Vibhuti Jain

Angie Singh is an athlete, swimming at the high school over summer break. On her way home, she finds the body of Henry McCleary, a wealthy white boy and the brother of her friend. Henry has been stabbed. Angie is the daughter of Babur Singh, an Indian immigrant. Angie had been asked to tutor Chiara, a black girl, in swimming. Chiara is the person who stabbed Henry after an incident. Henry is going to be fine, but the McClearys want to sue, especially after finding that Chiara was homeless and improperly registered at the school.
This is a look at class in the US, and how people are treated based on their skin color and their social and economic status. It is a story of love between a father and daughter and how they navigate the biases. Well done.… (mehr)

Debut author Vibhuti Jain weaves an interesting story in order to explore themes of race and privilege in Our Best Intentions. An altercation among students outside of a wealthy suburban high school in the last week of summer leaves one of them stabbed in the stomach and the alleged perpetrator missing. Told in an omniscient third-person voice, the story follows many of the characters but mainly focuses on Angie Singh who found the victim and called 911. As she struggles to figure out what actually happened, her own feelings and family issues compound the problem. The novel gets bogged down a bit in internal musings and could have used some editing, but overall a decent story that examines a complicated situation with a fresh point of view.… (mehr)