I Kick and I Fly

Description: "On the outskirts of the Red Light District in Bihar, India, fourteen-year-old Heera is living on borrowed time until her father sells her into the sex trade to help feed their family and repay his loans. It is, as she's been told, the fate of the women in her community to end up here. But when a local hostel owner shows up at Heera's home with the money to repay her family's debt, Heera begins to learn that fate can change. Destiny can be disrupted"--

Review Quotes:

"In I Kick and I Fly, Ruchira Gupta has given young readers an irresistible story, and also one that could save lives. This book is a gift." -- Gloria Steinem

"Any work from Ruchira Gupta is sure to further the cause of liberating women, especially, and in this novel, girls. It takes a strong belief in us, and especially in our young ones, to persevere as she does in both art and politics. The absolute belief that if the heart is moved, so might be the positive activities for justice and freedom, of the mind." -- Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

"I Kick and I Fly is a powerhouse of a debut. Ruchira Gupta has crafted a page-turner of a read, stepped in place and full of indelible characters, managing to be at once propulsive and enlightening, infuriating and inspiring. But maybe most important, Heera's story is a beacon of hope to a generation of young people trying to transform an unjust world." -- Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay and We Are Inevitable

"Having been to the brothels and red-light district I Kick and I Fly so searingly captures, I can testify that this book is essential reading for anyone interested in how to empower girls to break free from intergenerational prostitution and sex trafficking. Ruchira Gupta is nothing less than a great hero, and in her book, she has created one in Heera, as she seeks to defy the destiny of rape that poverty and men have assigned her." -- Ashley Judd

"An empathetic and unflinching glimpse into a world little known to outsiders. We watch breathlessly, never sure until the very end how she will kick and punch her way past her circumstances to find her own path to freedom." -- Natalie C Anderson

"This book is a call to action, it an invitation for the rest of us to rise from the pall of apathy and join the movement to fight and fight and keep fighting--until we retrieve the last girl from the ugly jaws of the very worst effects of the patriarchy." -- Staceyann Chin

"Gupta renders Heera's perseverance amid grueling circumstances via straightforward prose and imbues this searing tale with an ominous ambiance that complements its dark themes." -Publisher's Weekly

"The depth of the story's details and its themes of bodily autonomy, community, and women's empowerment reflect Gupta's experience as the founder of Apne Aap, an NGO working to end sex trafficking... atriumphant debut." - Kirkus Reviews