{"product_id":"0064408191","title":"Homeless Bird: A National Book Award Winner","description":"\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Gloria Whelan's National Book Award–winning novel, chronicles the breathtaking story of a remarkable young woman who dares to defy fate.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike many girls her age in India, thirteen–year–old Koly faces her arranged marriage with hope and courage. But Koly's story takes a terrible turn when in the wake of the ceremony, she discovers she's been horribly misled; her life has been sold for a dowry. In prose both graceful and unflinching, this powerful novel relays the story of a rare young woman, who even when cast out into a brutal current of time–worn tradition, sets out to forge her own remarkable future.Inspired by a newspaper article about the real thirteen–year–old widows in India today, this universally acclaimed best–selling novel, characterized by spare, lyrical language and remarkable detail, transports readers into the heart of a gripping tale of hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges 10+\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\nPublishers Weekly\n\u003cp\u003eWhelan (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.|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChildren's Books\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrowing Up \u0026amp; Facts of Life\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDifficult Discussions\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHomelessness \u0026amp; Poverty\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Used - Good","offer_id":45340489187518,"sku":"0064408191-4","price":2.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0640\/9689\/5166\/files\/81R_itqz10L.jpg?v=1756236931","url":"https:\/\/shop.sustainablebooks.com\/products\/0064408191","provider":"Sustainable Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}