Like a bird : a novel /

Róisín's engrossing debut novel (after poetry collection How to Cure A Ghost) follows a mixed-race teenage girl's experience of trauma and survival. Taylia Chatterjee, born into economic privilege on Manhattan's Upper West Side to a Jewish mother and Bengali-Indian father, is viewed as a disappointment by her parents compared to her sister, Alyssa, the "white-passing majesty," and both are expected and pressured to succeed. Eventually, the heaviness of their familial roles proves too much, leading Alyssa to commit suicide. Amid the family's grief, Taylia is raped by a friend of her parents. They blame Taylia, still living at home while enrolled at Columbia, and throw her out, forcing her to cobble together a life from the generosity of new friends: Kat, Ky, and Tahsin. Bouncing from home to home, Taylia makes decisions refracted through both her naiveté and an overwhelming understanding of how cruel the world can be. As she gains a sense of purpose, she feels empowered knowing she can make decisions for herself. Róisín's portrayal of Taylia's surrogate family offers a life-giving chronicle of Taylia's emergence from pain into a new life. Well-paced and hopeful, this stirring work will resonate with those interested in stories of young women breaking free of oppression and trauma. Agent: Mark Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Sept.)

In her debut novel, poet Roísín takes aim at the model minority myth as 20-something narrator Taylia Chatterjee navigates racism, family problems, and sexual violence. As the story begins, Taylia is home in Manhattan, having taken a break from college while mourning the death of her older sister, Alyssa, who died two years earlier. Taylia is suffering from depression and low self-esteem, believing Alyssa was more beloved by their parents. In addition, her Indian father and White Jewish mother couldn't address the microaggressions and cultural disconnect Taylia and Alyssa navigated while growing up. Despite her family's affluent lifestyle, Taylia has suffered various deprivations that money and education cannot overcome. Only her summer spent in India with her paternal grandmother, dadi-ma, was any balm. After Taylia is gang-raped by the son of family friends and his acquaintances at a party, the man takes her home and tells her parents she got drunk and threw herself at him; her parents disown her, and Taylia is expelled from her family's Upper West Side apartment. Fortunately, Taylia has a small inheritance from her beloved dadi-ma and is able to build a new life, step by step, after finding a job at a cafe. The queer feminist owner, Kat, takes Taylia under her care. The novel has many plot threads and characters, not all of whom are equally developed. In particular, Taylia's parents are seriously underwritten, especially given the important role they play. Long conversations and coincidences drive much of the action, especially in the last third of the novel. A young woman's struggles will resonate with many readers despite the novel's pat resolution. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.