This book. The things these girls go thru were so difficult to read about; that they stayed determined to find something better was amazing. Good read.

If the cover doesn't set your world ablaze, the story certainly will.
Girls Burn Brighter is tragic and beautiful, a nearly snapped thread of tension. I like intense books like this.
Poornima and Savitha live deeply in poverty, doing whatever they can to survive. Steeped in love, friendships, loss, and, ultimately, survival, it was so hard to put down.

Shobha Rao’s Girls Burn Brighter is an intense story of survival and sisterhood.
And so much more.

Set in India against a backdrop of a strict caste system, arranged marriages, and harsh poverty, the two main characters of Rao’s poetic story develop an unlikely friendship that proves to be an enduring constant on which they build the strength needed to endure the violence and powerlessness they experience. This alone is reason enough to read the book but I knew it was important to push myself past the initial awe at this story of strength and resiliency. When I did, I experienced an even deeper story of multidimensional characters navigating their lives and attempting to balance tradition with self-realization.

The book begins with a story about a temple in the village of Indravalli and the old childless woman who was responsible for growing the trees whose wood was used to build it. Referring to the trees as her children, the old woman is complimented on her good fortune to have so many sons. At this, with “her eyes on fire,” the woman quickly gives the correction that the trees are not her sons but her daughters. This story and its subtle emphasis on fire, wholeness, and the girl-child sets the tone for the book and these recurring themes.

As the book continues, the reader witnesses Rao’s distinct talent for detailed descriptions of the surroundings of her main characters, Poornima and Savitha. She offers us a vibrant, albeit stark, picture of life in Indravalli and the ever-present gender inequities women face. Both characters experience trauma that forces them apart and drastically changes the trajectories of their lives.

3.5 Poornima and Savitha are two teenage girls living in various degrees of poverty. When Savitha is hired to help with the family livlihood of making saris, they become close friends. So much so that they seek each other out at every turn. A cruel act will send Savitha on the run, and shortly after Poornima will run from a horrible situation she finds herself in, now turning her attention to reuniting with her friend.

The story takes us from India to the United States, chapters alternate between the girls as they tell their story. Will take us from arranged marriages, human trafficking, and the plight of those used for cheap labor in the United States. Not an easy book to read, so many horrific things happen to these girls, alone in the world without a protector. I had to keep putting the book down, turning to something else, the abuse almost relentless at times. I felt so for these young women.

The title is to show that despite what these girls go through they still retain an inner light, with thoughts of their friendship to sustain them. Regardless what they go through, these are the thoughts that keep them going, the hope of seeing each other again. So, it is also a novel of a very special frirndship. That is what also kept me reading. Would they find each other again?

Initially I thought I was going to love this book about female friendship and the depth and strength of the bonds. My heart BROKE from the abuse and violence these two women endured. Then it became repetitive, plot-wise, the abuse, loneliness and longing to find each other and I skimmed some parts. The ending made me furious because sometimes you just want a solid conclusion not a choose your own. The writing is gorgeous, though.

This was beautiful! The characters are complex and drawn in such a way that it is impossible to read without getting emotionally caught up in Poornima and Savitha's lives. A great book club book.

Harrowing, but I couldn't put it down. Certainly not for the faint of heart, but the determination of these two protagonists is incredibly compelling.

Thanks go to Net Galley and Flatiron Books for the review copy, which I read free and early in exchange for this review. This book is for sale to the public now.

This story is billed as one of matchless friendship, and it is that, but the misery and despair are so stark and ever present as to destroy all hope, and this ambivalence is the reason for my slowness and frankly reluctance to review.

Our story is set in India, and our two protagonists are Poornima, whose struggling father runs a small textile factory that makes saris, and Savitha, one of his workers. They become friends and uphold one another through the desperate struggle for survival. Poornima’s mother is gone, and the daughter is not considered beautiful, which makes her dowry an even more essential aspect of her marriage than it would otherwise be. She herself has no desire to marry, particularly not to someone she has never met and that only plans to marry her for the income generated by the union, but her father is genuinely eager to be rid of her—one more mouth to feed—and she is hustled through the ordeal despite her misgivings.

Savitha has vowed to protect and defend her friend, but she is banished and must make a run for it.

The entire story is bleak, stark, and horrible. For those that are unaware of the fate of some women in some Asian countries, this may be worth reading for enlightenment, but for many feminists this is not news. Stories of Indian women being fatally burned or badly disfigured by accidentally-on-purpose kitchen accidents by angry in-laws that expect more of a dowry price than is actually paid have circulated since the 1980s at least. I would have found the story more compelling and less difficult to read if there was some small twinkle of hope somewhere. At the seventy percent mark I decided I couldn’t stand it, but when I skipped to the end, I discovered that at least one protagonist was still alive, which is better than I expected, and so I went back and read the rest of it. It proved to be a small reward for a great deal of horror.

Don’t get me wrong; if there was a way that even one woman in India could somehow be spared because I had read this novel, I’d be all in. But to read news that is both old and terrible to no end—because if the US government were ever to actively assert the rights of women anywhere, which it hasn’t, it sure as hell won’t be under the current administration—seems like a lot of grinding sorrow to no good purpose.

Recommended to readers with strong stomachs that have no knowledge of how women in India are treated, with the caveats above.

This was a really intense book, at times devastating, but I’m glad I read it. Just know that it isn’t an easy read.

It’s the story of two girls who meet in Indravalli, India who meet as teenagers. Both are poor, uneducated, and forced to work to support their families, although even in poverty there’s a huge gulf between the two. Poornima’s mother is dead and her father cares only about marrying her off (although it’s not clear why when he has to pay her dowry, and when her work actually earns him money). Savitha comes to work beside Poornima, on her father’s two looms. The girls become close friends, but are separated when Poornima is promised in marriage.

This is a story of friendship, but also a story of the horrific things that are done to women (in India, but not limited to India). There’s rape, human trafficking, domestic abuse. The reader is introduced to these girls who are full of dreams, though in truth, neither expects much from their lives.

As a title like Girls Burn Brighter suggests, this book is anything but subtle. Rao uses recurring symbolism of fire and flight (“you, you girl of mine, you’re the one with wings”). And though not subtle, the writing is really beautiful, and the characters are so well-developed. In the beginning, Savitha is the stronger one. She’s opinionated, certain, a dreamer. She’s the one who protects her friend from harm. Later, Poornima finds that she’ll have to become strong for herself. The book could easily become maudlin at times, but it doesn’t.

I’m having a very difficult time describing this book. Some reviews practically write themselves, but this one is tough. I’ll let Rao’s writing speak for itself.

“What fools we all are. We are afraid of the wrong things, at the wrong times. Afraid of a burned face, when outside, outside waiting for you are fires you cannot imagine. Men, holding matches up to your gasoline eyes. Flames, flames, all around you, licking at your just-born breasts, your just-bled body.”

Author Shobha Rao moved to the United States from India at the age of seven, and this is her first novel. For those trying to read more about other countries, this is certainly a window into the culture and traditions of India. Though it paints a devastating picture, I also found much about it beautiful (for example, the vivid colors, sounds, and flavors the author describes). It’s also worth reading for those who don’t think human trafficking is happening within our very borders.

It’s heartbreaking at times, but it’s worth the read to experience the journey of these two women. I highly recommend it.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Flatiron Books. The book published on March 6, 2018.

A great read with compelling characters that evoke great empathy. It is a beautifully descriptive work about the power of hope.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4. I received an advance copy of this book in exhange for an honest review on Netgalley.

Girls Burn Brighter is the gripping tale of Savitha and Poornima-two girls from Indravalli India who come of age together in varying degrees of impoverishment. Saddled with the burden of being a female in an extremely patriarchal society, the girls are thrust together through circumstances in their weaving community.
While both poor, Savitha is poorer-and becomes an employee for Poornima's father-spinning thread and weaving saris to earn money to help feed her siblings because her own father is unable.
The girls become bonded and quickly form an incredibly intense relationship.
Something horrible happens and as a result Savitha runs away from Indravalli, and Poornima is forced to marry.
The girls spend the next 5 years in different but equally horrible circumstances-both always yearning for the company of the other.
Shobha Rho tells a great story-though heartbreaking and painful to read. I would definitely recommend.

I have very conflicted feelings about Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao.

Girls Burn Brighter tells the story of two young girls from India and the friendship they have. Poornima’s mother has died and needing more help to work the sari loom her father hires Savaitha. The girls quickly form a bond until they are devastatingly separated. Both girls go through terrible events as Poornima seeks to be reunited with Savaitha.

While this is a story about friendship it also deals with domestic abuse, human trafficking, and sexual abuse. Terrible things happen to these girls and I wanted to feel such empathy for them but despite the awful things happening I didn’t. I’m not sure why that is. I guess I just didn’t feel really invested in the characters. They didn’t seem to feel devastated by what was happening and so I also didn’t. I also found it discouraging that it was more important for them to find each other then to get away from being abused.

There are no strong male characters in this book. In fact if I remember correctly every male in the book is depicted as weak and only seeing women as sexual objects. I’m sure that this is unfortunately very true for to many girls but I guess I feel there is so much focus lately on the weakness of many men that it is also important for our society to show examples of men who see women as not just sexual objects. I realize this was not the purpose that Rao was going for but with every single male abusing someone it became annoying to me and I started to expect it. I don’t think women should expect men to see them only as sexual objects.

I think Girls Burn Brighter had a lot of potential and had important things to talk about but I didn’t feel that these important issues had any good solutions and not really any good jumping off points for the reader to discuss solutions.

This was a tough book to read for many reasons. It was tragic, terrible, and really heartbreaking; at the same time, it was not inspiring but at least temporarily uplifting (and often VERY temporarily) to see how Savitha and Poornima, in the face of never-ending adversity, tried to keep that flame burning. This felt like a really important book, written with care, love, and compassion despite the terrible things that happened within its pages.

This beatifully written novel focuses on oppressed and abused young Indian women and their struggle to find hope in desperate circumstances. Highly recommended. I love the ending.

Poornima and Savitha could not be more opposite. Both living in the village of Indravalli in South India, they come from different circumstances but soon find friendship after Poornima's father hires Savitha to make saris. Poornima, whose name means moon in Telugu, is quiet and obedient. Savitha, whose name means sun, is strong, independent, and the mother figure Poornima desperately longs for. This longing for connection goes deep for Poornima and soon begins to change who she is and becomes the catalyst for horrific crimes that fall on both girls. Crimes that send the girls to opposite ends of the world.

Uneducated, illiterate, and navigating a world that is hostile towards women, Poornima and Savitha do what they can to try and get back to each other. Poornima's faith that she will find her friend again pushes her to change her circumstances. Savitha's unwillingness to let herself be defeated gives her the strength to fight against the abusive and inhumane situation she finds herself in despite being in the United States. Not only does Rao paint a picture of what it's like to grow up poor in South India, where the caste system dictates everything, she also uncovers the dark corners of the United States where circumstances for women are not much better. 

Alternating from Poornima's and Savitha's points of view, Girls Burn Brighter is a feminist story studying the importance of female friendships. Not only is this story heartwrenching and horrific, but there is a sliver of hope that weaves throughout both points of view: hope that they will be reunited, that their circumstances will change, that they can alter their futures after all.

All the fiery stars to Girls Burn Brighter! 🔥 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Though desperately difficult to wrap my head around the tragic events that happened, this was a book I savored. I was emotionally invested and was lost in it completely. This is why I read.

After finishing Girls Burn Brighter, I immediately wished I could have the experience of reading it all over again. I don’t want to sugarcoat things either. What happens to Poornima and Savitha over the course of their young lives is nothing short of dark, haunting, devastating, and heartbreaking.

But at the heart of this story is the purest friendship between two girls joined by their craft of spinning cotton and growing up in a quiet village in India. Poornima and Savitha face many difficult times as their lives tumble apart: arranged marriages, dowries, suspicious in-laws, the horrors of human trafficking, and domestic abuse.

The writing is stunning and filled with descriptions of the vivid landscapes contrasting with the heart-rending events these friends were subjected to - only because they were girls. The symbolism of fire: strength, vitality, resilience; Poornima and Savitha are filled with fire, and together, as friends, they do burn brighter. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget them.

Thank you to debut author, Shobha Rao, I’m eagerly awaiting your next work, as well as Flatiron Books and Netgalley, for the copy.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this novel to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This debut novel is a story of a fierce friendship between to young women, Poornima and Savitha. They live in poverty in India during the early 2000's. Poornima's mother has died, her father makes saris and has to hire another person to help after his wife's death. Enter Savitha. The two women are of similar age, teenagers, and the form a fast friendship. Savitha lives in even greater poverty than Poornima. But when Poornima's father begins to arrange Poornima's marriage she is afraid she will never see her best friend again. A horrible incident takes place and Savitha runs away. Poornima spends the following years searching the world for her friend.

I cannot say I loved this book, but I did become engrossed in the pages. The story was beautiful and horrific all at once. The friendship at the forefront of this story is intense. Poornima and Savitha both have horrible things happen to them which was quite difficult to read at times. Still, this book made me think of what one might endure to return to someone they deeply care about.

Human trafficking is a big part of this story. One of the girls even becomes involved with the trafficking. This was very eye opening to me. This is a topic that I've always knew to be a concern but have never learned much about. The abuse these women and girls experience is heartbreaking. Their naivety is disconcerting. Regardless, this is a book that will be tough to forget. I look forward to reading more books from Rao in the future.

2 women in a village in India form such a deep friendship that they will move heaven and Earth to find each other again. From rape to human trafficking, this book is an unending journey through the darkest moments imagineable.

By the end of this book, I felt like if the crow had chosen to get eaten piece by piece.

This book makes you care so much for them which is what a good book should do. But it is honestly a depressing read. While you shouldn't expect sunshine and butterflies when a book deals with such topics as oil attacks and rape; there are so few bright spots past the initial friendship at the start, it's hard to keep reading.

It'll make you think.

{My Thoughts}
Girls Burn Brighter is a really difficult book for me to review. So difficult that I can’t fit it into my normal what worked and what didn’t format. Why? Part of me wants to say because nothing worked for me, but that’s not true. I was engage throughout the book and wanted to know what would happen next. At the same time, I was horrified and now I’m haunted. It’s a book I wish I hadn’t read, but will also never forget.

This is a story of two girls from the same small Indian village. Poornima, the daughter of a sari maker is poor with few prospects. Savitha, a young trash picker, is even poorer with no prospects. When Savitha is hired to work for Poornima’s father the two find a friendship neither had ever experienced, one that made them stronger, braver, and happier. Life seemed bearable in the glow of their companionship. (Minor spoiler coming!) And then, Savitha was raped….by Poornima’s father and their lives were torn apart. Savitha fled, Poornima was married off and both were miserable.

The rest of the book tells what went on in the lives of both women as Poornima searched to find her friend. It’s a really beautiful premise, but such an ugly journey. Girls Burn Brighter is a story of two remarkalbe, resiliant women who never stopped and rarely felt sorry for themselves, living lives that would absolutely crush most of us. In many books, the abuses that Poornima suffered in her marriage would be the evil in the story, but that was the best of what happened to these girls. Savitha endoured more than any character I’ve ever read including Jude in A Little Life. By the end, I wished I hadn’t read it. I was not left hopeful, but defeated and a little disgusted with myself. It almost felt like I was complicit in Savitha’s abuses just by having read them.

“She was tired. She was tired of deals. Every moment in a woman’s life was a deal, a deal for her body: first for its blooming and then for its wilting; first for her bleeding and then for her virginity and then for her bearing (counting only sons) and then for her widowing.”

{The Final Assessment}
Make no mistake about it, Shobha Rao has written a brave, powerful debut. She imbued her women with their own personalities and strengths, held them to the fire, broke them down, and forced them to adapt. I admire her courage in telling this story, but I can only recommend it with caveats. To read this book you’ll also need to be strong and courageous. You need to know that much of the journey will be appalling. It will grab hold of you in ways you won’t like. It still hasn’t let go of me, and I really wish it would. Maybe that makes it a great book. I’m really not sure. Grade: A?, B? C?, I just don’t know.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review

Girls Burn Brighter is an interesting look at the way females are treated in India. Girls are rushed into marriage, abused, and even sold. Shobha Rao writes a stunning book about these horrors by focusing on the lives of two girls and how their lives intertwine. The book is exquisite and compelling. For me, the only weak link is the ending, but this in no way clouds my positive review.