Not quite YA

I've read some terrific adult books lately with settings in Afghanistan. Each of these tell important messages about all women-- young and old.

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

India...

Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet
Kashmira Sheth

Jeeta lives in Mumbai, the third sister in a very traditional family. As Jeeta's older sisters accept the arranged marriages set up by their parents, Jeeta becomes anxious about her own future. Jeeta wants more than an arranged marriage. Becoming best friends with Sarina, whose family values education, Jeeta's desire is to become a lawyer. This wonderfully told story, set in exotic Mumbai, is a universal coming of age story.

Thailand...

The Happiness of Kati
Jane Vejjajiva

Nine year old Kati lives with her grandparents in rural Thailand, far from her mother. With the opportunity to visit her mother, Kati understands that her mother is very ill with ALS, a life threatening disease. Told through Kati's voice, the author reminds us how brave and wise children are.

Excerpt from School Library Journal: 'The author uses vivid description to bring the setting and culture to life, and characters are well drawn. While issues of parental responsibility and death with dignity are central to the story, the focus remains on Kati and her responses to what is going on around her. Although there are occasional lapses in the narrative, and message and melodrama sometimes intrude, this is a solid story enhanced by a unique sense of place."

Afghanistan and Pakistan...

Under the Persimmon Tree
Suzanne Fisher Staples

Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose name means "star," and Elaine, an American woman whose Islamic name is Nusrat, are both concerned with their families and their futures after the Taliban's fighting disrupts their lives. Najmah must find a way to safely find her way to Pakistan so she can search for her father and brother. Meanwhile, Nusrat finds a way to help refugee children by teaching them in her backyard under her persimmon tree. Will Najmah be reunited with her family before her cruel uncle takes her back to Afghanistan?

From Kirkus Reviews: "Time: one month after September 11, 2001. Place: Northern Afghanistan. Enter 12-year-old Najmah, abandoned when her father and brother are taken away at gunpoint to fight for the Taliban and, soon after, her mother and baby brother die in an air attack. Then, enter Nusrat, a fair-haired New Yorker who has been living and teaching in Pakistan's Peshawar since her husband Faiz decided to work for an Afghan clinic. Through shifting points of view in alternating sections, readers learn about young Najmah's dangerous journey to a refugee camp, and of Nusrat's nagging worry about her husband from whom she's not heard in far too long."

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The Breadwinner
Deborah Ellis

Life in Afghanistan is so different from our lives in the U.S. This story, told with eleven year old Parvana's voice, gives the reader a glimpse into a world where girls and women are not allowed out of their homes without male escorts. In a country with political unrest, the family struggles to survive by working to provide food and a home. Parvana takes on the role of a boy so that she can help provide for her family when her father cannot. Through the eyes of a boy, Parvana's experience shape her as a young woman. This is the first in a trilogy. Following The Breadwinner are Parvana's Journey and Mud City.

From School Library Journal: "For 11-year-old Parvana and her family, survival in war-torn Afghanistan is difficult. The Taliban have decreed that women stay inside their homes, unless completely covered by a long, tentlike garment with a veil over the face. Girls can no longer go to school. Parvana's only relief is accompanying her father to the market where he works as a letter writer and sells family possessions. After he is arrested and taken away, Parvana becomes the breadwinner, dressing as a boy and taking over her father's job."

Korea and Korean-Americans...

Seesaw Girl
Linda Sue Park

In 17th century Korea, Jade Blossom is 12 years old. Bound by tradition, she, like the rest of the women, are not allowed to leave the home. Like any girl of today, she has a sense of humor and wants to know what is out in the world.

From Kirkus Reviews: "In 17th-century Korea, the life of a noblewoman is extremely circumscribed: she leaves the inner court of her family home only to marry, or to attend a funeral. Jade, 12, is deeply attached to her older cousin Willow, and keenly feels the loss when Willow is married. She pesters her older brother Tiger Heart, however, to tell her tales of the market, the king's court, and the strange prisoners with red and gold hair; she longs to see the mountains she can barely glimpse above the family compound wall. The seesaw of the title, a Korean game, forms the climax of this quiet book and the key to Jade's seeing beyond her tightly enclosed world. The writing gracefully describes the extended structure of the family, the differences in how boys and girls of noble birth were educated, and the elaborate wedding ceremony. Park's afterword tells of a Dutch ship that ran aground in Korea near the time of the story, and what happened to the prisoners Jade's father defended. The evocative descriptions and Jade's intensity in creating new ways to learn will capture and hold readers."

To read more about Seesaw Girl and view the author website, go to:
Seesaw Girl Link

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When My Name Was Keoko
Linda Sue Park

Another book by Linda Sue Park is When My Name Was Keoko, which takes place during World War II in Korea. This book shows the control Japan had over Korea during this period through the voices of Sun-hee and her brother, Tae-yul. Even their Korean names must be changed to Japanese names, thus in public they become Keoko and Nobuo. But do the children really give up their Korean heritage?

To read more about this book, go to:
When My Name Was Keoko Link

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Year of Impossible Goodbyes
Sook Nyul Choi

Another story taking place in Korea during World War II, when Korea is under Japanese control, this book is based on ten year old, Sookan's experiences. With the end of the war, Sookan hopes life will return to normal. But that is not to be. Living in what becomes North Korea, the family realizes that escape to South Korea is their only hope for a happy future.

From School Library Journal: "Ten-year-old Sookan tells of her Korean family's experiences during the Japanese occupation as World War II ends. The Japanese commit cruel, fear-provoking acts against this proud, hopeful family and against the young girls who worked in a sweatshop making socks for the Japanese army. Relief, hope, and anticipation of the return of male family members after the Japanese defeat is short lived as the Russians occupy the country, bringing their language, their customs, and communism to the village. Equally as insensitive to the pride and possessions of the Koreans, they are as bad as the Japanese. Plans are made for Sookan, her mother, and younger brother to escape to South Korea. However, their guide betrays them, causing the children to be separated from their mother, and the two begin a daring and frightening journey to cross the 38th parallel to safety. Through Sookan, the author shares an incredible story of the love and determination of her family, the threatening circumstances that they endured during occupations by two totalitarian governments, and the risks they took to escape to freedom. Readers will get a double bonus from this book--a good story, well told, and the reaffirmation of our faith in the human spirit against incredible adversities."

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Korean-Americans...


Project Mulberry
Linda Sue Park

A favorite book in my home, Project Mulberry is the story of Julia Song, a seventh grader in the midwest. She, along with her friend Patrick work as a team to come up with a winning state fair science project. This is a humorous, contemporary story about embracing your heritage and growing up in America.

Here are some quotes from reviews:

From ALA Booklist, starred review: "Compelling characters and their passionate differences...drive the plot...unforgettable family and friendship story...a great cross-curriculum title."

From Kirkus, starred review: "A rich work that treats serious issues with warmth, respect and a good deal of humor."

From Publishers Weekly: "Park creates a Korean-American seventh-grader so lifelike she jumps off the page....introduces many issues relevant to budding adolescents."

To read more about Project Mulberry, go to:
Project Mulberry Link

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China...

Chu Ju's House
Gloria Whelan

In China, Fourteen year old Chu Ju wants to protect her little sister in a country where a family cannot keep two daughters. Chu Ju leaves so that her sister can stay.

To read more about this book, click on:
Chu Ju's House Link

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Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah

Chinese Cinderella is a story of a young girl who is thought to bring bad luck since her mother died during childbirth. Growing up in a wealthy family, with an insensitive step-mother and a spoiled step-sister and step-brother, Adeline's auto-biographical story shows her triumph over dispair.

To read more about this book, go to:
Chinese Cinderella Link

Japan and Japanese-Americans...

Of Nightingales that Weep
Karen Paterson

One of Paterson's many popular books, Of Nightingales that Weep, is a story of a young Japanese girl who learns that whatever choice she makes, she cannot run away from her family honor.


To learn more about this book, go to:
Of Nightingales that Weep Link


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So Far from the Bamboo Grove
Yoko Kawashima Watkins

During World War II, a Japanese girl, living in Korea with her family try to flee, to return to Japan. Unable to return to Japan, the girl and her family become refugees in Korea. Based on her childhood, Yoko Kawashima Watkins portrays a vivid story of a family during the war.

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Japanese-Americans...

Kira-Kira
Cynthia Kadohata

Set in the 1950's in Georgia, this is a heart-warming story about two sisters and their family. In Japanese, kira-kira means glittering, shining. And that is what Katie's sister is to her. This is a story of love and hope, and is very touching.

To read more about Kira-Kira, go to:
Kira-Kira Link

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When the Emperor was Divine
Julie Otsuka

In the author's first novel, Otsuka tells the emotional story of a Japanese family, living in California, who is moved to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The story is narrated in five points of view, including that of the eleven year old daughter.

Part of the VOYA review: "Their middle-class, close-knit Japanese American family could have been any of the thousands uprooted from their homes in the Pacific coast and sent to internment camps in distant states during World War II "for the sake of national security" and "for their own protection." Otsuka eloquently chronicles in five chapters, one from each family member, their reactions as they are removed from their friendly neighborhoods and thrust into a strange new world where they are now the enemy."

To learn more about this book, go to:
When the Emperor Was Divine Link

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Medieval England...

Catherine, Called Birdy
Karen Cushman

Written in diary form by 14 year old Catherine, this story shows what life was like for a teen age girl of a wealthy family in 13th century England. Promised in marriage by her father to an older man, Catherine questions her future.

To read more about this book, go to:
Catherine, Called Birdy Link

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The Midwife's Apprentice
Karen Cushman

Brat has no family, no home, and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat-who renames herself Alyce-gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life.

To read more about this book, go to:
The Midwife's Apprentice Link

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From France to Scotland...

Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary, Queen of Scots
Jane Yolen & Robert Harris

This is a wonderful historical novel about Mary, Queen of Scots, from the voice of Nicola, the Queen's personal "fool". Beginning in France, then moving to Scotland, this novel is not only a great read, but takes the reader back to the 16th century.

School Library Journal, in part, says: "This rich and involving novel of Mary Queen of Scots and her court will have readers clamoring to know more about this dramatic period in French and Scottish history. Readers are treated to a fascinating look at royal politics through the eyes of Nicola Ambruzzi, an orphaned performer to whom the queen takes a fancy. Queen Mary appreciates Nicola's wise wit and decides to keep her in the court as a "fool," believing that the girl will always tell her the truth rather than flatter her."

To read more about Queen's Own Fool, go to:
Queen's Own Fool Link

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The Americas...

Cuba...

Under the Royal Palms: A Childhood in Cuba
Alma Flor Ada

Based on the author's experiences in Cuba in the 1940's, this book offers a look into a traditional Cuban upbringing, from a young girl's perspective. A glimpse into Cuban life, this book is also about lives of all girls, wherever they live.

From School Library Journal: "Ada presents stories about growing up in Cuba in the 1940s that would not otherwise be available to readers living in the U.S. This collection offers a close look at an active and loving extended family, and it provides information on a prolific author. An accessible resource for students studying Latino writers."

For more information about Under the Royal Palms, go to:
Under the Royal Palms Link

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Peru...

Go and Come Back
Joan Abelove

Go and Come Back is told from an Isabo girl's perspective when two anthropologists from the US live amongst the fictional tribe. Alicia and her family find much of the women's behavior peculiar, which makes for a fun read. With so many cultural and social differences, with the women ever really understand the Isabos?

Here is some of what VOYA has to say: "This familiar yet fresh story describes what happens when two well-meaning but thoughtless anthropologists from New York travel to the Peruvian jungle to study the fictitious Isabos tribe. The narrator, a young member of the tribe named Alicia, offers many interesting and often humorous observations of the "two old white ladies," who are actually only in their twenties."

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From Mexico to the US...



Esperanza Rising
Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Children's Literature has a terrific description of this wonderful story:
"This exciting, well-written historical novel is based on the true-life experiences of the author's grandmother, Esperanza Ortega. Thirteen-year-old Esperanza and her newly widowed mother are forced to leave their fairytale existence at beautiful Rancho de las Rosas in Mexico, to live and work in a migrant worker camp in the San Joaquin Valley during the Great Depression. Adjustments to her new life are difficult for Esperanza�the harsh living conditions and hard labor are so different from her earlier life of privilege and wealth, especially after Mama becomes seriously ill with valley fever. But like the phoenix in her beloved grandma's story, Esperanza endures, "Rising again, with a new life ahead..."

For more information about this book, go to:
Esperanza Rising Link

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From the U.S. to Mexico...



Becoming Naomi Leon
Pam Munoz Ryan

When Naomi's absent mother returns to claim her after seven years, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother to find her father. With rich Oaxacan culture, this story shows the author's connection to the history of this romantic and flavorful area.

For more information about this book, go to:
Becoming Naomi Leon Link

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Africa and African-Americans...

From Ethiopia...



Saba, Under the Hyena's Foot
Jane Kurtz

This book is part of the American Girl, Girls of Many Lands Series. In this novel, 12 year old Saba and her brother are kidnapped, and their worlds change. Saba learns that her past has a royal link that will affect her future. A fictional story, but with historical accuracies, Kurtz writes about Ethiopia, where she lived for many years.

From Booklist: "In nineteenth-century Ethiopia, 12-year-old Saba and her brother, Mesfin, are kidnapped from their grandmother's remote home and brought to the capital, where Saba discovers her true royal identity. Saba delights in the opulence of court life until she discovers the political treachery that threatens Mesfin's life and her own freedom. Kurtz includes a great deal of Ethiopian history, which, though fascinating, slows the story with its complexity and may overwhelm at times. The frequent aphorisms ("When lions and elephants fight, it is the mice who must tremble," for example) may also challenge some readers. But as in her other titles set in Africa, such as The Storyteller's Beads (1998), Kurtz creates a powerful sense of place with cultural and sensory details, and Saba's strong first-person voice and brave adventures will hook many readers. As with other titles in the Girls of Many Lands series, this concludes with a chapter of background history and culture, a glossary, and an author's note." Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association.

The book's website can be found by clicking:
Saba, Under the Hyena's Foot Link

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The Storyteller's Beads
Jane Kurtz

By the same author, The Storyteller's Beads, has two wonderful protagonists, Rachel and Sahay, who meet in the 1980's in Ethiopia. Rachel, a blind Ethiopian girl who is Jewish is fleeing the country with her brother, when she meets Sahay. The girls each have cultural prejudices against each other, which they overcome as their friendship develops and their stories unfold.

A review from Jane Yolen, a very successful young adult author of historical novels: "Jane Kurtz has crafted a story out of history with love and in so doing makes familiar a world that is--for most of us--as unfamiliar as a fantasy land. This story of two young girls and their combined courage will linger long in my mind and heart." -- Jane Yolen, Award winning author and storyteller.

To view all of the author's books, which are beautifully displayed, go to:
Jane Kurtz's books

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From Libya...











The Shadows of Ghadames
Joelle Stolz

Malika, a young woman in the ancient city of Ghadames, is at the age when she will begin to follow the very traditional customs of Ghadames' women, by living within the confines of her home and within the women's world on the rooftops. But an injured stranger's need for assistance changes things, which opens a world to Malika and her family that they might never have experienced.

To read more about this book, go to:
The Shadows of Ghadames Link

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From Mozambique to Zimbabwe...



A Girl Named Disaster
Nancy Farmer

Nhamo's great courage is apparent throughout this novel. Alone, in Africa, she tries to escape a forced marriage to someone from another village. Nhamo travels against great odds to find a freedom that she would never have found if she followed tradition and stayed in her village.

From Publisher's Weekly: "This 1997 Newbery Honor book, which is set in Africa, is both a survival story and a spiritual voyage. "[The heroine] is a stunning creation, while she serves as a fictional ambassador from a foreign culture, she is supremely human. An unforgettable work," said PW in a starred review."

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African-American Women



Kindred
Octavia E. Butler

This book is a time-travel story about an African-American woman who travel back to her ancestors' lives in the 19th century South. Her first-hand experiences of slavery change her life forever.

From Beacon Press: "Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. With more than 100,000 copies in print, Kindred is a classic time travel novel by an acclaimed African-American science fiction writer."

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Toning the Sweep
Angela Johnson

Taking place in the Southwest, this is the story of three generations of African-American women, told through the voice of 14 year old, Emmie. She hears many stories about the past and her family history and comes to a better understanding of relatives both dead and living.

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From Russia With Love...

The Impossible Journey
Gloria Whelan

This author's talent to write in the young adult female voice is apparent once again. This time, the protagonist lives in Russia, in the 1930's. After their parents disappear, it is up to Marya and her younger brother to save them from the Siberia.

Here is some of what School Library Journal has to say: "A story of a remarkable 13-year-old girl in an extraordinary situation. In Leningrad, in 1934, Marya sets out to find her parents, former aristocrats and therefore considered enemies of the state, who have been sent to Siberia as political prisoners. The spirited and resourceful girl learns that her mother is in Dudinka, a thousand miles from the closest railway station. Marya obtains a few rubles selling her paintings (like Kobe in Homeless Bird [HarperCollins, 2000], Marya's creativity helps sustain her) and buys tickets for herself and her younger brother."


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From Russia to the US...



Letters from Rifka
Karen Hesse

Rifka, a Jewish girl from Russia, is "strong-hearted and determined" as she travels from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean in the early 20th century, to Ellis Island where she is detained. Here she puts her experiences into letter form to her cousin, and to the reader.

From Publishers Weekly
"Twelve-year-old Rifka's journey from a Jewish community in the Ukraine to Ellis Island is anything but smooth sailing. Modeled on the author's great-aunt, Rifka surmounts one obstacle after another in this riveting novel. First she outwits a band of Russian soldiers, enabling her family to escape to Poland. There the family is struck with typhus. Everyone recovers, but Rifka catches ringworm on the next stage of the journey--and is denied passage to America ("If the child arrives . . . with this disease," explains the steamship's doctor, "the Americans will turn her around and send her right back to Poland"). Rifka's family must leave without her, and she is billeted in Belgium for an agreeable if lengthy recovery. Further trials, including a deadly storm at sea and a quarantine, do not faze this resourceful girl. Told in the form of "letters" written by Rifka in the margins of a volume of Pushkin's verse and addressed to a Russian relative, Hesse's vivacious tale colorfully and convincingly refreshes the immigrant experience."

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The Mid-East

From Iran...











Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi

Written and illustrated in graphic novel format, this story tells about Marjane's childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. From a young woman's perspective, this memoir shows the contradictions between home life and public life in Iran during the revolution. This book is recommended for the high school and college age student.

To read more about Persepolis, go to:
Persepolis Link

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To Israel...



Habibi
Naomi Shihab Nye

Can you imagine moving to another country when you are 14? That is what happens to Liyana in this story. Liyana has to learn to make Israel her new home, despite the differences between her life in the US and her new life in Israel.

Here is a segment of the review from School Library Journal
"When Liyana's doctor father, a native Palestinian, decides to move his contemporary Arab-American family back to Jerusalem from St. Louis, 14-year-old Liyana is unenthusiastic. Arriving in Jerusalem, the girl and her family are gathered in by their colorful, warmhearted Palestinian relatives and immersed in a culture where only tourists wear shorts and there is a prohibition against boy/girl relationships. When Liyana falls in love with Omer, a Jewish boy, she challenges family, culture, and tradition, but her homesickness fades. Constantly lurking in the background of the novel is violence between Palestinian and Jew." Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT


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India

My favorite heroine from India is Koly.



Homeless Bird
Gloria Whelan

Koly is one of the strongest young women I've met while reading. She lives in India and not only is she married as a teen-ager, but she is widowed. Without family support, Koly strives to survive.

Here is some of what VOYA had to say: "Homeless Bird has all the elements of a great read—a strong, empathetic heroine, a fascinating culture, triumph over adversity, conflict between tradition and modern-day needs and wants, romance, and hope for the future. The story is beautifully written, weaving in Hindi words that are defined in the glossary provided in the back of the book. Despite the obvious elements of fairy tale—cruel mother-in-law, attractive young male coming to the rescue—the book does not slide into cliché but is unsentimental and fresh."

Visit Gloria Whelan's website about her inspiration for writing Homeless Bird by clicking here:
Homeless Bird Link

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Down Under

Books from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific



Stella Street and Everything That Happened
by Elizabeth Honey

So far, in the world Down Under, I know one great female protagonists, Henni. In a fun format, Henni chronicles the events that happen on Stella Street when their new neighbors dubbed, The Phonies, are suspected of being criminals.

Here is a section of a review from Kirkus Reviews: "Henni narrates in a chatty, loose-jointed style, back-tracking, pausing to introduce her friends, interposing handwritten letters to God and the complaint notices from solicitors and government agencies that begin to arrive in volume at Frank's house. A little snooping and a library book about money-laundering put Henni and friends on the right track; when Zev breaks open a bowling ball stuffed with cash that the Phonies are trying to smuggle out of the country, the jig's up, but only after a wild airport chase scene."