Book
Homeless bird / Gloria Whelan.
"Like many girls her age in the India of her time period, thirteen-year-old-Koly is getting married. Full of hope and courage, she leaves home forever. But Koly's story takes a terrible turn when in the wake of the ceremony, she discovers she's been horribly misled about exactly what she is marrying into. Her future, it would seem, is lost. Yet this rare young woman, bewildered and brave, sets out to forge her own exceptional future. " -- goodreads.com
Record details
- ISBN: 9780064408196 (softcover)
- Physical Description: 186 pages ; 20 cm
- Publisher: New York, NY : Harper Trophy, 2001.
- Copyright: ©2000
Content descriptions
| Awards Note: | National Book Award for Young People's Literature. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Arranged marriage > Juvenile fiction. Girls > Juvenile fiction. India > Juvenile fiction. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at University College of the North Libraries.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Pas Campus Library | PZ 7 .W5718 2001 (Text) | 58500000809343 | UCNJuv | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Book Report : The Book Report Reviews 2000 November-December
Thirteen-year-old Koly, who is about to be married to a boy she has never met, takes with her to her new home a quilt she has embroidered. The bridegroom is terminally ill, but by the time his parents' deception is discovered, it's too late, and Koly must go through with the wedding. When her husband dies, Koly's friendship with her sister-in-law and the willingness of her father-in-law to teach her how to read make life more bearable. Koly's indomitable spirit keeps her from becoming disillusioned with life and helps her survive when she is abandoned in the city of widows, where she must fend for herself. Readers follow Koly as she matures into a thoughtful young woman who only gradually realizes her love for the rickshaw boy, Raji. This story provides a vivid picture of life in modern India, its caste system and traditions. Whelan's beautifully written tale aptly uses the quilt as a metaphor for weaving Koly's life together. Koly is a memorable heroine readers will care about and l ve. Highly Recommended. Leslie Greaves Radloff, Emanuel Lutheran School, West St. Paul, Minnesota © 2000 Linworth Publishing, Inc. - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 March 2000
/*Starred Review*/ Gr. 6^-9. Thirteen-year-old Koly is getting married, not uncommon for girls her age in India. Although apprehensive, she knows this will lessen the financial burden on her family, and hopes for the best. Unfortunately, her husband is younger than promised, and sickly. Soon she is a homeless widow, deprived of her pension and abandoned by her selfish mother-in-law. She finds unexpected support in a widow's home, self-sufficiency in her gift of embroidery, and, ultimately, love and a new, rewarding life. This beautifully told, inspiring story takes readers on a fascinating journey through modern India and the universal intricacies of a young woman's heart. Whelan's lyrical, poetic prose, interwoven with Hindi words and terms, eloquently conveys Koly's tragedies and triumphs, while providing a descriptive, well-researched introduction to India's customs, peoples, and daily life. Koly is an appealing, admirable character, portrayed with sympathy and depth, who learns that art, heart, dreams, and perseverance can bring unexpected joy. Hindi terms are defined in an extensive glossary at book's end. An insightful, beautifully written, culturally illuminating tale of universal feelings in which riches are measured not in monetary wealth but in happiness and personal fulfillment. ((Reviewed March 1, 2000)) Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews - Horn Book Guide Reviews : Horn Book Guide Reviews 2000 Fall
Married and immediately widowed, thirteen-year-old Koly grapples with traditional expectations and societal neglect of widows in modern-day India. Reminiscent of Suzanne Fisher Staples s [cf2]Shabanu[cf1] (set in Pakistan), Whelan s novel possesses a strong sense of place, but lacks intensity, perhaps because Koly never develops into a thoroughly engaging protagonist. Copyright 2000 Horn Book Guide Reviews - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 1999 December #1
Whelan (Forgive the River, Forgive the Sky, 1998, etc.) creates a setting and characters as vividly realized as those in Joan Abelove's Go and Come Back (1997) for the tale of an arranged marriage gone unexpectedly wrong. The time is the present, but Koly's story is as ancient as India. Her impoverished family can scarcely afford to feed her, so she's married off at 13, with her in-laws using her dowry to buy a trip to the holy Ganges River for their son, her sickly young bridegroom. He dies before their marriage is ever consummated, and Koly finds herself a young widow in service to an angry and spiteful mother-in-law. When her father-in-law dies, and her husband's sister a beloved companion is married off, Koly is tricked and abandoned to Vrindavan, city of widows. Whelan maintains Koly's perspective so precisely that readers, too, begin to take for granted her circumscribed life and the limitations and formalities by which she is bound, and to understand that her skill with the needle the means to her salvation is a gift not granted to every widow. Her path to a new life and work in the wake of many hardships is spun out in a burnished pattern against an exotic background; the tale is romantic, but it's both fascinating and chastening to find that in some parts of the world, learning to read is considered a cherished gift. (glossary) (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright 1999 Kirkus Reviews - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2000 January #5
Whelan (Miranda's Last Stand) blends modern Hindu culture with age-old Indian traditions as she profiles a poor girl's struggle to survive in a male-dominated society. Only 13 when her parents find her a husband, Koly can't help feeling apprehensive about leaving home to live in a distant village with her in-laws and husband, none of whom she has met. The truth is worse than she could have feared: the groom, Hari, is a sickly child, and his parents have wanted only a dowry, not a wife for him, in order to pay for a trip to Benares so Hari might bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges. Koly is widowed almost immediately; later, she is abandoned in the holy city of Vrindavan by her cruel mother-in-law. Koly, likened to a "homeless bird" in a famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore, embodies the tragic plight of Hindu women without status, family or financial security. She is saved from a dismal fate by her love of beauty, her talent for embroidery and the philanthropy of others and by Whelan's tidy plotting, which introduces a virtuous young man, a savvy benefactress and a just employer in the nick of time. The feminist theme that dominates the happily-ever-after ending seems more American than Indian, but kids will likely enjoy this dramatic view of an endangered adolescence and cheer Koly's hard-won victories. Ages 8-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2000 February
Gr 5-8-Thirteen-year-old Koly's arranged marriage seems a blessing for her impoverished family. Her mother embroiders a wedding sari, while the girl stitches her family memories into a quilt. But when she arrives at the home where, according to custom, she will live for the rest of her life under the supervision of her mother-in-law, she discovers that her 16-year-old husband Hari is gravely ill with tuberculosis. She learns that her dowry was needed to finance a journey to Benares, with the hope that the holy water of the Ganges River will cure him. Hari dies there and she is trapped, a widow with no future. Luckily, her father-in-law recognizes her desire to learn and teaches her to read. A few years later, when he, too, dies, her mother-in-law abandons her in another holy city, Vrindavan. Raji, a young rickshaw driver, helps Koly find a place to live and keeps track of her progress. Eventually, she finds work embroidering saris. Raji has a plan, and a dream. He wants to make enough money to buy seed and tools and return to his village, with Koly as his wife. In a happy ending that suggests that established custom can be challenged in positive ways, she agrees. Whelan has enhanced a simple but satisfying story with loving detail about traditional Indian life, the harsh reality of feudal customs that persist today, and the complexity of cultural change. Readers with a curiosity about other worlds and other ways will find Koly's story fascinating.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 2001 February
Thirteen-year-old Koly is from a poor family in India. She enters into an arranged marriage with a sixteen-year-old boy, only to discover that her new husband is very ill. The only reason his parents wanted him to marry Koly was to get their handson her dowry to finance a trip to find a cure for their son. When her young husband dies, Koly is left under the supervision of her dreadful mother-in-law. When Koly's supportive father-in-law also dies, her mother-in-law abandons Koly in the city.Koly must find her way on her own. As she does, she encounters help from strangers, including a handsome young man, but she also relies on her own inner resources and talents. Homeless Bird has all the elements of a great read-a strong, empathetic heroine, a fascinating culture, triumph over adversity, conflict between tradition and modern-day needs and wants, romance, and hope for the future. The story is beautifullywritten, weaving in Hindi words that are defined in the glossary provided in the back of the book. Despite the obvious elements of fairy tale-cruel mother-in-law, attractive young male coming to the rescue-the book does not slide into clich but isunsentimental and fresh. Homeless Bird will satisfy many readers and belongs in every school and public library collection.-Alice Stern. Copyright 2001 Voya Reviews
