Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for an arc in exchange for an hnest review.

I dont know what took me so long to read this book but I absolutely loved it and I binged it in a day!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I did not expect to learn about aspects of history but this book created intrigue for me to learn more about Sri Lanka and its decades long civil war. Through this narrative, Kavi moves through changing relationships such as her recently remarried and newly pregnant mother as well as new, richer friends at the school she qualified for. This is a simple but impactful narrative that I highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I read this in 2023 and enjoyed it.

Congratulations to the author and thanks to the publisher for the copy!

A couple of things about this book should not have worked: Novels-in-verse are not my favourite, and the story revolves around a young girl's wish to assimilate with her classmates. The latter is something I usually avoid in order to not get flashbacks to the unhappier times in school when I may or may not have made a fool of myself trying to stick with girls I befriended and was too afraid (or lazy) to move on from.
This is a short book that provides a stark look at war-torn Sri Lanka and how an average citizen would be looking at it. Our protagonist has harder things (for her) to be bothered with. Her mother has grown distant, both physically and mentally, and she craves the relationship they once had. She resents what she sees as an intrusion of the new man in her mother's life. With this resentment-filled mind, she moves in with her aunt, who is a maid at a rich person's house in the city.
Determined not to be outed as a villager, she decides to fib a little; this little fib turns bigger as she struggles to hold on to them till she learns a few lessons. The tensions in the country and the impact they have on both sides of the conflict are stark and make their way into this plot even when Kavi is more concerned about other things.
It was a touching story, and the author's note at the end clarifies how she tried not to take sides when talking about the conflict.
Finally, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book about a country, culture, or conflict they might not have heard of before in an innocuous format with a large impact.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I thought that this was a beautifully rich and well crafted novel in verse with memorable characters and a beautifully poignant narrative. So excited to read what Thushanthi writes next!

Kavi lives in war torn Sri Lanka. The only to advance her life is by getting a good education and going to a city school as a scholarship student. To make matters worse, her mother has quickly remarried after Kavi's father's death and Kavi feels unwanted and unloved. Like in the big city of Columbo is not exactly what she expected. Kavi is allowed to love with her aunt, who is a housekeeper to a wealthy family. She doesn't fit in - not at home (where there's going to be a new baby), not at her aunt's, and not at school. Kavi has to find her place in the world in order to find her happiness.

Stunning historical fiction novel-in-verse about a young girl growing up in the 90s in Sri Lanka. Beautiful lines and incredible character growth are two reasons I loved this novel.

Can't believe it took me this long to start the book! Once I started it only took me less than half a day to finish it too! I enjoyed reading this quite a bit, Kavi is interesting to follow and I love how complicated and /real/ her emotions felt. She may come across as unlikeable to some people but unlikeable does not necessarily equal to unrootable in my book. And Kavi is easy to root for, imo


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

An absolute gem of a book. I am a Sri Lankan and it brings me great pride to have been able to read and review this book. Absolutely loved the story telling and writing style of this book. Thushanthi was able to bring out the emotions so well in the book. Its a middle grade novel but i do recommend older readers to read this as well.

Excellent book with compelling characters and a thought-provoking plot. I enjoyed the thread about who has the privelege of ignorning wars and violence and who does not and how our geography or economic status impacts our access there.

I really enjoyed this middle grade novel in verse, though it was so heartbreaking! I wasn't very familiar with the historical and cultural context of this book and it was very eye-opening. The verse was beautifully written and suitable for the target audience. Kavi was a relatable character and I think many middle grade readers will root for her.

"I Am Kavi" is perfect for fans of Reem Faruqi or Rajani LaRocca. I will definitely be recommending this at my library!

This was breathtakingly beautiful. I loved it so so much. I loved you so much. I can’t wait to read more.

Beautifully written, I Am Kavi is a story of resilience, childhood and life set in the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera is a powerful novel in verse set in Sri Lanka during the Civil War.

Kavi lives in a village in Sri Lanka. Anger fills her as her mother remarries after her Thathha, a war veteran who lost his leg, passed away. A brilliant student, she gets a scholarship to a prominent school in Colombo.

The city life bedazzles Kavi, awestruck with her hosts' spacious rooms and material possessions. Kavi only had a cloth partition in their village home. Determined to do well, Kavi buries her nose in her books until she befriends some popular, affluent girls in her class. Things go awry as she tries to fit in and loses herself.

I Am Kavi explores class, friendship, self-love, belonging and family relationships in the backdrop of an ongoing civil war. She tries to understand the Sinhalese-Tamil dichotomy as a 10 year old who experiences the impacts of war at varying degrees.

This is a tender read for kids, relatable in many ways despite the lingering presence of war and death. A heartfelt novel that will undoubtedly resonate with children and adults alike. It highlights a bloody and tragic part of history that many are unaware of.

Thank you @netgalley @holidayhousebks for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I Am Kavi is a powerfully written novel in verse story about a girl living during the Sri Lankan civil war. I loved being immersed in the village and the city of Colombo. This was a wonderful and heart wrenching story about what a normal life of a poor village girl would have been like while living through a civil war. Kavi is an easily relatable character and her words in verse quickly endear her to you. The normalcy of the concerns about school and friends while living in Sri Lanka during the civil war are interwoven with themes that every kid can appreciate. I thought this story was so interesting and informative and if you are wanting to know a tiny bit about the war and to be transported to another wonderful culture than run to grab this book! It was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Thank you so much to the author and the publisher for letting me read an early copy!

A beautiful novel in verse set during the Sri Lankan Civil War, 1998. A debut novel full of courage and a powerful heroine. Kavi is on scholarship to an elite school and fears her secret will be found out, where she's a poor girl whose mother chose a new husband over her.

I've never read a novel in verse before, and this didn't disappoint. The writing was very poetic and flowed so nicely.
Thank you Netgalley!

I am Kavi is a fascinating novel-in-verse following Kavi, a girl living through the Sri Lankan Civil War of 1998 whose struggles fall in the realm of school, friends, and family. Kavi’s personal struggles, against the backdrop of civil war, bring the reader into her eyes and her shoes, placing her immediate personal concerns in front of the reader and asking for sympathy and understanding. Kavi’s world is immediately present, the first person perspective and strong emotions of this novel-in-verse immersing the reader in the narrative, world, characters, and relationships. The characters of this world, notably Kavi’s family and friends, are all defined by their relationship to her and also their relationship to her personal desires -- being cool with her new friends, having her mother to herself, becoming the darling of the city and her new school -- and Ponweera’s characters brilliantly convey her messaging and carry Kavi’s story forward. Ponweera’s world is brilliantly vibrant and both large and small, much in the way that the story is, and she brings a fascinating piece of South Asian history to the forefront of this novel in a way that is accessible for readers of all ages. Her characters are brilliantly crafted and lifelike, making this novel-in-verse a fascinating read.

As a Tamil person, I've been hesitant to read historical (fiction) books set in Sri Lanka, but after reading Shehan Karunatilaka's novel "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida," I started to explore books by Sinhalese authors. Since I wasn't born in Sri Lanka, I use books as an opportunity to understand different perspectives.
I am aware that no story is void of bias, especially if you're writing about something you've lived through. However, I am quite disappointed in the carelessness of the writing and publishing team with respect to historical fact-checking. The incomplete history that was included after the story ruined my otherwise positive experience with this book.

Thushanthi Ponweera's debut 'I am Kavi' is coming of age, middle-grade fiction written in first-person prose. It depicts a young Kavi living in Sri Lanka during the late 1990s. Kavi grapples with new changes in her family—loss and the emergence of new family members. The way she responds to these changes is written so perfectly through the mind of a young child. Similarly, when moving to a new school, Ponweera depicts the universal challenges of fitting in and navigating peer pressure. On top of that, Ponweera discusses the themes of class and insecurity with much sensitivity. The verse is very easy to read and suitable for a young audience. As a story, this was a fantastic debut! I enjoyed the story until I came across the extra chapter called "The Sri Lankan Civil War."

Overall, if I were to ignore the historical context of I am Kavi, I quite enjoyed Kavi's story. However, is it ever possible to critique a political book with an apolitical lens? I understand that it is nearly impossible to write a story that is completely void of bias, and the author herself admits that there may be some 'unconscious bias' in her work. However, when including a chapter that claims to provide historical context, they could have simply included more statistics and events instead of completely reducing the oppression faced by Tamil people living in Sri Lanka to a few meager sentences. Ponweera starts the history of Sri Lanka chapter 2,500 years ago but then conveniently skips right to 1983. This omission completely disregards the brutalities faced by Tamil people, including the burning of the Jaffna Library. I am sure that an author and a publishing house understand the importance of books and the gravity of this event. I am aware that what happened in Sri Lanka has been historically referred to as a "civil war," but of late, countries like Canada have started to recognize the oppression and injustice faced by Tamil people as a genocide (https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statemen...). The massacre in Mullivaikal has been forgotten and it is summarized as "the Sri Lankan millitary defeated the Tamil Tigers."

Given that I am Kavi is a middle-grade book intended for a global audience who may not be familiar with the events that took place in Sri Lanka, it is crucial that the authors, editors, publishers, and entire writing team do extensive research.