The Conch Bearer, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

A children’s fantasy set in modern India.

12-year-old Anand’s Kolkata family was happily middle-class until his father disappeared, his sister went catatonic, and the family sank into poverty. Anand had to drop out of school and work for a mean tea-stall owner.

But when he gives his last food to an old man, he is pulled into the old man’s quest to return a magic talking conch to a legendary brotherhood of healers. Accompanied by the old man and a homeless girl, Anand goes on a very traditional quest, complete with pursuing villain, magical obstacles, and powerful but obnoxious forces for good that keep setting up tests to pass.

The best part of this novel for me was the vividly evoked settings: the flavors of the food, the smell of the air, the discomfort of the journey. The characters are simple and the plot, if you’ve read a few childrens’ fantasy quest novels, was extremely predictable. However, I am no longer ten. I would recommend this for anyone looking for fantasy with POC protagonists (all the characters are Indian) for the eight-to-twelve set, with one caveat:

I regret to criticize the ending for being startling, given that predictability was my main problem with the rest of the story. But there is a middle ground between predictable and WTF.

( They did what why? REALLY? )

Buy at Amazon: The Conch Bearer (Brotherhood of the Conch)

#2 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman

[technocracygirl.livejournal.com]

I really need to start posting about the books that I've read instead of just reading them!

So I started reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian while waiting for the bus. And on the bus. And walking home from the stop (in the rain!) And so on until I finished it. It's a YA novel, so it didn't take much more than an hour or two. But oh, what an hour!

Our Hero is a skinny Spokane with a tendency to stutter and lisp and with severe brain injuries from birth problems. He draws because drawings can speak to anyone, while writing can only speak to people who understand the language. (And the books is illustrated with Junior's cartoons thoughout. The different styles and uses are fantastic!) He's incredibly intelligent, and lives on the rez. Anyone who's heard Alexie talk about reservations knows that this is not a good combination. Junior gets fed up with life, and is encouraged by a teacher to find a different path. He spends his freshman year at an all-white school 22 miles from the rez.

It has a voice that rings very true. Arnold Junior is pulled by Hope and Home, and doesn't quite fit in either. There is bad in Hope, and there is bad in Home, and good in each. There are major, massive triumphs, and major, massive lamentations. There is no resolution at the end, just changing circumstance and the knowledge that life goes on.

This was lighter than a lot of Alexie's other work, and he knows that he is definitely writing for a teenaged audience. But he doesn't pull any punches, either. A lot of themes he's discussed before are present, if in simpler language than he normally uses. And a lot of the themes are also traditional to teen lit: finding a place for yourself, feeling new, understanding society's rules, living by your parents' laws vs. forging your own path...

All in all, a truly excellent work, with a lot of depth to it. It deserves every award that it has been given.

Tanita S. Davis, A La Carte; Randa Abdel-Fattah, Ten Things I Hate About Me

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

9. Tanita S. Davis, A La Carte

Lainey is a typical high school girl (if a bit shy) who dreams of being the first African-American vegetarian chef to have a TV show. Sim, a white boy who was her childhood best friend, has grown up to be the cool, rebellious kid. This book is about their relationship, and the ways it affects Lainey's relationship with her family and other friends, in between lovely descriptive passages of food porn. The book even includes recipes! Which look easy and tasty, and though I haven't tried out any yet, I very much plan to.

This book was very well-written, particularly in its depictions of characters and their connections. Everyone seemed wholly realized, with more depth than is typical in novels. The resolution of the book was not what I expected, but was realistic and complicated and honest and really fantastic. Very recommended.


10. Randa Abdel-Fattah, Ten Things I Hate About Me

At home, Jamilah is the youngest daughter of a Lebanese Muslim family living in Australia, with a hijab-wearing activist older sister, a high school drop-out older brother, and a heavily-accented, taxi-driving father. At school, blonde-haired (it's dyed) and blue-eyed (contacts) Jamie is very much not one of the "ethnics". The book is about the stress and emotions of maintaining this double-life, and how to find a resolution between the two.

I really, really, really liked this book. It was much more complicated than Does My Head Look Big In This? (if less funny), and it raised much more difficult questions. I loved the real problems Jamilah had to deal with, and the directions this book went. So good.

12. A Short History of Indians in Canada

[sumofparts.livejournal.com]

Product Description (from publisher)
Acclaimed author Thomas King is in fabulous, fantastical form in this bestselling short story collection. From the surreal migrations of the title story to the misadventures of Coyote in the modern world and the chaos of a baby’s unexpected arrival by airmail, King’s tales are deft, hilarious and provocative. A National Post and Quill & Quire bestseller, and an Amazon.ca Top Pick for 2005, A Short History of Indians in Canada is a comic tour de force.

( Cut for potential spoilers )