India

=India=

Finn, Mary. //**Anilas Journey**//. Candlewick Press, 2008
====In late eighteenth-century Calcutta, half-Indian half-Irish Anila Tandy finds herself alone with nothing but her artistic talent to rely on as she searches for her missing father, who is presumed dead.(Titlewave). [Bethley]====

Forster. E.M. **//A Passage to India//**. Harcourt Brace, 1984. The clash of cultures in British India. Recommended for very advanced readers. [Bethley]

**World Wars of the 20th Century (1914-1945)**
__Fiction__

Venkatraman, Padma. //Climbing the Stairs//. Putnam, 2008.

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In 1941 India, Vidya's dreams of college are dashed when her politically progressive father is seriously injured by British colonial troops. Forced to live in her grandfather's traditional household, Vidya's options narrow precipitously. With the help of an unexpected ally, she begins to regain her strength and independence. The unique setting is vividly portrayed, and the story's ending is unexpected. (Horn Book Review,Titlewave). [Bethley]=====

__Fiction__
King, E. Theodore. **//Ajanta.//** Dehli Press, 1963. [Lori]

McCormick, Patricia. **//Sold.//** Hyperion Books, 2006. Lakshmi, 13, lives in a shack in her village in the Himalayas of present day Nepal. When a monsoon takes everything her family has, Lakshmi dives at a chance to work as a maid in the city. Little does she know that her stepfather has sold her into prostitution. After journeying into India and arriving at the "Happiness House" Lakshmi learns the truth. Lakshmi struggles to survive in a brothel under the cruel rule of Mumtaz. Told in free-verse, this book tells the story of a young girl's struggle to regain control of her own life. //SLJ// recommends this book for grades 9 and up, though mature 8th grade readers would find it interesting as well. [Caryn]

Rana, Indi. **//The Roller Birds of Rampur//**. Fawcett, 1994. A young girl from Britain returns to her native India and struggles to find her identity. [Bethley]

Sheth, Kashmira. **//Keeping Corner//**. Disney/Hyperion Books, 2009. In India in the 1940s, thirteen-year-old Leela's happy, spoiled childhood ends when her husband since age nine, whom she barely knows, dies, leaving her a widow whose only hope of happiness could come from Mahatma Ghandi's social and political reforms. (Titlewave). [Bethley]

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Whelan, Gloria. **//Homeless Bird//**. Harper Trophy, c2001. Thirteen year old Koly's parents arrange a marriage for her according to the traditions of India. The marriage is to a sickly boy whose parents are interested in Koly’s dowery. When her husband dies, Koly is left at the mercy of her spiteful mother-in-law. 800L [Mary Ann] =====

Chatterjee, Minini. **//India//**. DK, 2002. Explores the history and culture of India in text and images of art, architecture, and numerous artifacts, covering its first civilizations, ancient empires, British rule and independence, and the country's traditional craftwork, fabrics, jewelry, music, literature, dance, theater, cuisine, science, medicine, religion, and festivals.(Titlewave) [Bethley]

Hunter, Miranda. **//Women in the World of India//**. Mason Crest Publishers, 2005. Describes the historical and contemporary lives of Indian women, their religious, family, and public lives, and issues and controversies they face, and discusses the work of individual Indian women who have made a difference in their society or the world.(Titlewave) [Bethley]

Shores, Lori. **//Teens in India//**. Compass Point Books, 2007. Gives a realistic view of teenage life in modern-day India. Well reviewed. [Bethley]