperately deciding to enter the U.S. via Mexico without visas. This leaves them vulnerable to ruthless coyotes, and Simi is separated from her mother as they cross the border. Gupta has crafted a compelling narrative about an important part of migration. Simi is resourceful and likable as she struggles with others' bigotry, homesickness, and her familial separation. The secondary characters are generally appealing but, due to Simi experiencing much of this alone, they are not as fully developed. Jose, a 12-year-old from Honduras who befriends Simi when he crosses the border with her, is the most well-rounded of the diverse supporting cast. There is no perfectly wrapped-up ending, but there are hopeful depictions of people who want to help, whether they are immigration officials or supportive members of the public. VERDICT This timely book about migration and asylum complements Kelly Yang's Front Desk and Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising.—Grace Pickering - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
