What’s a 12-year-old to do when everything around her seems to be falling apart? She sits down to write a series of letters, to her namesake, freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu.

Mathangi Subramanian’s new children’s book, Dear Mrs Naidu, resonates with the firm belief “that stories have the power to change the world”. Subramanian puts the spotlight on the unseen, unacknowledged fringes of urban life that are usually veiled from children and particularly the more privileged, myopic gaze of those who read kiddie fiction in English. Despite a rather bleak setting, Dear Mrs Naidu is an inspirational story of courage and hope. Instead of containing her frustration to letters to the freedom fighter, Sarojini takes a leaf from her namesake’s life and decides to challenge the system.

Source of the review.