Iconoclast  (English, Paperback, Chandana Peddibhotla)

Confined to a society riddled with misconceptions, restrictions, and seemingly perpetual impoverishment among families, Kiara grew up following the rules almost always. She never questioned existing beliefs, neither did she counter established ideologies. But that didn't stop her from being different in her own passive ways. From reading books in the secrecy of her little house to guiltily admiring things that are considered a taboo in her community, she unknowingly bred and fostered an iconoclast within her. When financial difficulties intensify for her and her family and they are caught in a debt trap, a solution comes knocking at her doorstep in the form of a scholarship exam in Moreau University. Hoping to secure a free seat in the institution and turn around her destiny, she sneaks out of her home and heads to the university to realize her dream. However, her crudely-planned step takes an unexpected turn, and she is convicted for committing a crime she didn't do. Against all odds, she manages to escape to her village, only to have her father arrested and her village turn its back on her for violating established norms. An outcast, left to face the world alone, she battles her way through, forging a number of deals in order to survive and plough on. As her journey drags on, she uncovers truths about her country and her own past which will change her life forever. What happens when these buried truths resurface and collide with her destiny?