Born Behind Bars Awards until Dec 15
- Starred Review Booklist
- Starred Review Kirkus
- Starred Review School Library Journal
- Junior Library Guild Selection
- Project LIT choice
- Kirkus Best Books 2021
- SLJ Best Books 2021
- Boston Globe Best Books 2021
- CSMCL Best Books 2021
- Travis Jonker and Mr. Schu Reads Top 20 Books of 2021
- “confidently stripped down, crystalline style” New York Time Book Review
- “capable of making a grown person cry” Providence Journal
Reviews, Honors and Awards for Padma Venkatraman’s Books
THE BRIDGE HOME
* Winner, WNDB Walter Dean Myers Award for young readers
* Winner, SCBWI Golden Kite Award for middle grade fiction
* Winner, South Asia Book Award for middle grade books
* Winner, Crystal Kite Award, NESCBWI
* Winner, Paterson Prize for young people
* Winner, Nerdy Book Award
* Global Read Aloud, 2019
* Les Prix des Libraires du Quebec Finalist
* Litterado Prize Finalist
* Sakura Medal Japan Finalist
* Malka Penn Award Honor Book
* Cybil Awards Finalist
* TX Bluebonnet Award Nominee 20-21
* FL Sunshine State Children’s Choice Award Nominee 20-21
* VA Reader’s Choice Award Nominee 20-21
* KY Bluegrass Award Nominee 20-21
* MN Youth Reading Maud Hart Lovelace Award Nominee 20-21
* WSRA Wisconsin State Reading Association Award Nominee 20-21
* GA
* RI Middle School Book Award Nominee
* VT Golden Dome Book Award Nominee
* VT Middle Grade Children’s Book Award Nominee
* ME Student Book Award Nominee
* PA Keystone State Literary Association Book Award Nominee
* NB Book Award Nominee
* SC Book Award Nominee
* ALA Notable Book
* ALSC Notable Audiobook
* Bank Street Best Books 2019
* Notable Book for a Global Society (ILA NGBS)
* Kirkus Best MG Books 2019
* NYPL Best 2019
* Chicago Public Library Best Books 2019
* Booklist Editor’s Choice Best Books 2019
* Washington Post Best Books 2019
* Mighty Girl Best Books 2019
* SLJ Top 10 Audio Books 2019
* Booklist Editor’s Choice Best Audio 2019
* Junior Library Guild audio selection
* Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature (CSMCL) Best Books 2019
* GoodReads Best MG Books 2019
*Audiophile Magazine Earphone Award
* Washington Post KidPost Summer Reading Selection
* ProjectLIT, 2019-20
* Ebony Teach Best Books 2019
* Betsy Bird’s 31 MG titles in SLJ
* Mighty Girl pick
* Today Show
* National Book Festival Great Reads From Great Places (representing RI)
* “a blisteringly beautiful book” – Starred Review, Kirkus
* “absorbing” – Starred Review, Booklist
* “stellar” – Starred Review, SLJ
* “a story that must be shared.” – Starred Review, SLC
* “exquisitely narrated” – Starred Review, PW
* “moving” – Sound Commentary, Starred Review
* Venkatraman brings love, support and humor to a story undergirded by tough issues” – SLJ audio, Starred Review
* “beautifully rendered” – SF Chronicle
* “gorgeous storytelling” – NYT Book Review
* “will break hearts and inspire activist longings” – BCCB
* “this bittersweet novel is about breaking the cycle of abuse, reaching for your dreams and finding home ” – Horn Book
* “an amazing book” – Newsday
Listen to the first chapter in the author’s voice
“Spiritually uplifting” – Starred review, Booklist
“magnificently strong” – Starred review, VOYA
“exceptional” – Starred Review, SLJ
“beautiful” – Starred Review, Kirkus
“Heart- achingly hopeful and beautifully written.” – Starred Review, BCCB
“powerful depiction of a teen girl struggling to recover from an accident” – Chicago Tribune
“Sure to go on my favorites list” – Denver Post
“Loved this book” – Newsday
“dazzles & delights…beautifully written” – Providence Journal
ALA Notable
ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults (BBYA)
Booklist Editor’s Choice Best Book for Young Adults
Booklist Top 10 art book for youth
Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Choice
Crystal Kite (New England) Finalist
Center for the study of multicultural literature (CSML) Best Book
Forever literary top 10 character driven books
Eliot Rosewater (IN) masterlist
IBBY Outstanding book for young people with disabilities
Indienext (summer) selection
IRA Notable Book for a Global Society (NBGS)
Julia Ward Howe Boston Authors Club honor book
Kirkus Best Book for Young Adults
Mighty Girl Best Books of the Year
New York Public Library Top 25
New York City Reads (#NYC365)
Nutmeg Award (CT) masterlist
Rebecca Caudill (IL) masterlist
Red dot award winner (3rd place, Singapore children’s choice)
Sequoyah (OK) masterlist
Sanoc/SABA Finalist
“vivifies a unique era and culture as it movingly expresses how love and hope can blossom even under the most dismal of circumstances” – Starred review, PW
“an intricate and convincing backdrop of a conservative Brahmin home in a time of change”– Starred review, Booklist
“will capture the imaginations of many readers”- Starred review, VOYA
“a compelling story”- Lynda Brill Comerford, Publishers Weekly, “Flying Start”
“Thought-provoking and deeply moving.”- Booksense, Notable Citation
“will appeal to an international audience”- Michelle Reale, India Currents
“ [A] fine, often heart-breaking novel”- Sam Coale, The Providence Sunday Journal
Winner, BAC Julia Ward Howe award
Winner, ASTAL RI Book of the Year award
ALA Best Book for Young Adults (BBYA)
ALA/ Amelia Bloomer List Selection
Bank Street College of Education Best Book
Booklinks Best New Book
Booksense Notable
Booklist Editor’s Choice, BBYA
Capitol Choice
CCBC Choice
Cybil awards finalist
Children’s Literature Network Top 25
NCSS/CBC Notable
NYPL Best Book
Pennsylvania School Library Association (PASLA) Top-40
Publishers Weekly Flying Start
ME Student Book Award Nominee
UT Beehive Book Award Nominee
SC Children’s Book Award Nominee
NJ Garden State Book Award Nominee
Shortlisted for Reading Across Rhode Island
“enticing blend of mystic tradition & imaginative speculation” – Starred review, PW
“succeeds spectacularly” – Starred review, Booklist
“Vividly written and expertly paced” – SLJ, Starred Review
“consistenly engrosses” – Kirkus, Starred Review
Winner, SANOC/South Asia Book Award
Winner, Paterson Prize
ALA BBYA
ALA/Amelia Bloomer List Selection
Kirkus Best Book for Young Adults
Booklist Editor’s Choice Best Book for Young Adults
CCBC Best Book
Crystal Kite New England, Finalist
Julia Ward Howe Boston Authors Club, Finalist
