Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

CW for sexual assault.. Gorgeous and beautifully written book that is an excellent mother-daughter read. Despite the book being centered around an unspoken assault, this was a joyous book to read. Migration, mother-daughter relationships, first love, and international affairs. This book haunts me by just popping into my head at random parts of the day.

Beautifully written, wholesome text, loved every page! Purchased for my middle school classroom library.

In her sophomore novel IF I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, Jasmin Kaur uses her unique blend of poetry, prose, and illustration to revisit and dig in deeper to the lives of the characters from her first book (When You Ask Me Where I’m Going).

Here, Kaur follows a powerful story of mother and daughter from the beginning, alternating viewpoints. Kiran has fled her home in India after being sexually assaulted by her fiancé’s brother, leading to a pregnancy her family shames her for. She begins school in Canada, but after her daughter Sahaara is born, it becomes more and more difficult to both attend school and work.

The novel follows Kiran as she overstays her visa, doing what she must to raise and protect her daughter, but fearing she will be deported due to her undocumented status. As Sahaara grows older, she fights to help her mother remain in Canada and also raise her voice about her past.

Kaur’s writing and one-of-a-kind style are captivating, and the story she tells here is so important on so many levels. While the book is marketed for young adults, I highly recommend this one for readers of all ages.

Many thanks to Harper Collins for gifting me this galley. Also look for a full review at www.thenerddaily.com!

This book will be challenging for me to review because of its inability to be classified as one genre. This is a book of poetry inside a novel with the occasional illustration, so it defies defining for me.

In the early 2000s, Kiran has the opportunity to attend university abroad in Canada. While this move is nerve wracking for her, it's also an escape from the trauma of her past -- her fiance's brother raped her back in India, and she is carrying his child. At university, she must balance being an immigrant, a freshman college student, and a single mother with no family support. After this section, the remainder of the book is spent mostly in the perspective of Sahaara, Kiran's daughter, and their family's life and the immigration process. Sahaara struggles with her identity (once she learns the truth of her conception) and the stress of living as a first-generation immigrant with an undocumented parent. When Kiran decides to confront her rapist in a public way, they are both confronted with questions and answers they've been fearing for too long.

This book was captivating for its character work and prose. I appreciated the varied chapters and perspectives which kept me reading just one more chapter. Some of the poetry was beautiful and impactful, but others for me just felt like they moved the plot forward with a different syntactical structure (which may have been the intent, but poetry isn't always my jam). I loved the relationship between Sahaara and Kiran -- it was realistic to their situation, and I appreciated that Kaur allowed it to grow.

There were a few moments, however, that I couldn't suspend disbelief, particularly with how the news coverage was handled near the end. Without spoiling anything, it just seemed unbelievable that the final conflict would have been handled that way in reality, and it seemed particularly traumatic in my opinion. Maybe it's a difference in how it would be handled in the US vs. abroad, but from my perspective, it was tough to believe. I also thought the voices/writing styles of Kiran and Sahaara were too close, which became especially apparent when their voices overlapped in certain chapters. I found it difficult to figure out who was who other than context clues, which occasionally didn't show up until a few pages into a scene. I struggled with deciding if I was bothered by this, since it also shows that they have a special bond through poetry and that they are similar, despite them not feeling super close towards the beginning of the book, but in the end, it did cause me some confusion.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was excellent social commentary with poignant themes and some great writing. While there are definitely many triggers in this book for students, I can see some of my older teen readers enjoying learning about these points of view.

One woman’s sexual assault and its impact on three generations of women as they come to terms with the truth. And how each generation interprets the truth of what happened. And how they might be able to move on from it. Told in prose, verse, and art. High school students will love this novel.

This book was amazing. I am thankful for netgalley to give me an arc for this.
It is so great to see more Sikh authors on the shelves, and writing such great work. I was not ready for how dark this might be because certain parts of the story were. They were sad, realistic, and heartbreaking. Mother and daughter share a special bond, and to see a journey written so well was amazing.

In many ways I'm still feeling this book, and I imagine I will be for some time to come. It is quite remarkable how a book that spans a large breadth of time, and in many ways brushes over key plot points is still consuming me in such a raw and heavy way. The mix of verse, prose, screenshots and drawings, make the book read like a biography and I feel like the characters are not only real, but that I would recognize them if we bumped in to each other in the street. I couldn't put the book down, and I hope everyone needing to feel love and feel heard and feel less alone, will find their way to this book and get lost in its beautiful pages.

Kiran is heading to Canada from Punjab, India when the book starts, to live with her Uncle's family and attend university. She carries a secret however, she is pregnant and is determined to have the child. Unwed, without family support, and the victim of rape, life carries on as she drops out of school, is taken in by a friend's mother, and her immigration status lapses. I was shocked when this happened in the first 100 pages or so, and there is so much more of the book to go.

The book picks up the story from the daughter's perspective for much of the remainder, with Kiran's voice still sprinkled in. Sahaara is a legal Canadian resident, but the fear she feels for her mother is real, and her mother's story, and ultimately her own conception, are still a mystery to her. As the information of her father slowly is revealed and it is learned that he is running for election, the two women decide to speak out and speak up, not for themselves , but for others not given the chance.

The book explores courage, and acceptance, and love, while also tackling the plight of women universally to be believed and heard. I love that it also spends time to explore how even within similar situations of abuse and abandonment, privilege can also be found.

The book warns of the triggers contained within, and with those considerations I think high school students would benefit from this story. The characters are Seikh and the Punjabi culture is very present, but the story will resonate with all readers and hopefully give them pause as to the assumptions we all make in perpetuating an environment where sexual assault is often brushed aside.

I deeply appreciate Ms Kaur, this was a deeply emotional read that I found myself holding my breath through.

The story of the Kaur's inside "If I Tell You the Truth" are without a doubt incredibly strong women who overcame their fears and faced the odds for the betterment of women.

🙌 Thank you for another wonderful book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book felt extremely heavy while reading and at times, it was a little too much for me to really enjoy the book. I think that people who enjoy an emotionally read will enjoy this one.

Jasmin Kaur’s forthcoming YA novel, If I Tell You the Truth, explores difficult topics such as immigration and sexual assault. Through a mix of poetry and prose, Kaur introduces us to Kiran, who has just moved from Punjab to Canada to attend university. After arriving in Canada, Kiran confesses to her mother that she is pregnant and was sexually assaulted by her fiancé’s brother. Her mother refuses to accept this traumatic reality for fear of the shame her family would have to endure. So when Kiran makes the decision to raise her child on her own, her family offers no support, but she finds a new home when Joti and her mother come into her life.

Readers follow Kiran as she navigates her life as a new mother while trying to balance school and work. With her student visa expiring since she had to drop out of school, Kiran now must live with the constant fear of being deported and separated from her daughter, Sahaara. The narration later changes to Sahaara, who is now a teenager in high school as we witness her experience as an undocumented immigrant’s child confronting love, heartbreak, and the truth about why her mother left Punjab.

Even though Kiran is able to become a permanent Canadian resident, the process isn’t always as easy as it seems, which is addressed in the novel’s notes at the end. Oftentimes, immigrants wait months or years to receive approval. Others never seek help to adjust their status because they fear being separated from their loved ones and sent back to the life they left behind. Kiran’s story is one of many unfortunate stories that we hear or read about from all around the world. I appreciate that Kaur doesn’t merely gloss over these important topics; instead, her novel shows readers that, even when not everyone’s experiences are the same, they are equally important and deserve to be taken seriously.

Overall, this story highlights the strength and perseverance women possess despite the tragedies and obstacles they face. If I Tell You the Truth is an empowering story that encourages women to share their stories and support one another, and will hopefully open the eyes of many in a crucial first step toward change. Perhaps one day our world will be a place where women and girls are respected, and those who commit horrific acts against them will be held accountable.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

I discovered Jasmin Kaur and her amazing writing when she released her first collection of poetry titled 'When You Ask Me Where You're Going' in October of last year. I was blown away by the poetry and her ability to capture such events with such grace.

This year, I had the chance to read her first novel which is blended through with her bold poetry.

The book highlights the struggles of a young unmarried woman from Punjab who leaves her country to study and raise a child in Canada. Over the years her secrets are kept tight to her chest and she is subjected to a turbulent two decades of life living as an undocumented person in Canada.

She was forced to escape India and cannot return due to the fears that continue to linger even after so many years.

The book is narrated by both Kiran and her daughter Sahara as they tell their stories first hand.

This book was such a great read, and shows the strength of a support system and how the community comes together in support of the truth. It also displays the reality of societal pressures which can become overbearing when the truth is not what people want to hear.

There a number of trigger warnings including sexual assault, alcoholism, domestic violence and immigrant trauma yet, a very promising novel by Kaur and an author I'll be keeping an our eye on going forward.

This book releases on January 19th, 2021 and I highly recommend snagging a copy!
Also a big thank you to Harpers Collins and NetGalley for my digital copy!!

Usually, when people write book reviews, they ask themselves the question “what was this book about?” So, as a book review, after reading this book, I asked myself “What was this book about?”, and I ran into a problem. This book cannot be described as being about one topic. This book cannot be summarized into one story. This book is not singular. But, once again, as a good reviewer, I had to answer the question of what the book is about. If I Tell You The Truth is about intersectionality. The reason I chose this descriptor is because people are not trains. That’s right- people are not trains. People are more like train stations. We exist at intersections. By reducing someone to a train, rather than a crossroads, we ignore their identity, and therefore cannot understand their story. This book is about the South Asian diaspora and the identity struggles that second generation South Asians face. It is about police brutality, and how it is not just an American issue, not just a Black issue, and not just a crime issue, but also an assault issue. This book is about sexual assault survivors, it is about victim blaming, shame, retaliation, physical and mental abuse, and rape. This book is about race, about microaggressions, stereotypes, and profiling. This book is about family, about love, and strength, and resilience. As a brown woman, as a person with anxiety, as a product of immigration, as a child of diaspora, as a second generation immigrant, as an intersectional feminist, this book spoke to my identity on many, many levels.
I have seen, again and again, parts of my identity used as a token. However, the reason that tokenism is so bothersome is that the extreme focus on one identity can block out the others. Especially when some identities give someone privilege, it is important to acknowledge that those parts of a person carry the same weight as the others. For example, being a cisgender individual gives me privilege. Being an American gives me privilege. Being a straight person gives me privilege. Focusing on “brown woman” rather than “cis American woman” emphasizes parts of my story, but leaves out others. It’s like we need to zoom out to see the full picture.
It is important to look at identity as a crossroads because our identities affect each other. It is really fascinating to see how identities are viewed as intersections only when it is convenient, rather than all the time. We live at the crossroads, so why are we so focused on the trains? Until we start to zoom out, and look at how gender relates to race, which relates to culture, which relates to family, which relates to education, which relates to economics, which relates to capitalism, which relates to politics, which relates to power structures, and on and on. Until we realize that all aspects of our identities and our lives are interconnected, these focused conversations on “hot button” issues like the gender binary and imposter syndrome cannot be solved. The gender binary cannot be discussed by dismissing conversations about religion. Imposter syndrome cannot be looked at from a color blind or class blind lens. The outlook of crossroads and intersections and train stations has to be out outlook when approaching all conversations about any part of our identities. Intersectionality is crucial to this book, and understand ourselves and each other.

If I Tell You the Truth by Jasmin Kaur is a powerful, heart wrenching, and all consuming story told in prose, poetry, and illustration.
Kiran flees her home to attend school in Canada followed by trauma. When she attempts to tell her mom about what happened to her, and the results, a pregnancy, she’s rebuffed and decides to take matters into her own hands. She denies her mother’s wishes, an abortion, and with the help of a friend and her friend’s mother raises her daughter in Canada. Over staying her student visa though puts Kiran in a tough position in life but she’ll do anything to give her daughter the best life she can.
***
Kiran is a woman of deep secrets and so much strength, she endures a lot on the hope that if she can last until her daughter, Sahaara, is 18 she can sponsor her citizenship. Kiran has little trust or love for authority considering how often it has been used against her which makes it hard for her to seek other options, but her endurance is admirable and also so incredibly sad.
The love of mother and daughter, and the strength of found family is amazing in this story. Kiran and Sahaara wouldn’t be who they are without Joti and her mother taking them in and loving them. Through their ups and downs they always had each other’s backs, and loved one another. Always.
Kiran has been running from something for 20 years, you have an idea of it but when the story comes pouring out it’s gut wrenching. The secrets she’s kept, hidden deep inside without anyone to help her carry the load, to give her some peace, just so much ouch. When her story becomes public she endures even more and Jasmin Kaur does a great job reflecting exactly how humans react to public things on the internet.
I love this story for its fierceness and for its voice.
I’m not always a big reader of contemporary but I can’t recommend this story enough.
It’s rough. It’s emotional. It’s empowering, learning more and becoming more aware.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Here is my review of this book! I greatly enjoyed this and want everyone to read it as soon as it comes out. I can't tell you how much I lowkey cried.

In this collection of prose, illustrations, and story telling, Jasmin Kaur has written a beautiful story that will capture your heart and not let go until that last page is turned. This powerful story dives into difficult issues like rape, undocumented immigrants, identity, acceptance, and family as readers follow Kiran, and her daughter Sahaara, on a twenty-year journey across Canada and India. I would buy this book for classrooms and libraries and make sure it is flagged with a warning about the triggers.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I appreciate those times when I simply cannot put a book down and when I reach the end of the book, I wish I knew what happened next in the lives of the characters. This book provided that experience.

This is the story of family, both biological and chosen. The plot spans 20 years in the lives of a Punjabi mother who relocates to Canada, pregnant as the result of an act of violence. She spends years undocumented while her daughter grows up keeping secrets. The daughter questions the lack of extended family and her parentage: is it better to know, even if one is the result of rape, or is it better to live in ignorance?

The mother and daughter make a new family in Canada, one comprised of a college friend and her mother. Their presence in the story shows the lengths that women often go to support and protect one another. It also shows that speaking out can lead to questions and catharsis at the same time.

The format of the story itself is the shining star. Told in a mixture of prose, verse, and text message screenshots (cracked screens and all), the lyricism sings. There were chapters that simply left me breathless such as “Joti Told Me”: “that love was a heavier anchor/than the currents that tried/to force us apart.” The verse lacks punctuation and capitalization in the vein of e.e. cummings but packs an emotional punch like Elizabeth Acevedo.

This book was powerful, beautiful, heartbreaking. It covers some hard topics but is also very approachable. This would be great to have in classrooms for older teens and would be a great resource to pull passages from as well. It is a powerful and important story, especially in today's world.

This beautiful book crosses cultures, continents and decades through poetry, narrative and even drawings. Koran goes to Canada from Punjab to study but the baby in her belly has other plans. Her daughter, conceived in the worst way possible, is the light of her life but without proper papers their life hangs in a delicate balance. This book definitely covers some triggering topics such as rape, sexual harassment, undocumented individuals and mental health but handles them so beautifully and with such delicacy. A wonderful book full of culture and love.

The mix of poetry, illustrations, and story telling in this novel is flawless. When I requested it, I didnt expect it to be so long, and yet I turned the final page hoping for more.

The author beautifully seamed this collection of mixed media into a story that will rip your heart out repeatedly, and yet leave you feeling.. full.

The mother/daughter dynamic of Sahaara and Kiran was truly authentic, I appreciated how similar they both were while not being a mirrored image of the other. They felt realistic.

Mainly this book shed light on the experiences of sexual assault victims, and the many ways an assault can change the entire direction of your life. I can't speak for the representation of the cultural talk in this novel, but the conversations it brought up did make me think about how much power a woman's word can hold dependent on where she is from.

If you enjoy modern poetry, strong female voices, and are mentally able to handle a lengthy book that doesn't shy away from the topic of sexual assault or deportation.. read this. It will stay with you.