DNF @ 63%. I really wanted to finish this book, honest I did. I couldn't bring myself to though. I understand that this was supposed to give a voice to women, specifically girls and women from India, who face abuse and misogyny and shed light on these topics while also telling the story of two girls and their friendship, but honestly it's too hard for me to finish. I never expected the read to be easy and I certainly didn't expect things to magically get better for Savitha or Poornima, but this was still a bit much. I ultimately had to stop during Savitha's portion of the story because a particular incident [spoilers start here] after Savita is human trafficked from India to America where a man forces her to use her amputated arm on him for sexual pleasure. If that incident itself wasn't horrifying enough, there's actually a description of what she does to him, how she feels during it, and his pleasure from it. [spoilers end here]. I'll admit that my reaction may have a lot to do with the fact that I was listening to the audiobook during this graphic scene and maybe it would've been different if I were visually reading it instead of doing an auditory reading, but either way, that was the last straw for me.

I understand what Shobha Roa wanted to do with this novel and I applaud her for taking on such a taboo topic that needs to be discussed more, but for my own personal state of mind and person...I can't continue this book. I will say that the prose was great and you could really feel the love that Savita and Poornima have for one another. I was honestly rooting for them both and the narrator gave great emotion to Shobha's words.