Yes there was a lot of singing and
dancing and generally making an idiot of myself – but it was okay as no
one else was at home when the package from my publisher came through the letter box
and landed on my door mat. I knew exactly what was inside: the first review
copy of my book – so I took my time tearing open the package, well, all of
about three seconds flat!
So here’s a picture of the very same book.
And here’s one of me flicking through it, with added sparkles. If the video doesn't work, then follow this link to The Girl in the Broken Mirror
So what is The Girl in the Broken Mirror about? It’s
about Jay, a fifteen year old British Asian girl, who is struggling with a
major culture clash after she and her mum are forced to move in with distant
relatives. The relatives are extremely strict – strict about Indian girls, what
they can and can’t do, how they should dress, how they should behave, who their
friends should be. Boys get to do what they like, which Jay thinks is so
unfair. And then she is raped.
I started writing the book about twelve years ago,
before I wrote The Long Weekend, and then I set it aside to write The Long
Weekend. I came back to it many times and it went through several titles and
rewritings over the years, but the main core scenes of the book remained
untouched.
Rape and sexual abuse are difficult to write about – and even more
difficult to write about for teenagers and young adults.
I know of three other books that deal with the
subject of rape, all very different, all excellent:
No Virgin by Anne Cassidy
Asking for it by Louise O’Neill
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
I think it’s important that these are books out
there, particularly when you look at the horrific rape stats for rapes and sexual abuse reported
by under eighteen year olds. I think it’s also important for teenagers to know
that there is help out there for them, that they are not alone, that there is
light at the end of the darkness.
8 comments:
Well done, Savita! I heard you read out a passage yesterday and it was very powerful indeed. Good luck with the book.
Well done, Savita from me too. A really important subject and the book deserves to be widely read. Very brave to write.
Thank you, Moira, that's exactly what I needed to hear!
David, many thanks.
All good wishes and congratulations on what sounds like an important and thought-provoking book. With excellent writing too, of course!
Thanks, Penny! Feeling a little anxious, as well as excited!
Congratulations Savita. Certainly an important subject, and I’m sure you’ve done it justice.
Congratulations - this sounds a very difficult book to write and a very important one.
Thank you all!
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