BOOMI'S BOOMBOX

A grieving Indian American girl finds healing through time travel.

Boomi Gopalan has had a terrible year. The 12-year-old ballet dancer lives in San Francisco with her mother and Paati, her paternal grandmother who has dementia. Boomi’s doctor father died of Covid-19 last year, and it’s thrown her off balance. When his friend gives Boomi her dad’s old boombox that contains a mixtape, insisting that he wanted her to have it, she finds a note he wrote tucked inside reading, “you can change your life.” By playing the cassette, Boomi travels back in time to 1986 and her father’s North of England hometown of Thumpton-on-Soar, where she meets him as a boy her own age. When an accident in the past threatens to change the future, Boomi must reach across the timelines to find a solution. Along the way, she tries to understand her loss and find her true self. The book tackles complex issues, including body image, as both Boomi’s mother and ballet teacher make negative comments about her weight; complicated friendships; and racism and xenophobia, explored in 1980s England in ways that parallel Boomi’s present-day awakening. Sekaran keeps all the plates spinning at a fast pace. The characters are vividly portrayed, including Boomi’s father, his rebellious older sister, and vibrant and wise Paati. Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance that is rich in beauty and symbolism, becomes a link between grandmother and granddaughter and a way for Boomi to honor herself.

A warm and empowering story.