marriage

Secret Keeper

When her father loses his job and leaves India to look for work in America, Asha Gupta, her older sister, Reet, and their mother must wait with Baba’s brother and his family, as well as their grandmother, in Calcutta. Uncle is welcoming, but in a country steeped in tradition, the three women must abide by his decisions. Asha knows this is temporary—just until Baba sends for them. But with scant savings and time passing, the tension builds: Ma, prone to spells of sadness, finds it hard to submit to her mother- and sister-in-law; Reet’s beauty attracts unwanted marriage proposals; and Asha’s promise to take care of Ma and Reet leads to impulsive behavior. What follows is a firestorm of rebuke—and secrets revealed! Asha’s only solace is her rooftop hideaway, where she pours her heart out in her diary, and where she begins a clandestine friendship with Jay Sen, the boy next door. Asha can hardly believe that she, and not Reet, is the object of Jay’s attention. Then news arrives about Baba . . . and Asha must make a choice that will change their lives forever.

Featured in Volume II, Issue I of WOW Review.

The Owl and the Pussycat

After a courtship voyage of a year and a day, the owl and the pussycat finally buy a ring from Piggy and are blissfully married, in this illustrated version of Lear’s nonsense poem.

The Lime Green Secret

Not every flower girl enjoys “her” wedding day quite the way Gloria does!Nothing has made Gloria happier than being chosen as flower girl for sister Fran’s wedding. Thrilled with her beautiful satin gown, long white gloves, shiny white shoes, lace socks, and sparkling tiara, Gloria dreams of donning her wedding finery and transforming herself. Hanging on a hook on her bedroom door, the dress glows “like a radiant angel.” When Gloria gives in to temptation and puts on the entire wedding outfit to entertain the dog, it leads to unpredictable and comical results. In this hilarious romp through the days leading up to the wedding, Gloria’s unstoppable desire to dress up in her flower-girl attire will appeal to any little girl whose fantasies pester her until she comes up with a creative way to fulfill them. Georgia Graham’s playful chalk pastel illustrations bring the antics in The Lime Green Secret magically to life.

Cassandra’s Sister

Young Jane — or Jenny, as she is called — is a girl with a head full of questions. Surrounded by her busy parents and brothers, Jenny finds a place for her thoughts in the companionship of her older sister, Cassandra. Theirs is a country life full of balls and visits, at which conversation inevitably centers on one topic: marriage. But the arrival of their worldly-wise cousin Eliza disrupts Jenny’s world, bringing answers to some of her questions and providing a gem of an idea.

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

Carmen Agra Deedy delivers a deliciously inventive Cuban version of the beloved Martina folktale, complete with a dash of café cubano.

Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn t know coffee beans about love and marriage. That s where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her something really useful: un consejo increible, some shocking advice.

You want me to do what? Martina gasps.

At first, Martina is skeptical of her Abuela s unorthodox suggestion, but when suitor after suitor fails The Coffee Test, she wonders if a little green cockroach can ever find true love. Soon, only the gardener Pérez, a tiny brown mouse, is left. But what will happen when Martina offers him café Cubano?

After reading this sweet and witty retelling of the Cuban folktale, you ll never look at a cockroach the same way again.

The Twin Giants

When twin giants set out in search of happiness, the result is a comedy of errors that is doubly clever and enormously funny.”Isn’t he e-nor-mous!” says the giant father when his first twin son is born. “There’s a-lot-uv-’im!” notes the giant mother when the second twin boy arrives. And as Normus (a vegetarian) and Lottavim (a carnivore) grow and grow, the two are hugely happy — playing Roll the Boulder, singing badly, and doing everything together. But when the day comes for the hulking lads to seek the giantesses of their dreams, will going their separate ways only lead them into double trouble?

Climbing the Stairs

A remarkable debut novel set in India that shows one girl’s struggle for independence. During World War II and the last days of British occupation in India, fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of attending college. But when her forward-thinking father is beaten senseless by the British police, she is forced to live with her grandfather’s large traditional family, where the women live apart from the men and are meant to be married off as soon as possible. Vidya’s only refuge becomes her grandfather’s upstairs library, which is forbidden to women. There she meets Raman, a young man also living in the house who relishes her intellectual curiosity. But when Vidya’s brother decides to fight with the hated British against the Nazis, and when Raman proposes marriage too soon, Vidya must question all she has believed in. Padma Venkatraman’s debut novel shows a girl struggling to find her place in a mixed-up world. Climbing the Stairs is a powerful story about love and loss set against a fascinating historical backdrop.

Take a closer look at Climbing the Stairs as examined in WOW Review.