Fitting Indian

Gr 9 Up–Drawing from personal experience, this debut graphic novel from influencer and comedian Chand and illustrator Anand is a contemporary YA story that highlights how mental health can be stigmatized. Nitasha feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere—with her South Asian community, she seems to be the only one who can’t move forward in life; with family, she feels like a disappointment to her parents since she’s not a perfect kid and a doctor like her brother; and her friend group has been on shaky ground ever since her best friend Ava and her crush Henry started growing closer to the new girl in town. Nitasha finds solace in alcohol, but when that doesn’t work, she takes more desperate measures. After a viral video of her gets spread around her school and throughout her community, Nitasha spirals even deeper into her depression. When a tragic incident occurs, Nitasha takes steps to slowly build herself up with the newfound support of her community. Both through Chand’s writing and Anand’s powerful visualizations, the discussion surrounding mental health, and how it’s sometimes viewed in traditional South Asian communities, is illuminated. This would be a good purchase for readers who liked Deb JJ Lee’s In Limbo, Victoria Ying’s Hungry Ghost, and Tillie Walden’s Spinning. Some of the following content included may be triggering for readers, such as mental illness, alcoholism, self-harm, suicide, domestic abuse, and bullying.