This hard-hitting story about kids in India ranks with Sold by Patricia McCormick. Set in international venues, U.S. readers can learn about the challenging childhoods some kids face. In The Bridge Home, two sisters leave home because of parental abuse. Viji, the older sister is loving and kind to her younger sibling, Rukku, who is slow to understand some concepts and who has limited speech.

Surviving on the streets means going hungry, watching for bullies and dealing with adults. Some adults will help, but many will take advantage of young girls. The girls team up with two brothers who are also living on their own and are skilled in life on the streets.

They earn money by collecting trash and selling bead necklaces. And Rukku adopts a puppy. Viji, with her gift of storytelling, is always promising a better future. But when the monsoon season arrives and brings along mosquito-borne illnesses, she waits too long to get help for her Ruuku. She’s distrustful of the Christian church lady the older boy in their new “family”  likes. By then, the Ruuku cannot be saved. But Viji learns to trust people and follow her dream of getting an education to become a teacher. In doing so, she turns away her father who seeks forgiveness.

For the most part, the first-person narration is written as Viji looks back and explains everything that has happened to her sister. Venkatraman writes this tale in a most exquisite fashion.