Boomi's Boombox

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Acclaimed author Shanthi Sekaran delivers a poignant and powerful story about grief, family, dance, and friendship that follows a young girl who accidentally travels back in time to meet her dad as a child.

When Boomi’s dad dies of COVID, the rest of her life topples like a row of dominoes. First, her best friend, Bebe, stops talking to her. Then she gets kicked out of her ballet academy. Her mom becomes hyperfocused on her weight. Her grandmother Paati sinks further into the shadows of her mind.Then Boomi is given one last gift from her dad: his old boombox. Inside it, she finds a mix tape and a note: You can change your life. When she presses play on the boombox, her life really does change: she’s magically transported to Thumpton-on-Soar, England, 1986. And her dad’s there! But he doesn’t know he’s her dad—he’s twelve, just like Boomi.Boomi starts to see what being twelve was like for her dad, growing up Indian in a town that wanted to silence people like him. She starts to understand why he never went back. But why is Boomi sent back to Thumpton? Is she supposed to save her dad? Or change her life?

About the Author

Shanthi Sekaran is the author of The Samosa Rebellion and the adult novel Lucky Boy, which was an IndieNext Great Read with three starred reviews and was named a best book of the year by NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Library Journal. It has also been optioned by HBO Max in one of their first limited series deals. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and the Huffington Post. She teaches creative writing and literature at Mills College in Oakland, CA. You can visit her at shanthisekaran.com.