I Am Kavi
by Thushanthi Ponweera (Author)
Caught between two worlds--a poverty-stricken village and a fancy big-city school--a young Sri Lankan girl must decide who she really is and where she really belongs.
1998, Colombo. The Sri Lankan Civil War is raging, but everyday life must go on. At Kavi's school, her friends talk about the weekly Top 40, the Backstreet Boys, Shahrukh Khan, Leo & Kate... and who died--or didn't--in the latest bombing. But Kavi is afraid of something even scarier than war. She fears that if her friends discover her secret--that she is not who she is pretending to be--they'll stop talking to her.
I want to be friends with these / happy, / fearless, / girls / who look like they / belong.
So I could also be / happy, / fearless, / and maybe even / belong.
Kavi's scholarship to her elite new school was supposed to be everything she ever wanted, but as she tries to find some semblance of normalcy in a country on fire, nothing is going according to plan. In an effort to fit in with her wealthy, glittering, and self-assured new classmates, Kavi begins telling lies, trading her old life--where she's a poor girl whose mother has chosen a new husband over her daughter--for a new one, where she's rich, loved, and wanted. But how long can you pretend to be someone else?
This dazzling novel-in-verse comes from an astonishing new talent who lived through the civil war herself. Perfect for fans of Jamine Warga, Supriya Kelkar, and Rajani LaRocca, I Am Kavi centers a powerful South Asian voice, and stars an unforgettable heroine each and every one of us can relate to.
"KAVI'S COURAGE AND VOICE ARE NOT TO BE MISSED."--Reem Faruqi, award-winning author of Call Me Adnan, Unsettled, and Golden Girl
"I LOVED IT!"--Nizrana Farook, award-winning author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant
"POWERFULLY WRITTEN."--Lyn Miller-Lachmann, author of Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner Torch
"LUSH AND EVOCATIVE... A STUNNING DEBUT."--Kate Albus, award-winning author of A Place to Hang the Moon
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
An Indies Introduce Selection
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Kirkus
A serious and relatable tale of everyday life intersecting with and diverging from the realities of war.
None
ALA/Booklist
Publishers Weekly
Exploring friendship, family, and grief against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war, Ponweera's debut, a stirring novel in verse, traces a 10-year-old's desire to fit in. In May 1997, Kavi lives in a village in Sri Lanka's Anuradhapura District with her mother, Amma, who works in the paddy fields, and her step-father, Siripala, whom she worries will replace her late father's role in their family. Kavi tries to be a "good Buddhist girl" and a "good Sinhalese girl," and dreams of achieving academic success so she and Amma can leave for the city. But when Kavi scores highest in her district, now-pregnant Amma cannot accompany her to Colombo for further schooling. Living with her aunt, who works as a housemaid, Kavi dreams of being like her "happy, fearless, popular" peers, and begins telling elaborate lies to fit in. The lies help her find acceptance from her peers, but they come at a cost--to Kavi's grades, her values, and her sense of self. Amid a historical setting informed by classism, colorism, and colonization, short reflective phrases and vivid cultural details bring out the nuanced story's emotional depth and show the devastating impact of war on Kavi and her loved ones. Back matter offers historical context. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jacqui Lipton, Raven Quill Literary. (Sept.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV016030 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Asia
JUV075000 - Juvenile Fiction | War & Military
Novels in verse
Coming of age
Bildungsromans
Mothers and daughters
Deception
Scholarships
Middle school students
Poor
Sri Lanka
School fiction
Middle school girls
Civil War, 1983-2009
