Exiled to Freedom by SGD Singh is a nested story about Priya, a teen visiting family in India. When her behaviour angers her mother, Priya is dumped off at her great-grandmother’s house in the middle of nowhere. Cut off from her tech, Priya at first sulks in her room. She finally decided to come out, and starts helping around the house. As she learns manual skills she never contemplated needing before, and immersing herself in the language of her family, Priya slowly begins to change. In her new growth, and innate compassion, she even rescues and heals a starving mongrel who comes on to the property. She also befriends Rohit, the young man who runs the farm.

Priya becomes interested in her great-grandmother’s life and past. Her grandmother becomes willing to share her experiences during Partition, when Pakistan was formed, and Indians and Muslims alike had to scramble to get to the proper side, or risk grave consequences. Each night the tale is told more and more people come to hear. The end of the story reveals that Priya’s grandmother has a dear wish to repay the descendants of a soldier who gave her a pack to hold, before stepping out into near certain death so the refugees packed in a train car got through safely. The story takes a bizarre turn, morphing into an Ocean’s 11 heist attempt to help her grandmother’s wish to come true. 

Okay, I admit, at first I found Priya to be a spoiled little brat. She did mature over the course of the story, and I loved that she helped the dog. Really, that level of compassion swayed my opinion of her. Then she decided to help make her grandmother’s wish come true, and while an impractical, fantastical plan, she and Rohit pull it off. My favourite part was the history of Partition, and what Priya’s grandmother went through because it was a real part of history. A sadly brutal part of history full of atrocities. 

The heist part at the end wasn’t really believable to me, but it was fun and it lightened the atmosphere after the Partition tale, while still being tied to it. I also find it difficult to believe the love connection Priya found. It seems way too short a time frame for such love and devotion. Recommended read!

***Many thanks to the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Lola’s Blog Tours