I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the I KICK AND I FLY by Ruchira Gupta Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Ruchira Gupta
Pub. Date: April 18, 2023
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 352
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/I-KICK-AND-I-FLY
“In I Kick and I Fly, Ruchira
Gupta has given young readers an irresistible story, and also one that could
save lives. This book is a gift.” — Gloria Steinem
A propulsive social justice adventure
by renowned activist and award-winning documentarian Ruchira Gupta, I
Kick and I Fly is an inspiring, hopeful story of triumph about a girl
in Bihar, India, who escapes being sold into the sex trade when a local hostel
owner helps her to understand the value of her body through kung fu.
On the outskirts of the Red Light
District in Bihar, India, fourteen-year-old Heera is living on borrowed time
until her father sells her into the sex trade to help feed their family and
repay his loans. It is, as she’s been told, the fate of the women in her
community to end up here. But watching her cousin, Mira Di, live this life day
in and day out is hard enough. To live it feels like the worst fate imaginable.
And after a run-in with a bully leads to her expulsion from school, it feels
closer than ever.
But when a local hostel owner shows
up at Heera’s home with the money to repay her family’s debt, Heera begins to
learn that fate can change. Destiny can be disrupted. Heroics can be
contagious.
It’s at the local hostel for at risk
girls that Heera is given a transformative opportunity: learning kung fu with
the other girls. Through the practice of martial arts, she starts to understand
that her body isn’t a an object to be commodified and preyed upon, but a vessel
through which she can protect herself and those around her. And when Heera
discovers the whereabouts of her missing friend, Rosy, through a kung fu pen
pal in the US, she makes the decision to embark on a daring rescue mission to
New York in an attempt to save her.
A triumphant, shocking account
inspired by Ruchira Gupta’s experience making the Emmy-award winning
documentary, The Selling of Innocents, this is an
unforgettable story of overcoming adversity by a life-long activist who has
dedicated her life to creating a world where no child is bought or sold.
Why Should You Read This?
I Kick and I Fly is a gripping and inspiring story that sheds light on the dark and devastating issue of human trafficking, specifically the sex trade in India. Ruchira Gupta’s novel tells the story of Heera, a young girl from Bihar who is on the brink of being sold into the sex trade by her father to repay his debts. However, fate takes a turn when a local hostel owner pays off the debt and offers Heera an opportunity to learn kung fu along with other girls.
Through the practice of martial arts, Heera begins to see her body as a tool to protect herself and those around her, not as an object to be commodified and sold. When she learns of her friend Rosy’s location in the United States, she embarks on a risky mission to rescue her, all while battling the harsh realities of human trafficking and the obstacles that come with it.
Gupta’s writing is vivid and powerful, making the reader feel the intensity of the situation and the desperation that comes with being trapped in the sex trade.
Overall, I Kick and I Fly is a powerful and thought-provoking book that sheds light on an important social justice issue while also inspiring hope and resilience in the face of adversity. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight against human trafficking and for those who believe in the power of personal agency and self-determination.
About Ruchira Gupta:
Ruchira
Gupta has pioneered laws, policies, protocols, conventions and Best Practice
approaches in the Feminist Abolitionist struggle against sex-trafficking in the
UN, globally and India. Her work will be archived at Stanford Library and will
be open access for students across the world to study. Her journey began as a
journalist, when she made the Emmy-winning documentary, The Selling of
Innocents. With the help of the documentary, she testified to the US Senate for
the passage of the first Trafficking Victim Protection Act and to the UN for
the passage of the UN Protocol to End Trafficking in Persons. She founded the
Indian anti-sex trafficking organization, Apne Aap Women Worldwide, that
supports thousands of prostituted and at risk girls in India. You can learn
more about her organization here: apneaap.org
She is a
visiting professor at New York University, and Distinguished Scholar at
University of California, Berkley. She is the editor of a feminist journal for
SAGE, Antyajaa: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change and two anthologies-
River of Flesh & Other Stories and The Essential Gloria Steinem Reader. She
has been presented the French Légion honneur, an Emmy, and the Clinton Global
Citizen, UN NGO CSW Woman of Distinction award. She dreams of a world in which
no human being is bought or sold.
Links- Instagram | All other
social media- https://linktr.ee/ruchiraguptalinks
Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of I KICK AND I FLY, US Only.
Ends May 6th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
4/1/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
4/2/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/3/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/4/2023 |
IG Review |
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4/5/2023 |
Review |
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4/6/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/7/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/8/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
4/9/2023 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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4/10/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/11/2023 |
IG Post |
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4/12/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/13/2023 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
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4/14/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/15/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
4/16/2023 |
Excerpt |
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4/17/2023 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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4/18/2023 |
Excerpt |
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4/19/2023 |
IG Review |
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4/20/2023 |
IG Review |
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4/21/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/22/2023 |
Review |
4/23/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/24/2023 |
IG Review |
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4/25/2023 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
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4/26/2023 |
IG Review |
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4/27/2023 |
Review/IG Post |
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4/28/2023 |
IG Review |
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4/29/2023 |
Review |
4/30/2023 |
YouTube Review/IG Post |