THE KARMA MAP

An Indian American teen sheds her mean girl persona and tries to find herself while chaperoning a pilgrimage.

Tara Bajaj, former co-captain of the Rutgers High Bollywood dance team, becomes a social outcast after reporting the team’s attempt to sabotage a competitor. She accepts her classmates’ bullying as punishment for her behavior but is nonetheless relieved to spend the summer after graduation in India as a junior guide on a Hindu pilgrimage for teens. There isn’t much excitement in it for Tara, who spent her childhood on similar trips with her religious mother, but she figures she can rediscover herself while abroad. Eighteen-year-old Silas D’Souza-Gupta, on the other hand, is enthusiastic about being a junior guide. His mothers met on this exact pilgrimage, and Silas, who was adopted from Goa, plans to re-create their photos for a photojournalism competition. Although Silas’ glowing positivity initially clashes with Tara’s restrained demeanor, the two begin opening up to each other over clandestine McDonald’s meals and trips to outdoor food markets. As they tour temples and hike mountains in North India, Tara and Silas share their fears and hopes with each other and their boisterous group of teens, incorporating issues of socio-economic privilege, queer identity, religious belief, and cultural ownership into thoughtful, sometimes explicitly expository, conversations. The romance between Tara and Silas is sweet and develops alongside their self-understanding; the abrupt ending, while tidy, may leave readers wanting a little more.

A heartwarming story about personal growth.