Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth

Boys Without Names

Kashmira Sheth

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · May 24, 2011

A Realistic Fiction pick for readers exploring Boys Without Names.

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Who it’s for
A clear-eyed story of hardship finds room for courage in the stories boys share.
Themes
Child labor, Storytelling and solidarity, Family separation
Genres
Abuse & Healing, Survival Stories, Homelessness & Poverty

About this book

Trapped. For eleven-year-old Gopal and his family, life in their rural Indian village is over: We stay, we starve, his baba has warned. They flee to the big city of Mumbai in hopes of finding work and a brighter future. Gopal is eager to help support his struggling family, so when a stranger approaches him with the promise of a factory job, he jumps at the offer. ?

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But there is no factory, just a stuffy sweatshop where he and five other boys are forced to work for no money and little food. The boys are forbidden to talk or even to call one another by their real names. Locked away in a rundown building, Gopal despairs of ever seeing his family again. But late one night, when Gopal decides to share kahanis, or stories, he realizes that storytelling might be the boys' key to survival. If he can make them feel more like brothers than enemies, their lives will be more bearable in the shop—and they might even find a way to escape.

Stories as Shelter

A clear-eyed story of hardship finds room for courage in the stories boys share.

Come here for

  • A young reader’s view of poverty, displacement, and the bonds stories can build

Expect

  • Tense circumstances, with connection and the possibility of escape

Where it sits

Homelessness & Poverty65%
Survival Stories38%
Abuse & Healing30%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Art & Architecture
  • Boys & Men
  • Family Stories
  • Historical Asia
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Stories Set in Asia
  • Friendship
  • Homelessness & Poverty
  • Sexual Abuse & Support
Authors
Kashmira Sheth
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
May 24, 2011
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Child labor · Storytelling and solidarity · Family separation
Reading lane
Art & Architecture