Ruchira Gupta

Author Artist Activist

The Freedom Seeker

A Journey of Courage, A Story of Hope
Out August 5 — Buy Now

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

"The Freedom Seeker shows young readers there is also hope."

— Alan Gratz, author of Refugee

"Helps readers see, act, and heal."

— Aida Salazarb, Pura Belpré Honor Award-winning author of Ultraviolet and Land of the Cranes.

"A must-read for young people and adults alike."

— Jason De León, National Book Award-winning author of Soldiers and Kings and The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail

"A compelling narrative about an important part of migration."

School Library Journal

“A riveting story of love, hope, and survival.”

Kirkus Starred Reviews

“…optimistic and steadfast tone…rings true across grim depictions of loss.”

Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Buy Now

Learn More

Books

View All Books

The Freedom Seeker

Follow Simi from India to the US through the Arizona desert in this riveting tale of migration and courage.

Buy Now

Discussion Guides

Proceeds support migrant service projects.

I Kick and I Fly

Heera’s father wants to sell her into the sex trade. She fights back with kung fu.

Buy Now

Shop International Editions & Translations

Discussion Guides

Proceeds support girls' education in red-light areas.

Meet Ruchira

Ruchira Gupta is the author of I Kick and I Fly and The Freedom Seeker, and a lifelong activist working to end sex trafficking. An Emmy-winning documentarian, she founded Apne Aap with survivors from her film The Selling of Innocents. Her advocacy has shaped global laws and earned her the French Ordre National du Mérite. She advises the UN, teaches human trafficking and migration at NYU, and writes social justice adventure books to inspire change. Through story and action, Ruchira empowers readers and policy makers alike to build a world where every girl is safe, free, and valued.

Read Bio