Girls Burn Brighter: A Novel

Amazon’s March Spotlight Pick One of the Best Books of the Month ( Harper’s Bazaar , Entertainment Weekly , Bustle, PureWow, Paste, Book Riot, Signature Reads, and The Chicago Review of Books ) A Most Anticipated Book of 2018 (Goodreads, Bustle, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Book Riot, PopSugar, The Chicago Review of Books, Ms. Magazine, Seattle Post-Intelligencer ) “Incandescent…A searing portrait of what feminism looks like in much of the world.” — Vogue “Rao’s feminist commentary is particularly potent.” — Entertainment Weekly “A definite must-read for readers who love authors like Nadia Hashimi and Khaled Hosseini…” — Bustle “A treat for Ferrante fans, exploring the bonds of friendship and how female ambition beats against the strictures of poverty and patriarchal societies.” — The Huffington Post “An unbelievably beautiful and harrowing story of friendship and devotion.” — Book Riot “Magnificent and heart-wrenching… Readers of Rao’s vital, vibrant novel will not soon forget these two strong, driven young women.” — BookPage “A beautiful testament to female friendship.” — PopSugar “ Girls Burn Brighter is the kind of book you open and fall into…Rao’s debut is a high achievement.” — KQED, San Francisco “ Girls Burn Brighter is an absolutely stunning debut novel from an author you’ll want to follow for years to come.” — Paste “This debut novel is the perfect read for fans of Rupi Kaur.” — Brit + Co “Rao layers her debut novel with issues that face many young women worldwide, from street harassment and domestic abuse to oppressive societal norms.” — Ms. Magazine “A confident debut novel set in India and America about the unbreakable bond between two girls. From the menacing nooks of India’s underworld to the streets of Seattle, this searing novel traces the nuances of adulthood and the enduring power of childhood bonds.” — The Chicago Review of Books “Enchanting… The resplendent prose captures the nuances and intensity of two best friends on the brink of an uncertain and precarious adulthood… An incisive study of a friendship’s unbreakable bond.” — Kirkus Reviews , starred review “This powerful, heart-wrenching novel and its two unforgettable heroines offer an extraordinary example of the strength that can be summoned in even the most terrible situations.” — Booklist , starred review “Highly recommended for book discussion groups, this tale of sacrifice, exploitation, and reclamation is not to be missed.” — Library Journal , starred review “Stirring…affecting…The narrative’s thematic consistency and emotional urgency will pull readers along.” — Publishers Weekly “Rao writes exquisite sentences…By the end of Girls Burn Brighter , Poornima and Savitha earn their places in the hearts of readers.” — Woodbury Magazine “This novel burnt up my weekend. With beautiful language, warm friendships, and vivid images, once I started reading I could not stop. It’s a story of struggle and survival. Female friendship is the lifeline.” — Claire Cameron, author of The Bear and The Last Neanderthal “ Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao blew my heart up. Heart-shards everywhere. I am in awe of the warmth and humanity in this book, even as it explores some incredibly dark places. I’m going to be thinking about Girls Burn Brighter for a while, and you’re going to be hearing a lot about it.” — Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky SHOBHA RAO moved to the U.S. from India at the age of seven. She is the winner of the 2014 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction, awarded by Nimrod International Journal. She has been a resident at Hedgebrook and is the recipient of the Elizabeth George Foundation fellowship. Her story "Kavitha and Mustafa" was chosen by T.C. Boyle for inclusion in the Best American Short Stories 2015 . She lives in San Francisco. An Unrestored Woman is her debut. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. An Amazon Best Book of March 2018: I first imagined that the title of Girls Burn Brighter referred to the custom of widows immolating themselves upon their husbands' funeral pyres. While no women suffer that fate in this contemporary novel, that's practically the only bad thing that doesn't happen to best friends Poornima and Savitha, who grow up in rural India. The two young women become soul mates as they work long hours together in Poornima's father's weaving hut, but a late-night attack on Savitha forces her out of Poornima's life shortly before Poornima enters an arranged marriage. Shobha Rao's writing power builds in the spaces between words, her lean prose making the glimpses she shows of the breathtaking misogyny the girls endure all the more horrifying. This is not an emotionally gentle novel. You'll be outraged and hopeful, shocked and awakened. And throughout, Poornima and Savitha do burn brighter, fueled by their unshakable determination to find each other again. —Adrian Liang, Amazon Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Read more