Project Jennifer

‘Jennifer’ by Nandita Puri recounts the true story of a little girl who was trafficked to America under the pretense of adoption.

The story starts with an Indian American named Jennifer in jail. After a quick hearing, she is deported back to India for having no papers confirming her to be an American. Shocked and alone in a strange land, she struggles to make a life for herself. Once you’re hooked as a reader, you hear her harrowing backstory, of how she was sent to America for adoption and how she was removed from adopting families for sexual abuse and then how she gets stuck in the American foster care system. With few prospects, she starts hustling to earn and when she’s caught, she’s sent to India against her will, leaving two children behind.

The book is both gripping and informative. Using simple words, the author captures the roller coaster of emotions Jennifer felt as she went through her life, with gentle insights on how some incidents would shape her. Interspersed in the first half are some informative chapters on international adoption laws and the history of child trafficking. They’re not too long and help provide context to the story, rather than taking the focus away from it. The book is hard to put down and offers a good look into how some bleaker parts of the world function.