Varsha Bajaj’s ‘Thirst’ on New York Times Best Seller List

HOUSTON: A New York Times Bestseller for middle-grade fiction, Houstonian Varsha Bajaj’s ‘Thirst” is the riveting story of a heroic girl who fights for her belief that water should be for everyone.

Minni lives in the poorest part of Mumbai, where access to water is limited to a few hours a day and the communal taps have long lines. Lately, though, even that access is threatened by severe water shortages and thieves who are stealing this precious commodity—an act that Minni accidentally witnesses one night. Meanwhile, in the high-rise building where she just started to work, she discovers that water streams out of every faucet and there’s even a rooftop swimming pool. What Minni also discovers there is one of the water mafia bosses. Now she must decide whether to expose him and risk her job and maybe her life. How did something as simple as access to water get so complicated?

Praise for ‘Thirst: “Varsha Bajaj (Count Me In) brings awareness to the world water crisis and social inequality with Thirst, a moving, hopeful story. . . . Bajaj thoughtfully examines class and privilege, making topics like water access and income inequality accessible to middle-grade readers. Bajaj shows how a lack of clean water, decent health care and education can affect people’s lives. Minni can’t focus on schoolwork because she’s hungry and exhausted; anger, fear and frustration frequently play out in the water line; and people adapt just to survive their environment (e.g., boiling water to fend off diseases). Water may not flow freely like it does in the high-rise Minni works in, but community and hope do. A sense of togetherness—whether it’s Minni’s aunties bringing her food or the school guard allowing her to enter school late—pulses through this meaningful narrative.” —Shelf Awareness,
starred review