Tag: books

Omar El Akkad’s—What strange paradise *****

Omar El Akkad’s—What strange paradise *****

Amir’s uncle accompanies his family from Syria to Alexandria. But late one night, Amir creeps out of their apartment and follows his uncle who climbs on to a boat. He too ends up on the boat full of desperate passengers fleeing their homes. After Amir is washed ashore on a strange island, he flees the scene chased by soldiers. Vanna, a local teenager, sees him dashing towards her and hides him in their hayloft. But can she protect him from Colonel Kethros who is determined to detain the child in the camp with the rest of the refugees who have washed up on the island?

Sue Lynn Tan’s—Daughter of the Moon Goddess*****

Sue Lynn Tan’s—Daughter of the Moon Goddess*****

Xingyin lives a contented but isolated childhood with her mother, the Moon Goddess who is forbidden to leave her domain. But after Xingyin experiments with magic lights around her, the Celestial Empress visits accusing her mother of trying to escape from her imprisonment. Fearing her daughter will be discovered, she instructs Xingyin under the protection of Ping’er, to hide in the Southern Sea with Ping’er’s family. During the journey, they are attacked by Celestial soldiers and the pair are separated. Alone, Xingyin must forge a new life in the Celestial Kingdom in the hope that she can free her mother from the chains of her isolation.

Chitra Banderjee Divakaruni’s—Before we visit the goddess

Chitra Banderjee Divakaruni’s—Before we visit the goddess

This is a tale of three generations of women and the mistakes and hardships they face both in India and in the U.S. 

Sabitri dreams of going to college so she can rise above her mother’s poverty-stricken life. She is given the opportunity by a rich family her mother makes mitai for, but her dream evaporates because of her ill-fated love. When her daughter, Bela is in college she is distressed by Bela’s relationship with Sanjay, a political Bengali rebel. Bela abandons her studies and flees to the U.S. to reconnect with Sanjay—the second generation to forsake her studies for love. In Bela’s daughter’s teenage years, will she do the same?