Rating: 4.5 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Lovely.)
Genre: Young Adult
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: January 5, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: 534 p.
Add it: Goodreads
Maya has lived in Canada with her Indian parents all her life. Now, her and her father are making their way back to India with her mother's ashes. When they arrive in India though, the assassination of Indira Ghandi has things in an uproar. They end up having to go their separate ways just to survive. Sandeep saw Maya, and knew that he would love her. Though she wasn't speaking, he would be her voice and hopefully bring her back where she belongs.
What a heartbreaking novel. I always hate people killing people for no reason other than they are part of a group that the killers don't like. The people were killed in a barbaric way, and the country ignored that it was happening. Unfortunately I know this happens all the time. Maya was an interesting character, even if her thoughts were absent throughout the middle of this story. In the middle Sandeep fills in with his observations of the elusive girl. I found this to be an interesting way to tell the story. Sandeep seemed to have a lot more to say and wonder about than Maya did at that point in time. It seemed as though Maya was too filled with grief to think different thoughts. She probably just had the same horrifying images playing again and again through her mind; while this is understandable, it doesn't make for very exciting reading. Sandeep was a very kind person. He helped Maya and never left her, even when he knew the outcome would not be in his favor.
I really liked the verse and the diary style writing for this novel. It made it feel intimate and urgent. At times I felt the story focused on the light side of things too much, but I think it helped leave the reader not completely depressed. The last few chapters were even better than I had thought they would be, which is always nice. Love seems to be a big theme in this novel, despite all the war and chaos. This was a fantastic historical fiction that will make your heart ache but will leave you satisfied.
First Line:
"How to begin."
Favorite Line:
"Bapu says her death is due architecture.[..]Because the gold was tarnished with blood. Because of hate. Prejudice. Intolerance."
That cover is so pretty, love the colours.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a sad and sweet book, B! I enjoy reading books written in verse so I want to read this now, and I'm interested to see how the middle section effects the rest of the story