I read this book for English class this year, and it was a very intriguing book. The book is an adventure that involves three perspectives, Lovely, PT Sir, and Jivan. Lovely is an aspiring actor who finally finds some success after years of trying. PT Sir is a PE coach who finds success within a political party. Jivan is a woman who witnesses a terrorist attack and is framed for it. The perspectives of Lovely and Jivan are told in first person while PT Sir’s perspective is told in the third person.

The book shows corruption and internal conflict between the characters. Although they all have separate lives, they are somehow related through Jivan’s court case. Sacrifice is a big theme in the book. For example, Lovely becomes popular through her acting career,. She is left with the choice of either helping Jivan’s case or being successful in acting. She chose to ditch Jivan and become successful with acting, although it was a hard choice.

Another big theme is corruption, and this is shown through PT Sir’s actions when he gets power. Bimala Pal, the political party’s official instructs PT Sir to testify against innocent people in order for him to gain more power through the political party. PT Sir accepts and puts multiple innocent people in jail.

Overall, this book shows the reality of the court system in some countries. A lot of innocent people are put in jail for false accusations, and in this case, Jivan ends up unfortunately being put to death because of it. I would recommend this book to everyone as it is pretty fascinating to see the characters’ development. It takes place very recently, so the book incorporates technology like phones and Facebook.

-Albert X., 10th Grade

A Burning by Megha Majumdar is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Recently, I read A Burning by Megha Majumdar, which is mainly about the story of Jivan, a Muslim girl living in India, who comes from a less fortunate background. She is accused of a crime she didn’t commit, and there are two other characters, Lovely, an aspiring actress, and PT Sir, Lovely’s old gym teacher who is trying to move up in society. This book was definitely a good read, as it is told from multiple perspectives, as well as exposing social issues in India.

The novel starts with Jivan making a post on Facebook regarding a recent terrorist attack that happened at a train station in the Kolabagan slum, where she lives. In this part of the story, the author gives important background into who Jivan is. After a brief online argument with another woman regarding this issue on Facebook, she makes her own post criticizing the government for their lack of action, resulting in suspicion of assisting or participating in the terrorist attack being placed on her, and eventually leading to her arrest. The story then shifts to the perspective of Lovely, who is a hijra, which is considered the “third gender” in India, and an aspiring actress. this part of the story gives background on her as a person as well. then, the perspective shifts to PT Sir, the only male teacher at an all girls school, whose desire to move up in society eventually causes him to join the JKP, a right-wing political party in India.

As the story progresses, both Lovely and PT Sir realize that they must work against Jivan in the ensuing legal case in order to boost their own position in society. This causes both of them to work against Jivan in her already precarious position. Although I won’t spoil the ending, This story makes us question whether we will choose our own personal paths and careers over the well-being of others, and it brings up the question of character. However, it also exposes other issues in India, such as the persecution of minority groups, as well as corruption within politics. This was a great book in my opinion, as the shifting perspectives between the three main characters in this book really gives a good view into the world within this story. All in all, this was a great read, and I would recommend it for anybody who is interested in learning about social issues as well as those looking for an interesting read!

A Burning by Megha Majumdar is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.