THE FREEDOM SEEKER

Fleeing bigotry in Chandigarh, India, a girl faces a perilous immigration journey to the United States.

Twelve-year-old Simran has a loving family and caring best friends, Ravi and Reena—and she’s just been selected as the captain of her middle school field hockey team. But just as she’s enjoying this happy news, Simi’s family faces nasty threats of religious and racial hatred. After her Sikh father, Gurbeer Singh, is brutally beaten for being married to her Muslim mother, Henna Ali, the extended family decides that the three will seek asylum in America. Although Gurbeer, who was a farmer back home, is granted political asylum and starts driving a taxi in New York City, Simi and her mother are denied entry, propelling them to fly to Mexico via Spain and attempt the dangerous border crossing to reunite with Abbu. As coyotes take them on foot across the desert toward Arizona, Simi becomes separated from Ammi, and she endures nightmarish experiences in her attempt to rejoin her parents. Acts of kindness from strangers and her new friendship with Jose, a 12-year-old Honduran boy, sustain the brave and realistically drawn protagonist. The same leadership skills that made her a great field hockey captain come to Simi’s aid as she navigates the bewildering and brutal immigration system. Through evocative and accessible writing, this gut-punch of a story illuminates the global rise of intolerance and the anguish faced by those who seek safety.

A riveting story of love, hope, and survival.