Ruchika Tomar is a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. In her debut novel, A Prayer for Travelers (Penguin Random House), Tomar explores the complicated legacy of the American West and the trauma of female experience. Cale Lambert, a bookish loner of mysterious parentage set adrift by the loss of the grandfather who raised her, and Penélope Reyes, a charismatic former classmate running mysterious side-hustles, reconnect after many years and become inseparable. In the process, Penny exposes Cale to the reality that exists beyond their small town. When Penny vanishes without a trace, Cale sets off on a dangerous quest across the desert to find her friend, and discover herself. R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries, called Tomar “an ace cartographer of the heart and its urgent, wild, unruly ways. Radiant with longing, A Prayer for Travelers is an unforgettable debut.”
