Written by Vidya Nesarikar
Reviewed by Anandita Rao and Jennifer Thomas
A story that captures the possibilities and limitations of friendship
| Publishing Date: 2025
ISBN: 978-93-5954-688-9 Page Count: 136 Publisher: Scholastic Review Posted Online: October 2026 QBR Reviews Issue: Q3 2026 Categories: Realistic Fiction | Childhood | Friendship | Social Hierarchies | Social Stigma |
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The book begins with a chapter titled ‘Coffee Season Begins’ and this entry sets the tone for the setting and ambience of the entire story. The story runs across a single summer on a coffee estate in Karnataka, and follows the relationship between two 12 year old girls, who come from distinctly different circumstances. Lalli is the daughter of migrant coffee workers who arrive at the estate during the coffee picking season. Champa is the daughter of the Estate owner. Their different backgrounds place them on very different sides of the social and economic hierarchy of the estate.
At the time when Lalli arrives at the estate, Champa is not attending school, as she has experienced a lot of teasing and staring because of a vitiligo condition that she has. Despite differences, a friendship develops between the two girls, and it does so perhaps more quickly and easily than might ordinarily be expected given the social inequalities between them. The novel seems to attempt to set aside some of the social barriers between the girls in order to emphasise their shared experiences and their ability to connect as children.
The story is primarily told through Lalli’s perspective, although the narrative occasionally moves into Champa’s thoughts and, at times, into the perspectives of adults thinking about the girls. Within this core friendship, aspects of social class, loss, periods, marriage and other aspects are interwoven, and emerge organically from the girls’ experiences of the social world around them.
We find the book cover’s depiction of skin color problematic and it does not match the book’s nuanced engagement with issues of social inequality and physical appearance. Historically, all dominant representations of marginalized communities have been with a skin color darker than the dominant – no doubt seeking to establish a level of imagined superiority in this aspect. The book cover could have easily had a similar representation of skin tone between Lalli and Champa, and it was disappointing that this fell through at the level of the cover page, which is the only illustration that captures this story.
The title of the book seems to indicate contrasting experiences that make up one’s childhood. Each chapter is also titled poetically (for example: ‘Trouble Brews’ and ‘Storm in a Coffee Cup’) , and captures not just the content of that chapter but also some aspect of life on a coffee estate. In the afterword, the author shares that much of her childhood was spent on a coffee estate, as part of a family that owned an estate. This personal connection is visible in the way the coffee estate is presented not simply as a backdrop to the story, but as a setting whose rhythms, routines and processes of coffee cultivation are woven into the narrative. Elements of space, the rhythm of coffee picking, customs and food locate the story concretely within this estate. There is liberal use of Kannada words and rhymes scattered throughout the story and an index at the back shares the meaning of each term. A young adult who read the book and is familiar with Kannada, felt the rhymes read in Kannada, and the author’s descriptions lent a genuineness to the context of the book.
The school and teacher who enter the story come from a Catholic background. In many realities, the church is often seen as the ‘saviour’ of marginalized communities and we are conscious of this representation and the need for this to be questioned. The teacher in this story is shown as being inclusive, whereas the school (also Catholic) does not make efforts to enable Champa and Lalli to attend school. This distinction is good for us as readers to keep in mind, keeping the individual separate from the institution. However, we did wonder if the representation of the teacher could have been different to also question the idea of particular communities being the ‘saviours’.
The theme of vitiligo and its social implications plays a significant role in the story. Champa is affected by the stares, comments, and assumptions of others, and it is perhaps this experience of social stigma and isolation that reduces the social distance between her and Lalli. However, Champa’s vitiligo also often becomes the primary explanation for her withdrawn personality, raising questions about how her privilege as the coffee estate owner’s daughter shapes her experience of exclusion. Could there have been a deeper exploration of how her social privilege intersects with the stigma associated with vitiligo? This also led us to wonder how their relationship might have unfolded if Lalli, rather than Champa, had vitiligo.
Champa and Lalli’s own individual personalities are explored through the plot, and neither one is black and white, but both are represented having shades of different personalities, while dealing with different aspects of childhood, and social differences. Can friendship overcome structural inequality is something the book explores. Lalli and Champa are navigating a friendship within a world of norms on caste, class and physical appearance. The friendship represented has limits, both in what it can change and in how long it lasts. The young adult who read the book found the ending surprising; it challenged the hope he held for a friendship that could transcend social boundaries. However, in conversation, he also recognized that the ending felt realistic.
Overall, A Patch of Sun, A Patch of Shade, takes us into the nuances of a friendship that acknowledges social differences, while focussing the narrative on aspects of childhood – curiosity, vulnerability, jealousy, care and love.
Other Books
- Flute in the Forest by Leela Goure Broome, Puffin Books, 2010
- Mirror Mirror by Andaleeb Wajib, Duckbill Books, 2021