Ba slipped the gold bangles from my wrists. The gold ones were plain so I didn't mind taking them off, but I loved wearing my milk-glass bangles and the lakkh bracelets.

"A widow can't wear bangles," she said. "They are signs of a woman's good fortune. When your husband dies it's over."

"What if my good fortune comes back?"

"It doesn't." (amazon)

Summary: This book was about a 12 year old girl who's husband dies. Widows were treated horribly in India and forced to stay inside for an entire year, shave their heads, and never marry again. She ends up being tutored and makes a decision to pursue higher education.
Opinion: This book started out super boring but got better. Once the girl's husband dies, things start to pick up. I definitely have sympathy for the main character because she has to shave her head and stop wearing jewelry. I think this would be a good book for kids to learn about different cultures but also about perseverance through terrible situations. ( )

Amazing book, really intriguing and eye opening. A bit sad at times.

This has been on my "To Read" list for about a year. I thoroughly loved learning about the Indian culture, arranged marriages, the Indian caste system and what is was like for women in the early 1900's. The story seemed to drag a little but it was interesting. I think I had more hope for the story than there was. Curricular connections: equal rights, woman's rights, compare and contrast. ( )

This book opens readers' eyes to a very different culture but one starting to change dramatically. I like the perspective - itshows the main character, Leela, and her family evolving as they cope with historical changes in India. The historical context of the story (India during the time of Gandhi) is made accessible because the reader learns of these events from the perspective of Leela and her family.

This book would be an excellent choice to expose students studying world history to traditional Indian culture and some of the history of that country.