I loved the format of this book and the story was amazing! It was exciting, and I always wanted to keep reading.

I found this book a little hard ro read. It was a different style for me and I can't say I want to read more like it. Others might find this book interesting, but it is not for me. I thought the story line was hard to follow and couldn't get into it.

I completely loved this story. It was AWESOME!

This book had an interesting perspective and many different characters,each with their own unique personality.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found that the story and the writing were very unique. I thought that the authors choice of writing it in verses/poetry was quite risky but she pulled it off very well. A beautiful and sad story.

Learned a lot about South East Asian Indian women and their strong respect for their culture.

Blending novels with poetry is a risky proposition, and can go disastrously awry. Yet Cathy Ostlere manages a complicated narrative from dual points of view, written in the form of several hundred short poems. These are not mere verses or doggerel, but highly imagistic pieces which blend into a gripping adventure and love story. Maya, the daughter of a Hindu mother and Sikh father, lives in small town Canada, where her family suffers from isolation and casual xenophobia. After her mother commits suicide, Maya and her father go on a pilgrimage to India to return her ashes, but are caught up in the horrific anti-Sikh violence following the murder of Indira Gandhi. Separated from her father, a traumatized Maya wanders the country, narrowly escaping abduction, rape, slavery and murder. The only person she can trust is teenage Sandeep, who attempts to protect her from hostile villagers,religious extremists, and his own family. Maya and Sandeep each narrate portions of the story, and each has a distinctive style. Though the plot involves numerous somewhat improbable coincidences, the end result is a novel of beauty passion and heartbreak.

NPR summer reading for all ages