Avhi's Flight

by Janet Johnson Anderson

From a remote corner of Nepal's countryside, fourteen-year-old Avhi Tharu says a prayer for Mr. Singh. She has been promised to him in marriage. Instead, she clubs him in the head and flees with his ox and cart from the village. Days later, she slips through a mountain pass and into the lives of fellow travelers en route to Pokhara, and Kathmandu. On the run, uncertain who to trust, and how to reconcile the past, Avhi's encounter with girls and young women at the Thank Kot Center, stirs her to discover a purpose beyond herself.

Avhi's Flight is a beautiful and bittersweet adventure. Its story weaves together the complex threads of one girl's search for wholeness, the reckoning of lives left behind, and a culture's disregard for its women. Like the nonfiction bestseller Half The Sky, this important piece of fiction aligns with a central moral challenge of our time.

"If you're interested in women standing up for women, then this is a must-read."
---Bonnie Roberts
Contributing Writer, The Huffington Post; Fellow in Verse, Dublin;
Nat'l Endowment for the Humanities Scholar, Paris; Fulbright Scholar, Turkey

"This book highlights the sad realities that accompany women and their children in Nepal on a daily basis. It is an eye-opening story about how profound gender-based injustices are common practices in Nepal. The purpose of the Women's Foundation of Nepal is to tackle these issues by raising awareness of them, and empowering women with their rights."
---Renu Sharma
President, The Women's Foundation of Nepal

228 pages, Hardcover

Published February 15, 2019

Reviews

[READER VIEWS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jennifer Wilson for Reader Views (07/19)

“Avhi’s Flight” is an inspiring work of fiction by author Janet Johnson Anderson. It’s the captivating story of a fourteen-year-old girl who longs to become an educated woman but is instead promised in marriage to a much older Mr. Singh.

Instead of accepting her fate as most, if not all, Nepalese girls do, Avhi seizes the opportunity to escape her prison, possibly killing Mr. Singh in the process. Her journey as a young fugitive is rife with danger. What if she is found to be a runaway? There is also a very likely chance of being taken and sold to yet another man. Avhi must use all of her senses to stay one step ahead of those who would cause her harm.

The author’s amazing ability to describe the culture of the villages in the remote Nepalese countryside captured my imagination immediately. I became so invested in the life of Avhi and all the exploited women she represents. Johnson Anderson’s ability to use this work of fiction to highlight and educate her readers about the real hardships these young girls and women face is second to none.

Avhi’s experiences on the road are so diverse, some beautiful, others heart-breaking. This is a young woman with strong convictions and a desire to change the culture for her fellow women. When she encounters other young women at the Thank Kot Center, I think she discovers more strength within herself than she ever could have imagined.

I will admit to a personal ignorance regarding the plight of women from other areas of the world, growing up with the freedoms that we are blessed with in this country. I appreciate the author’s dedication to advocating for these women. Her work is magnificent, even poetic. I highly recommend Avhi’s Flight by Janet Johnson Anderson to all readers of dramatic fiction. It is wonderfully written and easy to get lost in.

[Donna DeGracia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was beautifully written. It was obvious that the author was a poet. The story was engaging and shed light of issues that women face all over the world.