"In I KICK AND I FLY, Ruchira Gupta has given young readers an irresistible story, and also one that could save lives. This book is a gift." -Gloria Steinem, writer and feminist activist

On the outskirts of the red-light district in Bihar, India, fourteen-year-old Heera is living on borrowed time. Her father plans to sell her into the sex trade to repay a loan. After a run-in with a bully at school, Heera meets Rini Di, a kung fu instructor who runs a hostel for at-risk girls. Seeing the future she faces, Rini Di pays her family's debt, takes her in and teaches her.

Through the practice of martial arts, Heera starts to understand that her body isn't a an object to be commodified, but something that can protect her and those around her. So when Heera discovers the whereabouts of her missing school friend, Rosy, she decides to embark on a daring rescue mission in New York to save her.