Year of the Historical: Secret Keeper

Secret Keeper Mitali Perkins

In 1974 Asha's father leaves India to look for work in the US, Asha moves with her sister and mother into her paternal grandfather's house. There, Asha's family is in the precarious position of being female relatives dependent on their relatvies. In Kolkata Asha loses the freedom she had in Delhi. She struggles with being the "ugly" sister-- why is so much of her value dependent on her looks-- and with the role women are expected to play in society.

Her only solace is writing in her diary, up on the house's rooftop. There, she befriends and the neighbor boy, a friendship that is strictly forbidden.

I appreciated that Asha's brashness wasn't the only way that women stood up for themselves in this novel, and at different points, different approaches worked better. I also liked that Perkins included a depressed character and her explorations of grief.

But perhaps my favorite part is the fact that this isn't a story about how unfair traditional Indian homes are, but rather a story about the strength and importance of family, especially sisters. Oh! And a great author's note at the end  A great example of why I love Mitali Perkins so much!

Also, this is the paperback release day! Mitali Perkins does so much to promote teen and middle grade books using social networking, so give her some love today!

If publication day is a book's birthday, is paperback day like its bar mitzvah?

Book Provided by... the author, for review consideration

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Rainy Sunday

Doesn't fail, does it? Friday and Sunday, when I'm home, it's rainy out. On Saturday, when I was at work? Super sunny! Well, last night I enjoyed the weather at any rate.

And my flowers and herbs are loving the rain. The cilantro bush is threatening to eat my house it's gotten so huge. My peonies are blooming and they're lovely. My favorite flower. So I've been doing indoor things-- like reading and napping and occasionally watching TV. Today I baked-- Devil's Food cupcakes with a mocha butter cream frosting. (Recipe in How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food)

Anyway, some books...

First Daughter: White House Rules Mitali Perkins

This is one of the Fusion Stories that I'm reading my way through this month.

This one picks up with Sparrow and her family moving into the White House. Her mom needs to find a domestic cause to champion. Her cousin is sensitive to the grand income divide between the two of them and looking for a way to help support herself. And Bobby isn't calling-- because his parents think his sick grandfather won't approve of him dating someone who's biological parents were probably Muslim. To top it off, one of her commenters on her blog has called Sparrow rich and privileged and pointed out she wouldn't be able to "make it" in the real world. Sparrow isn't sure how to respond-- the criticism has more than a ring of truth.

If you liked First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover, you're sure to enjoy Sparrow's continuing adventures. Perkins manages to tackle some big issues while still having a fun book. The issues don't get in the way of a light-hearted story, but she still manages to do justice to them.

My complaints are minor--it's always hard to read fiction that's set in the place you live when large parts of the scenery are realistic but still, well... fiction. And Perkins choses the issues she wants to tackle-- such as racism, underfunded schools, and the Hindu/Muslim divide. She doesn't tackle other things-- I find it hard to believe that every member of the junior class in a DC public school could pass a background security check to be let into the residence of the White House. On the other hand, Sparrow is determined enough she might have pulled a few strings with the Secret Service.

Throughout it all, Sparrow remains assured, focused and determined, while at the same time being likeable and seems like a real girl that I'd like to hang out with. (Especially if she can get her cousin to make me some of those cookies!)

Superstar Babes Narinder Dhami

Ok, so... this isn't out in the US yet. BUT! Amber, Jazz, and Geena (of Bindi Babes fame) are back! (Also, you can buy it here with free world wide shipping! I buy from the Book Depository all the time when I can't wait for British books to come across the pond-- sometimes it's even cheaper than the American version will be! Fast delivery, too-- I highly recommend them!)

The girls have been bickering a lot lately and Amber decides it's because they need a project. Coppergate's new building has several rooms named after companies that donated large amounts of money--why not name the library after their mum? The sisters all over it, except it means raising 10,000 pounds. In 6 weeks. Nothing the Dhillon sisters can't handle, right?

Of course, there are other things going on as well. Their spoiled cousin Baby has moved in. Auntie and Uncle Jai seem to be having marital issues and they JUST got married! Plus, Dad's never home anymore and Geena has a secret. About a boy. But what is it?

Can Amber solve all these problems and raise the money in time? Maybe it will all happen when she gets her most brilliant stroke of genius-- a real live Big Brother-type reality show, right in Coppergate, staring her family. What could go wrong?

This series deserves a higher readership. Every time I have a 5th/6th grade girl come in looking for a "funny" book, this is what I hand them. We need more funny for girls. These books hasve fashion, big plans, friendship, girls making their own way in the world, and a healthy dose of literary slapstick. The latest installment doesn't disappoint and continues the wacky and endearing adventures of the Dhillon Sisters.

FREE BIRD!

So... one of the highlights of the weekend was Mitali Perkin's book launch/bhangra party at DCPL. (See her page for the incriminating photos!)

In preperation for the party, I read the book that was being launched, First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover.

Tangent: I was excited for this book because when I was a kid, I really liked The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White. Did you ever read that one? It's awesome. And then, at ALA this weekend, I found out that there were sequels!!! Who knew?! AND! There's a 4th one coming out soon, Long May She Reign. I got that ARC this weekend, which is how I found out there were more.

Anyway, back to First Daughter. Sameera is Pakistani by birth and was adopted by a human rights crusader and diplomat. She goes to boarding school in Brussels where she writes for the school paper and is the coxswain on the crew team. When school gets out, she goes back to the US, where were father is campaigning for President.

She's poked and prodded and made over to be much more glamorous than she is. A consultant that's an expert in teen marketing writes a blog for her that makes her sound like a complete ditz. She's told to giggle more and to insert more "uh"s into her conversation. She's sick of her nickname, Sparrow, and wants to start going by Sameera-- it sounds more grown up. She's told that her new name is Sammy, because that sounds more American. Right.

At first, Sameera goes along with the changes. She wants to be a journalist and sees herself less as becoming a celebrity and more as going undercover as one. In the meantime, she has her myfriends page, which is closed to her intergalactic circle of 29 friends who remind her who she really is.

As the campaign gets closer, Sameera can't take it anymore. She starts dressing in her salwar kameez to sneak out into DC and hangout with the South Asian Republican club at George Washington. She buys a burka to better hide herself. Eventually, she can't reconcile her two selves and decides to break free and just be who she is. The political consultants will just have to deal with it.

Sameera is such a love-able character. I was slightly mystified at how her mother just let the consultants do what they want, but as the campaign wore on, I got it. I liked how Sameera takes charge and I liked her true voice--she was bright and interesting but still sounded like the sixteen year old she was supposed to be. Perkins perfectly captures the way the press hounds young and hott celebrities and really takes a stand at giving political kids a bit of space. I liked the fact that Sameera's dad was the Republican, not the Democratic, front runner. Also, when was the last time you saw crew as a main characters major sport? And coxswain? Nice touch. I hope she continues to do crew in the next book-- you can see them rowing every morning on the Potomac. I can see Sameera standing there, shouting at them as they go under the 14th Street Bridge. And there could be a great scene with some Secret Agent falling into the icky water. Just a suggestion.

My main disappointment is that when Sameera sneaks out to buy her clothes, Perkins is ambiguous about what neighborhood she's in. I like it when authors know corners of my city I don't that I can then explore. Oh well. It's a small thing.

Overall, this book is pretty fun, but it still touches on some bigger issues without being bogged down in teenage or political angst. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Next Weekend

Next weekend, the circus is coming to town! By which, of course, I mean the ALA annual conference.

I'll be hanging out at the YALSA booth from 12-1, so stop by and say hi!

But! Even more exciting! Later that afternoon, I'm going to head over the DC library for a book launch and bhangra party with Mitali Perkins. Let her know if you want to come, too. I'm going to go and then meet up for drinks at Capital City Brewing with other kidlit bloggers! MotherReader is organizing this jaunt, so check out her blog for details!

I hope to see some of you guys there!

Also, there is big excitement this afternoon. Stay tuned tonight for more details...

Recent Reads

Ha! 2 books that I read this month! In fact, 1 of them I read this week!

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee

I have been accused of being anal retentive, an over-achiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things.

Millicent Min is a genius. It's not that she's just really smart, but certifiably a genius--she's going to be a senior in high school and has started taking classes at the local college. She's 11. She's also lonely--she's in a lot of extra-curriculars at school, but she doesn't have friends. Even in her college class, the other students don't see her as an equal and resent her presence. Other kids her age don't know how to relate to her.

Millicent's mother signed her up for volleyball this summer to try and give her daughter a "normal" childhood. At volleyball, she meets Emily. Emily seems to like her, so Millicent doesn't tell her how smart she is. She wants Emily to see her as a normal kid. As long as she can keep they lies straight, she'll be OK, right?

Lisa Yee has a great character in Millie, who, socially, is a little behind her peers even she's light years ahead of them academically. She's hilarious as she tried to navigate her new friendship with Emily, and friendships are complicated, no matter how smart you are. Yee has written several very believable characters and Millicent is extremely likable. I'm looking forward to reading Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time and So Totally Emily Ebers.

Other blog reviews: Miss Erin, Elizabeth O. Dulemba, The Tired Reader

Rickshaw Girlby Mitali Perkins

So, usually for a book to "count" as part of my have-read list, it has to be at least 100 pages OR have a quality I can't define but call "deep impact". The Big Wave is one such book.

Everyone's already reviewed this one and you other kidlit bloggers are probably familiar with Mitali as she's a frequent commentor and fellow blogger. (How did I NOT know she wrote Monsoon Summer? That's been on my to-read list forever!)

Anyway, I was really excited when this came into the library, because I'm a big fan of Mitali's blog-comments. But then I got really paranoid, because what if I didn't like it? I've told myself I'm going to review every book that I read here, and so I would but I really like Mitali and OH! THE AGONY!

But all the worry was for naught, because I did like it. And it has that elusive "deep impact" even though it's under 100 pages.

So, this is set in modern-day Bangladesh. Naima's father is a rickshaw driver that never gets a rest. She wishes she was a boy, so she would be allowed to help out. She comes up with several grand plans and schemes to possibly help and complications ensue.

I was really intrigued by the turn this book took in the end, because who would've thunk that you could so effectively introduce the concept of micro-finance to the middle-reader set?

Also, the pictures not only perfectly compliment, but really add to the story.

Check out other reviews at: My Blog, Fuse #8, Planet Esme, Phantom Scribbler, Brookeshelf, Info Dad, Readers Rants,