Starred Review "Do you know what potential is? Potential is a long, bony finger pointing to everything about you that's not good enough." Infused with grief, joy, and sardonic humor, this tale of a preteen finding out that a note left by her sorely missed father after his COVID-19 death, which reads, "You can change your life," is true in several surprising ways offers a generous measure of comfort as well as entertainment. After failing an audition at her California ballet academy and, as a consequence, being forced into weight-loss plans by her mom, Boomika Gopalan discovers that the antique tape player that came with the aforementioned note is a time machine. Its old tunes keep sending her back to 1986 to meet her 12-year-old dad in a racially divided British factory town, convincing her that she's been given some sort of mission. But what? Unraveling that mystery leads to adventures, bold choices, a climactic Bollywood-style gala in the past, and th Boomi's reclamation of her own heritage in dance buoyant, upbeat ending in the present. Boomi's strong, distinctive narrative voice will sweep readers into her world, and her nuanced relations with a truly colorful supporting cast enhance her tale's humor and emotional resonance.

Gr 3–7— Boomi is having a hard year. Her dad died of COVID-19, her best friend isn't talking to her, and her mother is caught up in her own grief, making her simultaneously distant and overly involved. She has put Boomi on a restrictive diet and scheduled a "make up" audition to be admitted into an advanced ballet class Boomi no longer has any interest in. In the midst of the chaos, a family friend gives her an old boombox that her father asked him to pass on to her. After discovering a mixtape and a message from her father inside that tells her she can change her life, Boomi plays the tape, and is instantly teleported back in time to 1986 and her father's childhood home in a fictional English town. Though Boomi knows she can't tell her father who she is to him, she becomes fast friends with him and eventually with his rebellious sister, as well as her grandmother, who lives with them in the present but has nonverbal dementia. While jumping back and forth across time, Boomi comes to realize that her experiences in the past are impacting the present, which eventually causes a problem in the 1980s that she must fix to make things right in her own time. Sekaran masterfully balances the harsh reality of Boomi's present with the fantastical elements of the novel. Both time periods read with equal interest, as readers wonder if Boomi can indeed change her own and her family's circumstances. The chapters are themed and structured by the songs on the 1980s mixtape, most of which will be unfamiliar to younger readers but may pique their interest to investigate. All major characters in the family are East Indian and the plot deals with the prejudices of the eras. VERDICT Sensitively captures the isolation of COVID-19 and loss of a parent. Boomi is a relatable, self-aware character readers will be rooting for as she navigates myriad social, familial and personal issues in both time periods. Highly recommended.— Juliet Morefield

It's 2021 in San Francisco, the "second spring of the pandemic," and twelve-year-old Boomi Gopalan is grieving the loss of her father, a physician who recently died of COVID-19. She's also feeling dejected about a botched ballet audition: although she has had ambitions to be a dancer all her life, she isn't selected to move on to the next level at her snobby ballet academy. When she's given her father's old boombox, Boomi discovers a crumpled note in the battery compartment that reads "you can change your life." The boombox transports her back in time to 1986 to a small English town called Thumpton-on-Soar, where she meets her father as a boy. Boomi experiments with time travel, going back and forth as she tries, indeed, to change her life and somehow prevent her beloved father's death. In the end, Boomi learns about the roots of her family's secrets, finds joy in dancing again with the classical Indian dance of Bharatanyam, and fights against the racist treatment of South Asian immigrants in Thumpton. Boomi learns lessons about staying true to herself and her heritage and that a "big change can start with the smallest action of the very smallest person." Sekaran's well-crafted prose, sharp sense of humor, and knack for building suspense will keep readers interested until the surprising, time-bending conclusion.

A grieving Indian American girl finds healing through time travel.Boomi Gopalan has had a terrible year. The 12-year-old ballet dancer lives in San Francisco with her mother and Paati, her paternal grandmother who has dementia. Boomi's doctor father died of Covid-19 last year, and it's thrown her off balance. When his friend gives Boomi her dad's old boombox that contains a mixtape, insisting that he wanted her to have it, she finds a note he wrote tucked inside reading, "you can change your life." By playing the cassette, Boomi travels back in time to 1986 and her father's North of England hometown of Thumpton-on-Soar, where she meets him as a boy her own age. When an accident in the past threatens to change the future, Boomi must reach across the timelines to find a solution. Along the way, she tries to understand her loss and find her true self. The book tackles complex issues, including body image, as both Boomi's mother and ballet teacher make negative comments about her weight; complicated friendships; and racism and xenophobia, explored in 1980s England in ways that parallel Boomi's present-day awakening. Sekaran keeps all the plates spinning at a fast pace. The characters are vividly portrayed, including Boomi's father, his rebellious older sister, and vibrant and wise Paati. Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance that is rich in beauty and symbolism, becomes a link between grandmother and granddaughter and a way for Boomi to honor herself.A warm and empowering story. (Fiction. 8-12)