Forward Me Back to You

Forward Me Back to You
Mitali Perkins
FSG, 2019 432 pages
Grades 9-Up
Realistic Fiction

Multiple points of view trace the trip of three young people from the same church in Boston, who go on a trip to India to spend a summer volunteering with an agency who fights human trafficking. Katina (Kat) lives in California with her single mother. She is attacked in a deserted stairway by the school hotshot and fights him off using her trained Jujitsu moves. Still, when she can't get past the attack her mother sends her to an elderly family friend in Boston, where she connects with the old woman and learns about “Golden Ruling”. When the life altering trip to India presents itself, Kat decides to go and try to help some of the human trafficking victims by teaching them to defend themselves, hopefully finding peace within herself. Meanwhile, Robin is the adopted only child of a wealthy Boston family. He travels to India not only to help the agency, but to track down his birth mother. He feels an instant connection to the land of his origin and changes his name back to the original "Ravi".  Ravi spends the summer doing office work for the agency, training with a police officer to get in shape for physical rescues, and hunting down the orphanage in which he spent his first five years. The search does not go as planned, but he does find love in unexpected places, as well as a new confidence and direction in life. The summer turns out to be one of both growth and healing for the young narrators and changes their lives in permanent and irreversible ways.

Perkins, You Bring the Distance Near, is known for her books bridging American and Indian cultural. This story is no exception. Ravi demonstrates the journey of an Indian boy adopted into a white American family, who struggles to balance both parts of his identity. Kat is not Indian, yet finds healing in this distant land and the connections she makes there. Because of the nature of the human trafficking of children, though not graphically shown, this book is not for younger teens. Kat's attack is not as bad as it could have been, since she fights off the attacker, but is unsettling and affects her in monumental ways and will disturb readers. Jujitsu and the power of self-defense for woman is illustrated throughout the pages of the novel and may inspire readers to learn some moves themselves. The author demonstrates the "Golden Rule" philosophy of helping other people in order to help yourself and points out the powerful effects of volunteerism. It was refreshing to see the positive effects of organized religion in a world where it is generally perceived as evil and hurtful. Though the main characters are Christian, Perkins respectfully portrays all the religions of India and stresses the importance of being involved in a healthy religious community. All of the characters experience extreme growth throughout the pages of the books as they step out of their comfort zone, serve where they are led, encounter new and unexpected situations and discover the inner (and outer) strength they didn't know they possessed. This trip was a game-changer for the teens involved and will hopefully inspire readers to undertake service projects of their own.