Thirst

June 13, 2022
A 12-year-old investigates water stolen from her Mumbai neighborhood in this clear look at resource access and wealth disparity. Minni and her brother Sanjay live with their affectionate parents in a small, laughter-filled home crammed alongside other residences. Authorities severely limit water to the low-income neighborhood’s local tap, and when a fight at the tap hits close to home, Minni wonders what she can do to mitigate her community’s water crisis. Things take a turn for the worse after she, her brother, and their friends inadvertently witness water being stolen, and Sanjay and another friend are soon sent away to avoid potential retaliation by the culprits. When their mother becomes ill, and Minni takes her place working as a servant at a wealthy Mumbai apartment building, she sees firsthand the difference that privilege makes in garnering basic necessities (“Money, not prayers, makes the water flow”)—and is surprised to learn more about the local water-related injustice. Aptly describing variations between rich and the poor and alternating Minni’s first-person telling with the child’s observant journal entries, Bajaj (Count Me In) writes an engaging literary mystery. Ages 10–up. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary.

January 1, 2023

Gr 3-6-Versatile narrator Dutt imbues protagonist Minni with affecting tenacity as the 12-year-old faces a barrage of challenges. Her older brother is sent away from their Mumbai shack for his safety after witnessing-with Minni and another friend-water thieves depleting their already reduced neighborhood supply. Her ill mother leaves next, hoping to recover away from the city with her sister, leaving Minni to be a rich family's servant in Ma's stead. Minni's exams are imminent, but her study time dwindles. When Minni recognizes the powerful thief, she must decide how much she's willing to risk for justice. Dutt expertly channels Minni's contagious wonder at discovering what might seem quotidian to privileged readers: the computer class her mother made possible; her teacher's similarly difficult growing up; the wealth of her mother's employers, including taps that instantly spout fresh water. VERDICT Dutt effortlessly embodies Minni's thirst to know, learn, and grow.

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