Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up

From the author of the Morris Award finalist Rani Patel in Full Effect comes a sharply written novel about a college freshman who has escaped her traditional Gujarati upbringing . . . but suppressed memories are starting to bubble to the surface.

“A tough read that's worth the discomfort.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Gita reclaiming her voice is worth the journey.”—Booklist

It’s eighteen-year-old Gita Desai’s first year at Stanford University, and the fact that she’s here and not already married off by her very traditional Indian American parents is a miracle. She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model-student rep all the way to med school . . . which means no social life or standing out in any way. But when two of the most popular girls on campus take her under their wing, starry-eyed Gita quickly loses herself in the intoxicating world of college parties and casual hookups. And with each new experience, flashbacks of childhood sexual assault—memories she had long ago buried—unearth themselves, unraveling everything she thought she knew.

The more Gita tries to navigate the confusing world of college and consent, the more she’s forced to face the heart-breaking truth of what happened to her. It’ll take a special kind of courage, plus help from her newfound friends, for her to burst forward and stop shutting up about the past.