When You Ask Me Where I'm Going

by Jasmin Kaur

Overview

A stunning debut novel exploring the Punjabi experience using poetry, illustrations, and prose—perfect for fans of Rupi Kaur & Elizabeth Acevedo.
"Kaur's debut collection explores what it means to be a young woman in a world that not only fails to hear her but that often refuses to see her. The novel begins with poems that are more than pretty words; they carry weight and breathe fire. Power is reclaimed through self-acceptance and love." —Booklist
scream
so that one day
a hundred years from now
another sister will not have to
dry her tears wondering
where in history
she lost her voice
Some poems are wrapped in silk and appear to be glistening gifts. Others cascade from the sky like violent hailstorms. At times, they are scattered across the landscape of lips and hide within closed fists.
Jasmine Kaur's striking debut novel is divided into six sections that speak to readers in poems, prose, and illustrations and explore what it means to be a young woman living in a world that doesn't always hear her. She tells the story of Kiran, who flees a history of trauma, and raises her daughter, Sahaara, while living undocumented in North America. This powerful narrative of resilience, healing, empowerment, and love will galvanize readers to fight for what is right in their world.
"Kaur's elegant and informative poetry and prose packs a powerful punch. The gentle words empathize with and encourage readers, uplifting the soul, and praising every woman's spirit." —School Library Journal
"A searing and gorgeous debut. This book made me feel seen, but it also educated me—it's sure to provoke many necessary and meaningful conversations." —Jasmine Warga, author of Other Words for Home and My Heart and Other Black Holes

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062912633
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/22/2023
Series:	When You Ask Me Where I'm Going , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	254
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jasmin Kaur is a writer, illustrator, and spoken word artist living in Vancouver, BC. Her writing, which explores feminism, social empowerment, love, and survival, acts as a means of healing and reclaiming identity. As an arts facilitator and fourth-grade teacher, Jasmin has been leading creative writing workshops for young people across North America, the UK, and Australia over the past fi ve years. Visit her online at www.jasminkaur.com.

Editorial Reviews

Kaur’s debut collection explores what it means to be a young woman in a world that not only fails to hear her but that often refuses to see her. The novel begins with poems that are more than pretty words; they carry weight and breathe fire. Power is reclaimed through self-acceptance and love.” — ALA Booklist

“Kaur’s elegant and informative poetry and prose packs a powerful punch. The gentle words empathize with and encourage readers, uplifting the soul, and praising every woman’s spirit.” — School Library Journal

“Kaur’s poetry delivers moments of startling clarity and light, lyrically describing the experience of a population rarely visible in Western literature.” — Kirkus Reviews

"Kaur draws on her experience of being a Sikh woman in Canada to express feelings of anger, grief, and tentative hopefulness that will resonate deeply with young women who feel unheard and unseen because of their ethnicity, their immigration status, and/or their experience of domestic abuse." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“A searing and gorgeous debut. This book made me feel seen, but it also educated me—it’s sure to provoke many necessary and meaningful conversations.” — Jasmine Warga, author of Other Words For Home and My Heart and Other Black Holes

“An emotional journey that will enlighten, inspire and empower readers everywhere.” — Amanda Lovelace, bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one, the witch doesn’t burn in this one and the mermaid’s voice returns in this one

“Kaur weaves a captivating narrative that reminds us of what it means to be raw, to be powerful, to be beautifully unique—beautifully human. So many people need this book. I’m one of them.” — Kristin Cast, #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author of the House of Night series, The Dysasters, and the forthcoming The Key

“Jasmin Kaur epitomizes a powerful, assertive, and unapologetic voice, speaking candidly about the deep, dark, and hidden while maintaining a tone of optimism and resilience. As she challenges expectations and brutal truths, Jasmin offers an insightful commentary on the world from her eyes that is bound to resonate.” — Madisen Kuhn, author of 18 Years, Please Don’t Go Before I Get Better, and forthcoming Almost Home

“Jasmin Kaur’s work is divine and essential. She sees you and then hands you the mirror to see yourself. There is a sweet, fierce and true vulnerability in every piece. Cling to this book, it is honest and it will bring you home to yourself.” — Upile Chisala, author of soft magic, nectar, and the forthcoming A Fire Like You

“A fierce reminder of the irreplaceable and irrepressible nature of our own voices and the power they hold.” — Trista Mateer, author of Honeybee, The Dogs I Have Kissed and forthcoming Aphrodite Made Me Do It

“Gut-wrenching and awe-inspiring. Jasmin Kaur writes the type of poetry that you never want to stop reading, that makes you want to cry, laugh, stop and think, scream, and then tell your stories and speak your truth without apology. This book will change you.”  — Layla Saad, author of the forthcoming Me and White Supremacy

“Raw and introspective, both painful and uplifting to read, When You Ask Me Where I’m Going seamlessly conveys a vast spectrum of emotions in a very real way that the reader can easily connect with.” — The Nerd Daily

From the Publisher

Kaur’s debut collection explores what it means to be a young woman in a world that not only fails to hear her but that often refuses to see her. The novel begins with poems that are more than pretty words; they carry weight and breathe fire. Power is reclaimed through self-acceptance and love.

ALA Booklist

Kaur weaves a captivating narrative that reminds us of what it means to be raw, to be powerful, to be beautifully unique—beautifully human. So many people need this book. I’m one of them.

Kristin Cast

An emotional journey that will enlighten, inspire and empower readers everywhere.

Amanda Lovelace

A searing and gorgeous debut. This book made me feel seen, but it also educated me—it’s sure to provoke many necessary and meaningful conversations.

Jasmine Warga

Jasmin Kaur’s work is divine and essential. She sees you and then hands you the mirror to see yourself. There is a sweet, fierce and true vulnerability in every piece. Cling to this book, it is honest and it will bring you home to yourself.

Upile Chisala

"Kaur draws on her experience of being a Sikh woman in Canada to express feelings of anger, grief, and tentative hopefulness that will resonate deeply with young women who feel unheard and unseen because of their ethnicity, their immigration status, and/or their experience of domestic abuse."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A fierce reminder of the irreplaceable and irrepressible nature of our own voices and the power they hold.

Trista Mateer

Jasmin Kaur epitomizes a powerful, assertive, and unapologetic voice, speaking candidly about the deep, dark, and hidden while maintaining a tone of optimism and resilience. As she challenges expectations and brutal truths, Jasmin offers an insightful commentary on the world from her eyes that is bound to resonate.

Madisen Kuhn

Raw and introspective, both painful and uplifting to read, When You Ask Me Where I’m Going seamlessly conveys a vast spectrum of emotions in a very real way that the reader can easily connect with.

The Nerd Daily

Gut-wrenching and awe-inspiring. Jasmin Kaur writes the type of poetry that you never want to stop reading, that makes you want to cry, laugh, stop and think, scream, and then tell your stories and speak your truth without apology. This book will change you.” 

Layla Saad

"Kaur draws on her experience of being a Sikh woman in Canada to express feelings of anger, grief, and tentative hopefulness that will resonate deeply with young women who feel unheard and unseen because of their ethnicity, their immigration status, and/or their experience of domestic abuse."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

2019-07-13
Poetry and prose that explore the Punjabi experience.

Shifting between poetry, prose, and illustrated poems, this book both celebrates and interrogates the lives of Punjabi families in India and Canada, beginning and ending with poems that focus on the female experience. Subjects include the pressure to be a good Punjabi daughter-in-law and wife and the impact of colorism. While the first third deals with issues of violence, such as the systematic rape of women in the Punjab, the last third focuses on love, particularly self-love. The middle section, which is mostly prose, focuses on Kiran, who flees Chandigarh, India, for her aunt and uncle's home in British Columbia because she is pregnant. Although her mother asks her to get an abortion, she decides to have the child, a girl she names Sahaara. The remainder of the section explores Sahaara's life as a Canadian Punjabi high school student. Kaur's poetry, particularly in the first third of the book, delivers moments of startling clarity and light, lyrically describing the experience of a population rarely visible in Western literature. Unfortunately, though, the prose section in particular is clunky and the characters, underdeveloped. Kaur's ideas and compassion, however, burst with a promise that indicates that her future work has the potential to add layers to the at times hackneyed language and plotlines in this debut.

A boldly experimental text that, unfortunately, tends toward the trite. (Poetry. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews