Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Padma Venkatraman!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Padma Venkatraman
Padma Venkatraman (padmavenkatraman.com) was born in India and became an American after living in five countries and working as an oceanographer. She also wrote Born Behind Bars (South Asia Book Award, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People), The Bridge Home (Walter Award, Golden Kite Award, Global Read-Aloud), A Time to Dance (IBBY selection, ALA Notable), Island’s End (CCBC Choice, South Asia Book Award), and Climbing the Stairs (ALA/Amelia Bloomer List, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People). She lives in Rhode Island.
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About the Book: SAFE HARBOR
An uplifting novel in verse about an immigrant girl adjusting to life in the US through her love of nature, music, and poetry, by the award-winning author of The Bridge Home
When Geetha and her mom move from India to Rhode Island after her parents’ divorce, they leave everything Geetha loves behind—her family, her friends, her dog, and all that’s familiar. As if that’s not hard enough, Geetha is bullied at her new school for her clothes, her food, and her English (who knew so many English words could be spelled or pronounced differently in the US—or just be altogether different!). She finds some solace in playing her flute and writing poetry, and even more when she meets Miguel, a kid with whom she has a lot in common, and the two of them help rescue an injured harp seal stranded on the beach. But Geetha can feel her anger building over lots of things—careless people who pollute the sea and hurt animals, and her mom for making her move. She’s never been so sad and angry. She can see a lot of her fears mirrored in the injured seal when she visits it at the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center, and this broadens her understanding of survival skills. And when she and Miguel start a beach-clean-up venture, she’s surprised to find how many kind kids are out there. Geetha is torn as the time comes to let the seal go, knowing she’ll miss him, but wanting the best for him. She’s learning to live with mixed feelings and accept that while there will always be rough waters, there are plenty of safe harbors too.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
Padma Venkatraman: I live in the Ocean State, to which Geetha and her mom move when SAFE HARBOR begins, so I’m fortunate that I get to take a lot of walks on the beach. Once, I saw a seal way up on the sand; I called the marine mammal network and stayed far away from it. Luckily, it wasn’t hurt. Before it swam off, it planted the seed of SAFE HARBOR in my mind.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Padma Venkatraman: I have a lot of favorites. I know Geetha very well; like her, I was bullied growing up in India because it was unusual to have parents who were separated (as hers are); like her, I love poetry; like her, I’m comforted when I hear beautiful music or when I’m immersed in nature. I wish I’d had a friend like Miguel when I was a kid. Dr. Coba-Cetina Dr. Williams have both got a special place in my heart because I’m a BIPOC female scientist, like they are. And I also love the seal, even though I don’t suppose a seal and a human can ever be much alike.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
Padma Venkatraman: The novel; it always does!
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Padma Venkatraman: There are lots of scenes I love. One of them is a very quiet scene, in which Geetha is curled up in a public library, reading. Public libraries are one of the most important pillars of our democracy, I think, and they are a place of solace to Geetha, just as they were to me, when I was a new immigrant. Geetha says that if library was a kind of perfume, she’d spray it on her hands – and I would totally wear the fragrance of books, if that were a thing!
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Padma Venkatraman: I love everything Oriol Vidal did with the cover of SAFE HARBOR, and I’m tickled pink to have a cover that’s turquoise and pink!
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
Padma Venkatraman: WILD DREAMERS by Margarita Engle, whom I admire and adore.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
Padma Venkatraman: I have 2 picture books scheduled for release in 2026, with my legendary editor, Nancy Paulsen – and I couldn’t be more excited for them! One is called FARAWAY FAMILY, which is being illustrated by Nicole Wong, and I love it because we often talk about friends becoming family, but this is about the opposite thing that kids who live far away from relatives sometimes have to do, which is make friends with family. Plus it’s about shadow puppets and I loved playing with puppets when I was a kid.
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from this book?
Padma Venkatraman: As an oceanographer, I worked on pollution – and we hear a lot about it these days, whether it’s marine mammals entangled in plastic or global warming. As I revised SAFE HARBOR I wanted to make sure it gave readers insights into little steps and large actions kids can take to help save our planet from climate change and other effects of pollution, like in the scene where the kids who form an environmental club plan what they will do in the future, after their first project is completed. I love how kids and adults work together in SAFE HARBOR to save our planet, too. Another vital thread in the novel, for me, is Geetha’s mom, who, like me, lives with depression but also is a great mom, because I know there are a lot of us out there. It makes me sad when I see parents who live with depression depicted as less than excellent parents – that’s a stereotype I wanted to change.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
Padma Venkatraman: Many, many, many! Receiving a Walter Award from WNDB for THE BRIDGE HOME meant so much because they’re an organization that has done so much to help amplify and uplift diverse voices. I’m also excited about Diverse Verse (www.diverseverse.com) which isn’t an organization, it’s a coalition, but we promote poetry and verse novels for young readers and we have a LOT of poetry-related activity suggestions, poetry prompts, and other great resources that I think some of your readers who are teachers and librarians will love.
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
Padma Venkatraman: Write because you love the process of writing and you believe in the product you’re creating. You have to craft a book with time and care, like it’s a ship carrying precious cargo; but once it’s out in the world, you can’t control what happens to it anymore than you can control whether the sea is calm or stormy. Every story I write is an invitation to a reader to take an empathetic journey. While I am incredibly and immensely grateful for every honor that’s bestowed on my work, there’s one thing even more humbling to me than hearing how much someone loved my book – it’s hearing that my book has changed lives for the better. Like when a kid told me they’d bullied another kid whose relative was incarcerated, but after reading BORN BEHIND BARS, they’d apologized and promised never to do such a thing again. As for SAFE HARBOR, I love it so much, and I hope some of the kids who read it fall in love with our oceans…it would be such a thrill to hear someday that a kid somewhere was inspired to study oceanography because of it!
Title: SAFE HARBOR
Author: Padma Venkatraman
Release Date: 1/21/25
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
ISBN-10: 0593112504
ISBN-13: 9780593112502
Genre: Middle Grade Poetry
Age Range: 10 and up
~ Giveaway Details ~
Three (3) winners will receive a copy of Safe Harbor (Padma Venkatraman) ~US Only!
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
