Tag: fiction

Bookish Thoughts

31 Quotes from Books I read at 31

Shazia2 Comments

This little bookworm just turned 32-years-old today! My birthday is always a great excuse to visit bookstores and treat myself to many books. This year is no different as I’m splurging on some new reads and also anticipating gift cards to bookstores because my family knows me well. While I was in my happy place of making my book wish list, I started thinking about all the books I read as a 31-year-old (yep these are the types of random thoughts that run through my head). I have read many inspirational books this past year and I have learned many important lessons from incredible authors.

I usually jot down quotes that speak to me while I’m reading a certain book. Looking back at my notebook, I see that it has been packed with quotes since May 1st 2018. It has been a great year for me and I do believe I have books to partly thank for that. So here are 31 quotes that really found a way into my 31-year-old heart.

*side note: there are certain things in life that remind you of how old you are and a list of 31 things is definitely one of them

1) Becoming by Michelle Obama:

“If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others.”

2) Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King:

“It’s not selfish or a sign of weakness to distance yourself or walk away from those who constantly bring down your vibe. Life is about balance. It’s about spreading kindness, but it’s also about not letting anyone take that kindness away from you”

3) Educated by Tara Westover:

“He said positive liberty is self-mastery—the rule of the self, by the self. To have positive liberty, he explained, is to take control of one’s own mind; to be liberated from irrational fears and beliefs, from addictions, superstitions and all other forms of self-coercion.”

4) Circe by Madeline Miller:

“I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open.”

5) Rising Strong by Brené Brown:

“A lot of cheap seats in the arena are filled with people who never venture onto the floor. They just hurl mean-spirited criticisms and put-downs from a safe distance. The problem is, when we stop caring what people think and stop feeling hurt by cruelty, we lose our ability to connect. But when we’re defined by what people think, we lose the courage to be vulnerable. Therefore, we need to be selective about the feedback we let into our lives. For me, if you’re not in the arena getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.”

6) Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig:

“Reading isn’t important because it helps to get you a job. It’s important because it gives you room to exist beyond the reality you’re given. It is how humans merge. How minds connect. Dreams. Empathy. Understanding. Escape.”

7) Legendary by Stephanie Garber

“Not everyone gets a true ending. There are two types of endings because most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, where the situation feels hopeless. But that’s when hope is needed most. Only those who persevere can find their true ending.”

8) Bloom for Yourself II by April Green

“Be watchful of self-doubt, for it has a way of suffocating your passion; of holding the soul’s desire to create, away from you – far away from you – like galaxies and the sky in between far away. Whenever self-doubt visits, you must always remember that you are a reflection of the Universe – you were created to create. And, it doesn’t matter who else sees your work or likes your work: the value lies in how you feel when you’re producing that work”.

9) The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty:

“Greatness takes time, Banu Nahida. Often the mightiest things have the humblest beginnings.”

10) With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo:

“You can’t control how people look at you, but you can control how far back you pull your shoulders and how high you lift your chin”

11) Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman:

“Nothing guarantees happiness. I’m not certain happiness should be the goal. Satisfaction, maybe. A sense of purpose. Contribution. Authenticity. Happiness? It’s a lightweight goal. And meanwhile, I suspect that turning away from yourself will guarantee the opposite of happiness.”

12) The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

“Sometimes I just feel sort of captivated by this sensation of fully being. If that makes sense. I don’t want to sound pretentious and say I’m fulfilling my life’s purpose – it’s probably simpler than that. It’s just a profoundly gratifying feeling of being exactly where I want to be”

13) The Gown by Jennifer Robson:

“Worrying about what would become of her work once it was finished was a waste of time, she told herself. The act of creation was what mattered”

14) GMORNING, GNIGHT! by Lin-Manuel Miranda

“Gnight. You are so loved and we like having you around.
* ties one end of this sentence to your heart, the other end to everyone who loves you in this life, even if the clouds obscure your view
* checks knots *
There stay put, you. Tug if you need anything”

15) The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson:

“The desire for more positive experiences is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience”

16) The Wisdom of Sundays by Oprah

“Everybody has a calling. Your real job in life is to figure out why you are here and get about the business of doing it”

17) Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown:

“There will be times when standing alone feels too hard, too scary, and we’ll doubt our ability to make our way through the uncertainty. Someone, somewhere, will say, “Don’t do it. You don’t have what it takes to survive the wilderness.” This is when you reach deep into your wild heart and remind yourself, “I am the wilderness.”

18) Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed:

“Hello, fear. Thank you for being here. You’re my indication that I’m doing what I need to do.”

19) The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi:

“Your unhappiness cannot be blamed on your past or your environment. And it isn’t that you lack competence. You just lack courage. One might say you are lacking in the courage to be happy.”

20) The Hating Game by Sally Thorne:

“If you knew the kind of little miracles happening every moment you breathe in, you wouldn’t be able to handle it. A valve could close and not open; an artery could split, you could die. At any moment. It’s nothing but miracles inside your tiny city.”

21) The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George:

“Some novels are loving, lifelong companions; some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you’ve got those autumn blues. And some…well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful void”

22) Bloom For Yourself by April Green:

“Sometimes, there is no reason whatsoever other than the simple truth that the universe just wants to watch you bloom”

23) Love Her Wild by Atticus:

“She was afraid of heights but she was much more afraid of never flying”

24) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas:

“That’s the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

25) The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang:

“This crusade to fix herself was ending right now. She wasn’t broken. She saw and interacted with the world in a different way, but that was her. She could change her actions, change her words, change her appearance, but she couldn’t change the root of herself”

26) Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson:

“You learn to appreciate the fact that what drives you is very different from what you’re told should make you happy. You learn that it’s okay to prefer your personal idea of heaven (live-tweeting zombie movies from under a blanket of kittens) rather than someone else’s idea that fame/fortune/parties are the pinnacle we should all reach for. And there’s something surprisingly freeing about that.”

27) It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover:

Imagine all the people you meet in your life. There are so many. They come in like waves, trickling in and out with the tide. Some waves are much bigger and make more of an impact than others. Sometimes the waves bring with them things from deep in the bottom of the sea and they leave those things tossed onto the shore. Imprints against the grains of sand that prove the waves had once been there, long after the tide recedes.”

28) My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand:

“But she was a writer, so while she did get this moment of thinking herself somewhat brilliant, it would soon be offset by a crippling doubt that she had a gift of words at all. Such is the way with all writers. Trust us.”

29) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman:

“Tiny slivers of life—they all added up and helped you to feel that you too could be a fragment, a little piece of humanity who usefully filled a space, however minuscule”

30) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”

31) What I Know for Sure by Oprah Winfrey

“Beginning when we are girls, most of us are taught to deflect praise. We apologize for our accomplishments. We try to level the field with our family and friends by downplaying our brilliance. We settle for the passenger’s seat when we long to drive. That’s why so many of us have been willing to hide our light as adults. Instead of being filled with all the passion and purpose that enable us to offer our best to the world, we empty ourselves in an effort to silence our critics. The truth is that the naysayers in your life can never be fully satisfied. Whether you hide or shine, they’ll always feel threatened because they don’t believe they are enough. So stop paying attention to them. Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are ignoring the owner’s manual your Creator gave you. What I know for sure is this: You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more. To be more splendid. To be more extraordinary. To use every moment to fill yourself up.”

There you have it! 31 of my favorite inspirational quotes from the books I read at 31-years-old. I look forward to a whole new years worth of lessons from the books I’ll be reading, starting with my new haul from my birthday.

Happy reading!

Shazia.

Book Review

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters Book Review

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Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How great is it when you fully trust an author to take you on a journey with their words. That’s right, I’m calling it a journey. I love that feeling when you see a certain author has released a book and you don’t even have to read the excerpt. You just pick it up and trust that it will be all kinds of wonderful. Balli Kaur Jaswal is that author for me. I remember picking up her first book “Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows” and laughing over the title in the bookstore. Fast-forward to a few days later and that very book ended up becoming my favorite novel from last year. I enjoyed her writing style and storytelling so much that I did not even try to find out what her new book was about before picking it up.

“The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters” is Balli Kaur Jaswal’s newest novel and it is like a breath of fresh air. At it’s core, this book is about sisterhood, but it is also so much more. It is about culture, first versus second generation, misogyny and family dynamics. The author weaves such a beautiful tapestry of love, loss and acceptance. I was enthralled from start to finish.

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Synopsis:

Rajni, Jezmeen and Shirina are British-born sisters raised by their Punjabi mother. On her deathbed, the Shergill sister’s mother tells them her last wish: to make a pilgrimage together to India in order to carry out her final rights. Saddened by the loss of their mother and discouraged by the unpleasant circumstances of their own lives, the sisters arrive in India full of secrets and guilt. Rajni, a schoolteacher in her forties, is haunted by a secret she has kept for years about her last visit to India with her mother. Jezmeen, a celebrity TV host, is fresh off the heels of a public controversy and is trying to escape the nasty things written about her on social media. Shirina, a dutiful housewife, appears to be living the perfect life but feels pressured by her in-laws into making a decision that could affect her marriage and life. Together, they embark on an adventure filled with highs and lows but one that will strengthen their broken bonds and give them insight into each other’s messy lives.

The Sisters:

The Shergill sisters were the heart of this novel. Finding their way back to each other was truly the most beautiful part of this story. Each sister was dealing with a personal crisis and carrying the weight of it on their shoulders alone. The distance between the sisters was heartbreaking. We often read stories that highlight the close relationship of sisters, but this story focuses on finding their way back to one another. We get insight from the sisters about their personal struggles and how their childhood shaped them into the people they became.

I enjoyed reading their own perspectives of their childhood and what made them drift away from each other. The best part for me was how the sisters came to each other’s rescue despite their conflicting emotions about each other. I do believe the author’s strength lies in characterization as she made each of the sisters so believable and complex. It is truly wonderful when the author masters character development and the backstory. For me, it made the story richer.

Overall Thoughts:

If you pick up this book, not only will you be diving into the chaotic lives of the Shergill sisters but you will also be taken on an adventure in India. I loved the itinerary that the mother left for them as it outlined the important sites the sisters needed to visit and what made these places special. I felt like I was walking along with them in the packed bazaars of India. Even the culture and traditions are explored as they visit historical and religious sites. Everything is so beautifully descriptive that you feel like you are actually there living it all.

The author perfectly captures the sister’s impressions of visiting India after growing up abroad. She explores the odd feeling of being part of a community but still feeling as “other”. The sisters struggle with this as they find their bearings in a country that is suppose to be their home but does not quite feel like it. I think it is a very natural feeling for people to have a culture shock despite said culture being their own. I enjoyed reading this part, as it was very relatable to me as well.

Overall, this book exceeded my expectations in the best of ways. The story was very engaging and heart warming. I found myself rooting for the sisters, not just for overcoming their personal struggles, but also to find their connection with each other again. Their journey was long, full of turmoil but it gave a sense of what it takes to find your way back to those you love unconditionally. The author has outdone herself again with yet another incredible read.

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters releases tomorrow April 30th.

Happy reading bookworms!

Shazia.

Book Review

Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined: A Book Review

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Let me tell you a little story about how a book found it’s way to me. I usually go into a bookstore with a plan. Even on the days when I casually decide to stroll into a bookstore, the wheels in my head begin turning as I shuffle through the file labeled “To Be Read” in my brain.  On this particular day, I was visiting the books I wanted as they sat pretty on the bookshelves when I noticed a book placed in the wrong section. Of course my OCD got the better of me and I picked it up to return it to its proper place (maybe I should start working in Indigo). I never made it to where it should be placed, because I decided it belonged with me.

At first it was the title that drew me in: “Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined”. I don’t know why but that title made me think and question the the story behind it. Then it was the beautiful cover that caught my attention. The star studded sky and a girl stargazing truly deserves cover appreciation. Finally, reading the excerpt is what made me decide to bring it home. I’m really grateful this book found me because it seems to be one of those underrated gems.

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Synopsis:

“My demon is you. My best and worst is about you: how I need you and fear for you, how I fear for myself if I lose you, how I have let myself be defined by you.” – Danielle Younge-Ullman.

This story is about a teenage girl name Ingrid and her mother. When she was younger, Ingrid travelled the world with her Opera singing mother, as she put on dazzling performances and received acclaim. When Ingrid’s mother loses her voice and career, their glamorous life comes to an end as they settle for a normal life filled with ghosts from their past. After a childhood with life altering moments and becoming an adult at a young age, Ingrid decides she wants to pursue her dream of becoming a singer.

The catch: Ingrid is challenged to complete a wilderness survival program in order to gain her mother’s approval for her career path. The other catch: The wilderness program is for a group of at risk teens consisting of runaways, ex-convicts and shady personalities. Ingrid spends her days in this gruelling program with a group of teens that make her feel uncomfortable, all the while trying to understand what she is doing there and working through years worth of pent up emotions and memories.

The Characters:

Ingrid put me through one hell of an emotional roller coaster. This book gives us flashbacks to Ingrid’s childhood, which helps us understand why she turned out the way she did. It is also written in the form of letters to her mother while she is at the wilderness camp. I truly enjoyed these parts because the writing was so sarcastic and really indicative of a teenage girl having an awful time at camp and life in general. Besides that, the most powerful thing about the letters is how her emotions completely boil to the surface. There is no sugar-coating how she feels about her past or present, and I do believe you get to know her character better with these scenes.

The Mother is an important character that we learn about through Ingrid’s flashbacks and letters. This is a difficult character to read about as you feel her pain jumping out of the pages as she describes losing her life’s passion. You feel angry about the way she treats Ingrid and how she tries to crush her dreams. Mainly, you just want her to pull through during her dark times.  

Andreas is a secondary character who begins dating Ingrid’s mother in the book. Andreas definitely became one of my favorite characters due to his endearing actions towards Ingrid and her mother. I loved reading the dynamic between him and Ingrid. Of course, the author did a great job in not making him appear too perfect but showing how sometimes your greatest flaw is how relentless you can be to help those who do not want to be “fixed”.

I especially enjoyed getting to know the group of misfit teens at the wilderness camp. Reading about their backstories and why they were doing this program was one of the most interesting parts of the book. The ex-convict Tavik ended up becoming one of my favorite characters from the camp. I’m not really sure when I started liking him, but suddenly I was on board with his character and wished we got more of him.

My Thoughts:

This has to be one of the most profound books with a theme of mental illness explored through the characters. Not only is mental illness viewed from the perspective of the person living with it, but it also explores how those around the person are affected. The symptoms, the challenges, the triggers and road to recovery are all explored and incredibly depicted in this story. There is a bit of a love story, but I did not care much for this part of the book. However, I do think that the backstory between Ingrid and this boy was essential and really well written. The way the story unfolds is also very fluid and easy to follow. Even though I saw that twist coming in the end, it was remarkably written for me to still feel it.

Let me just end this by saying that Goodreads compared this book to The Breakfast Club, which is my favorite movie of all time. I only read this comment after I was done with the book and I can tell you that “Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined” definitely has some Breakfast Club vibes. Besides that, it explores depression, pursuing your dreams, young love, bullying and family. This is a young adult fiction but I truly believe it is a book anyone can read and enjoy. I highly recommend this book and I hope it snuggles its way into your heart.

Happy reading bookworms!

Shazia.

 

 

Bookish Thoughts

Khanlibrary’s Favorite Books

ShaziaLeave a comment

“Hey Shazia, you’re a big reader…Do you have any book recommendations for me?”

I get asked this question a lot and I love it when I do! I usually burst out into a big dorky grin, clasp my hands together and start listing books by genre. I often wish I had an office where I could ask the person to have a seat, pour them some tea and unveil a portfolio of all my favorite books. Sadly, there is no office but I do have a mental portfolio of the recent books that I enjoyed as well as my all-time favorites.

So I would like to invite you into my imaginary office that has a gigantic bookshelf from floor to ceiling and a hot pot of tea with biscuits ready to serve. Please have a seat on the bean bag chair (because comfort is of utmost importance at the office) and let us have a look through the portfolio of my favorite books.

*Side note: my “portfolio” would really be a colourful and highly organized PowerPoint presentation complete with graphs and hilarious memes. But since this is a blog post I will tone it down a notch and just break it down numerically. Enjoy!

1) Favorite fictional book that made me cry:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

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(picture from @khanlibrary)

Alright, let’s just start off by saying nobody makes me cry like Mr. Hosseini. I really hope I get to meet him one day and express how much I love his books. The way he weaves a story together and shows the growth of the characters is truly inspiring. Why do I love this this book so much? It is beautifully written and it makes you feel every emotion. It educates you and opens your mind. It makes you root for the characters, celebrate their victories and cry for their sorrows. While A Thousand Splendid Suns is my favorite book, I also highly recommend any of Khaled Hosseini’s books. Especially “Sea Prayer” as the proceeds will benefit UN Refugee Agency and the author’s foundation 

2) Favorite Memoir that read like a novel:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

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This was perhaps one of the best-written and insightful memoirs I have ever read. Jeanette takes us along on her journey through her childhood with her eccentric family and all the hardships they faced as they lived their life like nomads. At times this book felt like a novel. All the characters came to life and I was easily able to envision each scene in my head. It was deeply personal and I loved every bit of it.

 

3) Favorite classic that makes me swoon:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Need I say more? Jane Austen’s classic is well known, as there are many TV specials and retellings of the story out there. The original classic will always be my favorite. I love Mr. Darcy’s awkward ways and Elizabeth’s feisty personality. I loved the entire nutty Bennet family. I have lost count on how many times I’ve read this classic. One thing is for sure; I never get tired of rereading it!

4) Favorite kids series I discovered in my adulthood:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rich Riordon

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I discovered this series in my mid twenties and I read them faster than Zeus’ lightning bolt. What an incredible adventure for both youngsters and adults alike. I enjoyed every single book in this series. I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology so these books were right up my alley. However, I don’t think you need much knowledge about Greek mythology to enjoy this series. 

5) Favorite young adult fantasy that made me want befriend the characters:

Clockwork Angel: The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

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Let me start off by saying I HATE love triangles. I always question how characters have got the time for such nonsense. However, here is a series that handles a love triangle perfectly. I loved Tessa, Will and Jem. To this day, I cannot pick which character I love more. The ending was pure perfection! I’m not a fan of the other Shadowhunter books, but this trilogy has my heart.

6) Favorite inspirational book that made me reflect on life:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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This is the kind of book that teaches you a different lesson every time you read it. I have read this book at three different points in my life and each time I uncovered a new message or thought. The writing is poetic and filled with metaphors and big lessons. There is a quote from the novel that has stuck with me from the very first moment I read it: “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” It is not only the most memorable quote from the book but my favorite quote in general.

7) Favorite book from my nerdy childhood:

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

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My mom often tells me about my reaction once I finished reading Anne of Green Gables. One of the things I supposedly said at the age of eight years old was that I wished I had a sister like Anne Shirley. I really believe that the first few books you read as a kid really shapes you into the reader you turn out to be. I thank my mom for introducing me to L.M. Montgomery as a kid.

(Special shout out to the Harry Potter series but that was a given. I wanted to include something apart from the obvious).

 

8) Favorite Historical Fiction that held my attention for hours:

The Other Boleyn girl by Philippa Gregory

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Does Henry VIII fascinate anyone else or is it just me? To say this guy had problems is an understatement. He definitely had 99 problems and a Boleyn girl was one of them. I knew a bit about the Boleyn drama before reading the book, but whatever I knew was mainly about Anne Boleyn. I liked that this book focused on her sister and we see things through her perspective.

9) Favorite Self Help book that left me feeling inspired:

Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King

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I really do feel that some books find you when you need them the most. This was one of those books for me. The author delivers simple, honest advice that seems to hit the mark perfectly. I found myself nodding along with the author’s advice and every so often wanting to shout out “yes! Preach!” but seeing as how I was in public transport at the time I stopped myself.

10) Favorite Middle School book that made me fall in love with reading all over again:

Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease

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I loathed being assigned books to read in elementary school. I always wanted to be in control of what I read. However, in Grade 6 everything changed when our teacher made us read “Cue for Treason”. This book was so good that almost every single kid in my class enjoyed reading it. I remember actually having fun while writing my book report because I had so many thoughts and emotions after finishing it. I lost my copy years ago but I was so happy to have found one just a couple of months back at Chapters. It feels like I got a piece of my childhood back.

There you have it folks. While I do have many more amazing books in my portfolio, these are the ones that hold a special place in my heart.

Fun Fact: I strongly considered adding Game of Thrones in the mix but I’m quite angry at the author right now so he was removed from the list until he decides to finish the books ….seriously George, are you waiting for a white walker apocalypse or what? 

Happy Reading,

Shazia.

Book Review

Tell it to the Trees by Anita Rau Badami

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*Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 I have to applaud authors who are able to make their stories feel sinister from the very first page. To the point where you are almost holding your breath expecting something bad to happen. You feel the darkness trying to creep its way to the surface and so you keep reading and waiting for the story to go full dark force on you. I waited, I read and unfortunately this book fell flat for me in the end. Did it go full dark force on me? It sure did. This book is dark, but the wrap up of the story did nothing for me.

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Synopsis

“Truth was a shifting, shy thing, like sunlight changing from moment to moment, unknowable even if you spent your life in the heart of it.” – Anita Rau Badami.

Anu is a forty-something woman looking for a secluded retreat to write her book. She comes across the Dharma family’s “back-house” in the quiet town of Merrit’s Point and decides it will be the perfect place to spend some alone time writing. She gets to know the Dharma family and soon realizes there is something sinister happening in their household.

The Dharma family consists of the Vikram, the head of the household who was once married to a wild and free woman named Helen, who tragically died in a car crash leaving behind a daughter, Varsha. Vikram remarried by arranging a marriage for himself in India. He brings Suman from the warmth of India, to his cold and quiet town. It is not long before Suman has a child of her own and becomes trapped in her new life with her possessive stepdaughter, needy son and violent husband.

With the arrival of Anu as a tenant, Suman finds a friend and confidant. While Vikram is at work and the kids are at school, Anu visits Suman and Vikram’s mother, Akka, as they share stories over tea. With time, Anu starts realizing that there is not only something wrong with Vikram, but with his daughter Varsha as well. Varsha will stop at nothing to keep her family together and protect all of their secrets. When tragedy strikes and questions are asked, secrets start exposing themselves and threatening to break apart a family that was already hanging by a thread.

Characters:

I think the author did a fantastic job painting a picture of what domestic abuse does to children. In my opinion, the only strong, well developed characters in this book are the children.

Varsha is a thirteen-year-old girl with so much darkness in her. She was raised in a violent environment. She observed violence and experienced it herself. Seeing excuses made for her father’s abusive ways somehow embeds the idea in her head that sometimes extreme measures need to be taken to keep a family together. Something you see her do time and time again in the book. I’ll be honest, this girl creeped me out! I kept thinking something is not right with this girl, and I kept reading just to figure her out. She somehow reminded me of those crazy villains in slasher movies who are hiding in closets with a huge knife. Don’t worry she doesn’t do this….or does she? (evil laugh). No, she doesn’t but she gives off that kind of vibe.

Hemant is seven-years-old and your heart will break for him. He grasps onto any form of love given to him and is constantly battling with the secret thoughts he has about how his father and sister are bad people. While at times I felt like I was reading a perspective of a much older person rather than a seven-year-old, I still think that his character came a long way in terms of growth.

My heart did hurt for Suman as I read about what her life was once like and how it is reduced to daily violence. The author does a good job in showing how Suman feels suffocated in a loveless marriage and in an isolated cold town. She misses her culture, her family and the happiness she felt when she was free to live as she wished. The problem with this character is that I saw no growth. I was rooting for her every step of the way but I felt like her storyline did not progress much. Even with the arrival of Anu and their growing friendship, I felt like there really seemed to be no point to her perspective in the story as nothing was happening. While Anu was an interesting addition, I did not feel like I knew her well towards the end of the story. I felt no connection to her despite the fact that she plays a central role in the story.

Akka, the kid’s grandmother, was a very interesting character and had the potential to be so much more. Here is a woman that told stories without sugarcoating them for the youngsters. She spoke openly and freely. The scenes with her in them gave the story some life and I really believe that if she was given more depth and space she would have taken the story further. I felt like her storyline was just left hanging and I was sitting there asking “But where did Akka go? Can Akka come back?”. I’ll admit I mainly wanted her back because she seemed to have her own chilling secret. I guess the author left it open to interpretation for the readers.

Overall thoughts:

While this book did keep me engaged for the most part, I was disappointed in how everything was wrapped up in the end. The story was very bleak and I would have hoped to see some flicker of hope for the characters, but I did not. I felt like after everything I had been through with these characters, we were all left hanging. I finished the book feeling mainly annoyed by the potential the story had to be so much more.

The mystery presented in the very first chapter also added an element of suspense but after a while there was no more urgency for that particular part of the story. Despite all this, I do think the book had some very important take away messages about how a home environment can really shape children’s personalities in ways we could never imagine. Give this book a try if you like books that explore culture and family secrets with a light mystery. 

Happy reading!

Shazia.

p.s. I’m still haunted by that girl in this book. There is a reason why I avoid horror movies with children in them (or all horror movies, period).