Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
From Morris Award finalist Sonia Patel comes a sharply written YA about a girl grappling with a dark, painful secret from her past, perfect for fans of All My Rage and The Way I Used to Be.
It’s eighteen-year-old Gita Desai’s first year at Stanford, and the fact that she’s here and not already married off by her traditional Gujarati parents is a miracle. She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model student rep all the way to med school, which means no social life or standing out in any way. Should be easy: If there’s one thing she’s learned from her family, it’s how to chup-re—to “shut up,” fade into the background. But when childhood memories of her aunt’s desertion and her then-uncle’s best friend resurface, Gita ends up ditching the books night after night in favor of partying and hooking up with strangers. Still, nothing can stop the little voice growing louder and louder inside her that says something is wrong. . . . And the only way she can burst forward is to stop shutting up about the past.
“Funny, messy, gut-wrenching.”—Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Informed by personal experience, as addressed in an endnote, this searing 1992-set novel by Patel (Bloody Seoul) explores the ways that prolonged abuse can shape behavior. Though her Gujarati-Indian immigrant parents would rather she get married than attend university, premed student Gita Desai is excited to start her freshman year at Stanford, where she plans to keep her head down and her grades up. But Gita doesn't expect to befriend and attend frat parties with her across-the-hall neighbor Jane or beautiful model Marisol. Yet even as she immerses herself in college life, she's distracted by memories of her and her beloved auntie, and of the man who abused them both. Gita's family has always said "chup-re" (Gujarati for "be quiet") when she tried to talk about difficult topics; now, she lacks the tools to make sense of her desires and struggles to speak up for herself in intimate situations. While Gita's journey toward finding her own voice is plagued by male characters who—both intentionally and unconsciously—cause her physical and mental harm, bright spots in the form of her kindhearted older brother and supportive gay peer help to carry the burden. Ages 14–up.
