"Kriti!" Aunt Anita's voice rings in my ears. I clench my fists. The bald man flexes his arm and then extends it again to strike the boy.

Aunt Anita gasps. "That poor boy."

What's happening? Is that his son? Or does the boy work there? I raise my hand to the balcony. "Stop it!" I yell. "Stop hitting him!"

When the Mango Tree Blooms is a collection of nonfiction stories about Kriti Upreti's trips to her family's homeland, India, and how she deals with the culture shock.