Varsha Bajaj

Thirst is a stand-alone, middle-grade novel that takes place in Mumbai, India. I don’t think Minni’s age was explicitly stated, but I extrapolated that she’s about twelve or thirteen years old. She lives in the city’s slums with her family. Her father runs a tea shop and works long hours, her mother is a part-time servant to a wealthy family while taking care of her own family, and her older brother, Sanjay, dreams of becoming a chef. Minni is a smart girl who attends a private show more school that was paid for by her mother’s employer, and she hopes that an education will someday help her get a well-paying job. For now, though, the family barely gets by, and each day Minni’s mother, like so many others in the neighborhood, must wait in line at the tap, sometimes for hours, to fill their buckets with water for the day. Even so, the water must still be boiled in order to be safe, which takes even more time. One evening, she and Sanjay go for a ride in a car that a friend’s father drives for rich people and end up in a place where they accidentally witness thieves stealing water. They get a good enough look at their leader that Sanjay and his friend must leave town, fearing for their lives. Shortly after, Minni’s mother falls ill and heads for her mother’s house in the country where she’ll have relatives to care for her. This leaves Minni alone with her father, and most of the chores her mother performed, as well as her mother's job, fall on Minni’s small shoulders. It’s a real challenge for her to keep up with all the work along with her studies, but it also gives her a greater appreciation of just how much her mom does for their family. While serving the family her mother worked for, Minni comes to realize that her employer’s husband is actually the leader of the water thieves, which is how he became so wealthy. This leaves Minni desperately wanting to seek justice but not sure who she can trust with the information she now knows.

Lately I’ve been searching for more multicultural literature to add to my children’s book collection for my grandkids, and Thirst ended up being a very good choice that definitely fits the bill. It gives a great look at the Indian culture and the lives of the people who live there, particularly in the city slums. I like that in spite of where Minni’s family lives and all the hardships they have to endure, this isn’t a gloomy book at all. The family is quite close and clearly love each other very much. Even though Minni has to take on a heavy burden when her mother and brother must leave town, she never complains. She just tries to do her best and works hard. I love how the women in the neighborhood support her, too. It’s like all her neighbors are just one big, happy family. In fact, Minni thinks of all these women as her Aunties. I liked how the author contrasted Minni’s life with that of Pinky, the daughter of the woman she works for who is the same age as Minni. Even though they have a great deal more from a material standpoint, they don’t seem nearly as content as Minni and her family even though they’re poor. I also liked that Minni is a very smart girl who uses her brain to problem solve. The biggest problem she runs into is finding out her employer’s husband is a water mafia boss, and when she does, she takes her time to come up with a plan to try to get justice rather than running off with some half-baked idea. Another element I enjoyed was how the author made “thirst” a running theme with multiple meanings. It’s not only the shortage of clean water that Minni and her neighbors face while other are getting rich off the commodity, but also how she and Sanjay “thirst” for a better life and are willing to work hard to get there. I didn’t find anything that I thought could be objectionable to the middle-school audience at which it’s aimed other than a brief mention of a teenage boy Minni and Sanjay knew being killed, most likely by the water thieves. Overall, Thirst is a book that I can definitely recommend for kids to learn more about what life is like for a child their own age in a different country and how many people in the world can’t take clean water for granted. I also thought that Minni was a good role model for tweens, so I’ll definitely be acquiring a copy of this book, which I borrowed from the library, for my keeper shelf. show less

Minni lives in a part of Mumbai that some would call a slum, but she is happy with her family, her neighbors, and her best friend Faiza, who is Muslim. Until Minni, Faiza, Minni's older brother Sanjay, and one of his friends see people stealing water, and are seen. The boys are sent out of the city for their safety, and not long after, Minni's mother leaves to stay with her sister, hoping to rest and recover from an illness (later identified as hepatitis A).

Minni takes on all of her show more mother's work: a job cleaning for a rich family, as well as doing all their own family's laundry, cooking, and of course, fetching and boiling the water from taps that sometimes gush but more often trickle. At the same time, she's studying for the exam to pass seventh grade and move up to eighth, and she wins a scholarship to a computer class that meets on weekends. Minni struggles to manage it all, but support from her community keeps her afloat, and in the end, she and Faiza (and community dog Moti) assist the police in catching some of the water thieves.

A short but immersive novel. An author's note gives some more information about access to clean water worldwide.

Quotes

Ma talks tough when she is angry and hopeless. (34)

Is this growing up? Learning how dangerous the whole world can be? Learning that not everyone follows the rules. That some people don't care if they hurt others. That they only care about themselves and making a profit. (42)

"Remember - trouble can take a minute to get into and a lifetime to get out of." (Sanjay to Minni, 63)

Money, not prayers, makes the water flow. (73)

Numbers, they say, don't lie.
But do they always add up? (132)

...the story reminds me that in an unequal battle, the less powerful person can use their wits to find a way. (141)

When a fear is too terrifying, I realize, we are scared to give it words, as if that will make it all too real. But the anxiety doesn't go away. It's like a weed that continues to grow, sprout, and choke the plant. (161)

"You know, you and me, we're both thirsty for more." (Sanjay to Minni, 170) show less

I love a good animal homes story, ever since I was fascinated by Berniece Freschet's Beaver on the sawtooth as a child. This title, by the author of the sweet This is your baby, born today and illustrated by Mulazzani, who illustrated some very interesting titles by Giovanni Zoboli, hit all those spots for me.

Rhyming text describes the wide variety of homes animals build, "Do you see the builders work? Burrow and hide,/ Tunnel and creep,/Nibble and gnaw,/Explore and keep." The art is what show more really caught my eye. Soft colors show a beautiful woodland kingdom with animals, bugs, and birds peacefully building and settling into their homes. Above and below ground, in the trees and the water, animals find safety, raise their babies, and live their lives.

I realize it's a bit hypocritical that I love this so much when I'm usually very annoyed by books that don't depict predators realistically. Of course the foxes, beavers, eagles, owls, and deer are not going to sit around peacefully like neighbors in a suburban backyard. But I think it does do a good job of depicting the different kinds of homes animals build and the more peaceful aspect makes this a soothing bedtime story with a nonfiction twist.

Verdict: Not for everyone, although the lovely artwork is universally appealing, but I loved this book and would recommend it if you have kids who like animals and need more bedtime stories.

ISBN: 9780399166853; Published February 2019 by Nancy Paulsen; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library show less

Karina Chopra is delighted when her paternal grandfather comes to live with her family, but not so thrilled when he begins tutoring her next door neighbor, Chris, in math. But when the three of them are attacked by a knife-wielding racist on the way home from school, Chris stands by Karina, and her photos of the event go viral, sparking much support (and also, inevitably, more hate). Chapters alternate between Karina's and Chris's POV.

See also: Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, Yusuf Azeem Is show more Not A Hero by Saadia Faruqi

Quotes

He still sits on the bus with the hyenas. I imagine it would be hard work to break from the pack - on Animal Planet, they said that if a hyena tries to leave his pack, sometimes the others will literally tear him apart and have him for dinner.
I don't want Chris Daniels to be eaten alive... (Karina, 26)

"We don't really know that we are safe anymore, do we?" (Karina to Dad, 60)

I've always been more comfortable saying things with my photographs. (Karina, 74)

Like Mr. C says, you have to be able to imagine a better world to make it a reality. (Chris, 82)

I slap my laptop shut and stare at it as if I have trapped a rat in there. (Karina, after reading the comments, 148) show less