A Burning by Megha Majumclar

When I finished the last page I took a huge breath and felt as though I had been holding it since I began, completely riveted by this powerful slim debut. It is centered on three characters whose lives are loosely intertwined but whose actions will have lasting consequences after a terrorist train attack in Bengal. Jivan is a smart girl who has found a way to raise herself up out of the slums. She has a chance to attend a better school, now works at a department store and is helping a social pariah learn English to help further her acting career. She has just purchased her first phone and is participating in social media. Sadly, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time and unknowingly gets pulled into a discussion online with a terrorist cell. Her innocent comment lands her in jail and the two people who can back up her story and help her, choose to take advantage of the situation and help themselves rather than fight for what is right. The author expresses so beautifully the speed and ferocity that fear can incite a riot, how a few moments of fame can alter a good person and how corruption can kill innocence for convenience.  5 stars