Anita and Me is a coming-of-age novel narrated by nine-year-old protagonist Meena Kumar. The daughter of two recent Delhi emigres, Meena lives with her parents in Tollington, a small, bygone mining village in the West Midlands, England. At the novel’s start, Meena is caught in a lie, the first of many: she has stolen candy from Mr. Ormerod’s grocery. To her parents’ dismay, Meena finds excitement in drama and rebellion—or, at least, the idea of it.
Tollington is a dense, working-class community and home to a vibrant ensemble of characters. Although humorous and playful, many of Meena’s neighbors struggle with poverty and/or dysfunctional families: they are factory workers, World War II veterans, and unemployed mine workers. Meena’s parents, separated from their families back in India, find community in a small network of neighboring South Asian immigrants, neighbors who become Meena’s “Aunties” and “Uncles,” despite being non-relatives. These Aunties and Uncles are like a second family, helping to raise and sometimes even scold Meena.
Meena’s childhood is forever altered when she is taken under the wing of Anita Rutter, an older girl, the so-called “cock of the yard,” known for her bold and defiant spirit. Anita shakes Meena’s worldview: she shows Meena how to get away with back-talking the grownups, reveals to Meena the secrets of the Big House, a nearby mansion (and, apparently, home to a child-eating witch), and introduces Meena to the customs of boys and dating. Meena is thrilled, even if Anita’s friendship is unreliable: Anita’s mother, for example, disinvites Meena from joining Anita for tea.
Finding a role model in Anita Rutter, Meena begins to challenge her old identity, growing increasingly insecure about her Indian heritage, as well as her physical appearance. Meena’s conflict with her family and thus with her past self, culminates in a second theft from Mr. Ormerod’s shop: Meena and Anita steal money from Mr. Ormerod’s charity drive, and Meena falsely accuses Pinky and Baby, daughters of her Auntie Shaila. Oddly enough, Meena feels pride: she has distinguished herself from Pinky and Baby, who Meena sees as the prototypical good, filial children.
But, Meena’s relationship with Anita is soon complicated. At Tollington’s Spring Fete, a community fundraising event, Sam Lowbridge, leader of a teenage motorbike gang, launches a xenophobic diatribe against Tollington’s church leaders. Afterward, Anita expresses admiration for Sam, leaving Meena deeply hurt. How could her friend side with Sam, and his racism?
Struggling to find a sense of belonging, Meena finds temporary solace in her family. Her mother, Mrs. Kumar, has recently given birth to Sunil, Meena’s baby brother. And Meena’s grandmother, Nanima, has come to help raise Sunil in his early months. Through Nanima’s lively, dramatic stories of India, Meena finds a newfound appreciation for her Indian heritage. Meena has a growing awareness of the sacrifices her parents have made in moving to Britain, and the everyday racism they face.
Meanwhile, Anita’s home life is increasingly troubled. There are indications that Anita and her sister, Tracey, are being abused: for example, Meena sees bruises on Tracey’s legs. And as the new school year starts, Anita’s mother runs away, leaving Anita and Tracey to live alone with their father. In an attempt to support Anita, Meena’s family invites Anita to dinner–– the first British person to dine with the Kumars.
As Meena and Anita’s friendship rekindles, Tollington begins to change: construction begins for a new motorway, the local schoolhouse is demolished, and, most significantly, there is an uptick in racial violence, fuelled by Sam Lowbridge’s gang. Meena’s family hopes to move from Tollington, so long as Meena performs well on her eleven-plus exam.
But Meena and Anita’s friendship is severed when, while playing at another girl’s horse stable, Meena learns that Anita has begun to date Sam Lowbridge. Meena feels utterly betrayed, and tries to run away on horseback. Meena is bucked from the horse, and severely injures her leg, leaving her hospitalized.
In the hospital, Meena meets and develops feelings for a boy in the adjoining hospital room: his name is Robert. The two communicate through hand-written notes, held against the glass partition dividing their rooms, and ultimately become boyfriend and girlfriend. Shortly before Meena is discharged from the hospital, Meena’s grandmother Nanima returns to India. Not too long after, Robert, increasingly ill, passes away. The departure of Nanima and the death of Robert are Meena’s first two experiences with genuine loss and grief. She sees how she has taken life for granted, and Meena dedicates herself to her studies.
The novel reaches its narrative climax when Tracey, Anita’s sister, comes to Meena’s house, in tears, the night before Meena’s eleven-plus exam. Tracey says Anita is in peril. Meena joins Tracey, and they find Anita having sex with Sam Lowbridge. Anita and Tracey fight, and Sam confesses his feelings of envy towards Meena. Tracey falls in a pond and drowns.
By a stroke of luck, Tracey is resuscitated in the hospital. A police investigation is opened into Tracey’s drowning, and Meena is the key witness. Meena daydreams of falsely accusing Sam and Anita of pushing Tracey into the pond–– a perfect revenge. But instead of lying, Meena tells the truth, and so chooses forgiveness.
Meena passes her eleven-plus exam, and the Kumars leave Tollington. Meena never hears from Anita again.
