Shabanu : Daughter of the Wind

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Summary: Shabanu, desert nomad, learns life is harsh.
Review: I thought this book was very good except that it became confusing because of the number of charactors and words that I didn't know the meanings to. It really help to have a list of characters in the front and a glossery in the back. The setting is in the Thar desert. So many things can happen in a desert for example a sand storm. Shabanu's house had been destroyed by a sand storm. I thought the details were very good. I could picture the characters in my head.

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Summary: Shabanu,desert child,learns that life is hard.
Review: I thought this book was very good except I sometimes got confused. It help to have a list of charactors in the back of the book, though. Shabanu has to chose wether to run away to her aunts that refused to get married of to marry a rich discusting man that already has more than one wife.

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Summary: A girl has to deal with the tragidies of life.
Review: I thought this was a very good book. It was so sad in the end. I was almost in tears. I never thought there was a dull moment but it was very confusing. Ity helped that there was a list of charactors in the back of the book.

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Summary: Shabanu grows up in the desert with her family and camels
Review: This was a good book. It shows what she goes through when Shabanu watches her sister grow up and get married, and she cannot think of it. In just one year she will be married, and she doesn't want to. I think it was a good book, because it deals with wahts happening to her throughout her life.

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Summary: An authentic, exotic journey through the eyes of a brave yo
Review: The Middle East has always been a mystery - the people, the culture, the history, and especially the private lives of the women. Ms. Staples brings her first-hand knowledge to us in a totally captivating novel of courage. At times frightening (the treatment of women and the ever-present tension of war), I found "Shabanu; Daughter of the Wind" a terribly real journey, made all the more so by seeing this strage world through the eyes of Shabanu herself.As a library clerk and speaking for myself, I highly recommend this book. Please try the sequel, "Haveli". Keep them coming, Ms. Staples! And thank you...

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Summary: a journey through adolecence
Review: I started this book with 10 pounds of doubt on my shoulders. After about 15 pages it quickly dissapeared. I felt for Shabanu and grew most interested. I could not be pulled away. The sisterly bond between Shabanu and Phulan is close, yet so distant. At the climax I almost cried. No one should have to make that decision, no one should ever have to be that brave.....

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Summary: Shabanu is a girl in Pakistan with a marriage problem.
Review: Shabanu is the best book I have read. It made me think I was in Pakistan. It showed me things about Islam I could never of learned in school. It's speed deepened the books depth. It had a true human side to it. This book should be required reading. I can not wait until I read the Sequel called Havelli.

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Summary: A great book that makes me glad that I'm not a Muslim.
Review: Shabanu, an eleven-year-old girl lives in Pakistan with her Muslim family. Her father is a camel trader so they move around the desert a lot. Shabanu's older sister, Phulan, and she both have to get married in the upcoming year because they are almost thirteen. Shabanu is shocked when her sister starts to get excited about her wedding because they had to get their husbands picked out for them. Shabanu grows to like her fiance and he seems to respect her. The fiances come from a rich family, which gets along with Shabanu's family. Shabanu realizes that she will have a pretty good life and that she is lucky to be marrying such a good man. She also knows that she will have to leave her home and take a big responsibility for someone her age. When everyone is making preparations for Phulan's wedding no one expects anything to go wrong. But it does. Hamir, Phulan's fiance gets killed. Everyone is in shock for a few days and then they realized that their worst nightmare had come true. All of the adults didn't even know what to do but when they finally decide on a plan everyone thinks that it is fair except for Shabanu. But why would they listen to her? She is just a child but Shabanu is convinced that everyone else is wrong. Should she go along with the plan to please her parents or should Shabanu follow her heart so that she can live her dreams?

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Summary: Shabanu is one of the most amazing young women ever!
Review: After reading Shabanu I felt completely grateful for my life and my situation, which I think is why many teachers encourage their students to read this novel. I felt a sincere longing to make the most of my life and situation, which Shabanu does even though she has no real control over her life like we Americans do, and she does so almost without remorse or longing because it is the way of her culture and people, which is amazingly mature and almost unbelievable for a character so young. Such strength and honor is seldom seen, and I feel that if taken seriously and understood, this book could be an influential teaching tool. Aside from this, Ms. Staples has done wonderfully in helping one culture relate and understand another, which is almost a miracle. She has through Shabanu, written a spell-binding adventure with a heroine so sincere and innocent that one's heart goes out to her and her culture with love and admiration.

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Summary: It moved too slow in some parts
Review: I did not like this book. We had to read it for a 9th grade English class and it moved way too slow for me that I totally lost interest in the first chapter. It was alright in some parts but in others it just seemed to drag on and on forver!