GIRLS BURN BRIGHTER

In India, Poornima is barely a teenager when she loses her mother to cancer. Accompanying this loss is the utter indifference of her father, who seeks to marry her off. Soneela Nankani narrates this painful coming-of-age story in a subdued style that draws even more sympathy from the listener. Nankani conveys Poornima's turbulent inner world with a sensitive delivery that captures her isolation in the village of her birth. When she meets a feisty new friend, the pace of the narration picks up, carrying us headlong into unexpected suffering. This is an expertly told story of survival, courage, and grit that fans of world literature will enjoy. M.R. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2018]