Ruchira Gupta

What would you do today, if you had to fight for your life tomorrow?

Pre-order your copy of I KICK AND I FLY to find out.

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Fourteen-year-old Heera knows she is living on borrowed time when she is expelled from school.

There is no food at home and her father wants to sell her into the sex trade .

She has no means to fight back until a woman’s rights advocate enrolls her in her Kung Fu class.

Through it, Heera learns that her body isn’t an object to be preyed upon, but a vessel to free herself.

About Me

As a journalist, I stumbled upon rows of villages with missing girls and became a life-long activist against sex-trafficking. I made a documentary, won an Emmy and showed the documentary to the United Nations and the US Senate for the passage of anti-trafficking laws. I also started an NGO, Apne Aap Women Worldwide, that has aided thousands of girls and women in exiting prostitution systems. I KICK AND I FLY is my debut fiction novel based on the true stories that I witnessed and experienced as an activist in my NGO. I have won many awards for but my work is not finished.

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“We will make a world in which no human being is bought or sold.”— Ruchira Gupta

PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

GLORIA STEINEM, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
“In I Kick and I Fly, Ruchira Gupta has given readers an irresistible story, and one that could save lives. The book is a gift. “

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

ASHLEY JUDD, All That is Bitter and Sweet
“Having been to the red-light district, I Kick and I Fly so searingly captures, I can testify that this book has created a great hero in Heera.”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

ALICE WALKER, The Color Purple
“Any work from Ruchira Gupta is sure to further the cause of liberating women, and in this novel, it is the freedom of girls.”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

AYAAN MOHAMOUD, You Think You Know Me
“Gupta’s I Kick and I Fly is simply magnificent. A beautifully tender and sensitive exploration of one girl’s fight to reclaim her body.”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

GAYLE FORMAN, If I Stay
“A page-turner of a read, stepped in place and full of indelible characters, managing to be at once propulsive and enlightening, infuriating and inspiring.”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

REBEKAH SHOAF, BOOGIE DOWN BOOKS, BRONX, NY
“A powerful story about courage, community, and kicking ass. Highly recommended!”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

BRANDI STEWART, CHANGING HANDS BOOKSTORE, TEMPE, AZ
“This intense, important novel is a must read for everyone.”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

KIRKUS REVIEW
“A triumphant debut...the narration contains vivid sensory descriptions that, along with the Hindi words scattered throughout, bring the setting to life, quickly immersing readers in her world. "

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY
"Gupta renders Heera’s perseverance amid grueling circumstances via straightforward prose and imbues this searing tale with an ominous ambiance that complements its dark themes."

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

EMILY AUTENRIETH, A SEAT AT THE TABLE BOOKS, ELK GROVE, CA
“An incredibly immersive, honest, yet YA-appropriate novel.”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

STACEYANN CHIN, AUTHOR OF THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE
“A call to action to rise from the pall of apathy and join the movement to fight and fight and keep fighting…”

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PRAISE FOR I KICK AND I FLY

NATALIE C. ANDERSON, AUTHOR OF CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES
“An empathetic and unflinching glimpse into a world little known to outsiders.”

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