A People's History of Heaven - Mathangi Subramanian

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

I thought this book was really beautiful. It doesn't have much of a plot, although the background story is that the Indian slum Heaven is about to get bulldozed, and some women are trying to prevent that. But the bulk of the story revolves around 5 preteen girls who are best friends. We learn about who they are, how they grew up, and about some of their family members too. But the focus is always on the women of this Bangalore slum.

I just felt like I learned so much about what it means to be a woman in India, and especially a poor woman who is just doing her best to protect her family. The mothers really shone in this book, but so did the younger girls. The way they loved and supported each other, and were striving for a happier life.

I appreciated the diversity in the book too. We had a trans girl, a blind girl, and a lesbian. Some were really good at school, and some were not. One was just really good at building. They each had their own stories, and by the end I just loved them all. Again, not much plot, but I got sucked into the daily lives of these girls and women.