"Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

So, after brainstorming for a while and searching the internet, I found a device that will help me keep track of my book reading this year. You will see it to the right of my most recent post. As I read each book, I can go in and add the title to my shelf. My goal is to read 30 books by December 8, 2012, so that means I need to read about 3 books per month. This past month - the FIRST month of my journey towards this goal, I was scrambling. I didn't think I'd make my "3 books" deadline, and I was worried. Let's face it, we set goals for ourselves and then if we fail in the first week, two weeks, month, we want to give up. Or at least I do. So I felt it was really important to start off this first month and meet my goals. I pulled a hamstring in my right leg on January 2nd and by the 4th, I could hardly move without a ton of pain. I went to bed as soon as the kids went to bed and tried to lie still and elevate my leg. Instead of watching t.v. for three hours, I read a book. An entire book. :-) I've had this book, "Homeless Bird" for many years now. When I was teaching 7th and 8th grade reading, I bought lots of books that were on their level so that I could offer my students a variety of books, since our small Christian school had very limited resources. And honestly - I like that adolescent genre for the MOST part. So, knowing I was pressed against a deadline, I tried to pick a fairly decent sized book that was still an easier read. It's about 212 pages long and by the image on the front cover, I was thinking it was about a girl in Russia. WRONG. This story takes place in India and the first page of the book says something along the lines of, "You are thirteen years old now, my daughter. It is time for you to marry." This book made me uncomfortable in a good way...simply because I not only TAUGHT that age but I now have a daughter of my own. I can't imagine marrying my child off at the age of thirteen to a boy she has never met. This book is well written and really portrays the good and bad of life in India for a young girl. I think the author's intent was to take the reader out of his/her comfort zone and interestingly weave fact with fiction so the readers can understand what life is like for others their own age thousands of miles away. Whelan hit the nail on the head. Good book!