Kaur, Jasmin. If You Ask Me Where I'm Going. HarperCollins Publishers, 2021. ISBN 9780062912626
Plot
There are six sections to the book delving into what it is to be a young Punjabi woman living in a world that doesn’t always listens to her. It begins with the story of Kiran feeling s a history of personal trauma to raiser her daughter, Sahaara, in North America, without authorization to live in North America.
The book is divided into six sections, slated as lessons and insight shared on topics named for parts of the human body: “skin,” “nerve,” and “heart,” "muscle" etc. In each of these sections author addresses varied themes that resonate in these times such as race, ethnicity, colorism, and discrimination; trauma, abuse, and mental health in relationships; the journey of motherhood, made harder by the compounding external factors of modernity/ current society.
Critical Evaluation
A big theme in this book is identity, specifically the Punjabi identity. A book of poetry prose (verse novel) and simple yet beautiful illustrations connected to the text. The base of the story is about a young immigrant mother who is working to leave her history, one of sexual assault among other traumas, to raiser her daughter in North America. Topics included are love, race, feminisms and motherhood. Delving into current cultural conversations including sexual assault, mental health, feminism, and immigration, this narrative of resilience, healing, empowerment, and its in verse style, and illustrations provide a simplicity that the heaviness of these topics may confuse the reader. For lovers of poetry and these themes, the book will be a welcome to a collection.
Reader's Annotation
A book about a young Punjabi woman coming into her own, and sidestepping the male gaze.
Author Information
Jasmin Kaur is a writer, illustrator and poet living on unceded Sto:lo territory. Her writing, which explores themes of feminism, womanhood, social justice and love, acts as a means of healing and reclaiming identity. As a spoken word artist and creative writing facilitator, she has toured across North America, the UK and Australia to connect with youth through the power of artistic expression.
Jasmin completed her Bachelor of Arts in English with a focus on Creative Writing at the University of the Fraser Valley. She went on to become a public school teacher and is now completing her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.
Source: https://www.jasminkaur.com/about
Genre
In Verse
BookTalking Ideas
When author shares, "in this body I am a work of art that will face unsolicited critique a wrong answer on a test I never agreed to take"
Reading Level/Age Interest
Ages 14+
Challenge Issues
Racism. Sexual Assault and Immigration. The critics of "critical race theory" folks may have a problem with this. My defense will include the Library Bill of Rights, the Los Angeles County Library Collection Policy and a listening ear, empathy, and working towards a supportive work culture, and artful communication with people that don't believe in Intellectual Freedom.
Why I Included This Book in Collections
In - verse novel is a high priority in my collections due to the population I'm working with (young people) and the protagonist is a South Asian young woman.
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