The Color of Our Sky

Set in Mumbai, India, this memorable novel is alternately narrated by two girls from different castes who become friends. Tara is from a solid, middle-class, two-parent home and afforded many privileges, while Mukta is the daughter of a sex worker and an absent father. The girls' lives intertwine when Tara's father, who helps orphaned children, brings Mukta home to work as a servant rather than as a temple prostitute. As the book moves back and forth through time, readers learn that Mukta has been kidnapped from her adopted home and Tara feels responsible. Tara returns to India as an adult to try to find Mukta and ease her own guilt. Readers will relate to the bond between the protagonists and sympathize with Mukta's situation. Teens who wish to learn more about the grim reality of life in brothels should also seek out S.J. Laidlaw's Fifteen Lanes.