By: Aly Marx Check out our Book Review Archives and submit ideas for new reviews below! For this edition, I am doing a double book review. Both of these books are by the same author, Supriya Kelkar! She grew up in the midwest and went to the University of Michigan. Mrs. Kelkar learned Hindi when she was a child by watching three Hindi movies every week! She is not only an author, but is also a screenwriter, and has worked on many teams for Hindi films. Mrs. Kelkar has written many books, including Ahimsa, The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh, a picture book, American as Paneer Pie, Strong as Fire Fierce as Flame, Bindu’s Bindis, and That Thing About Bollywood. She has also won multiple awards, including but not limited to the ALA Notable Book award, the 2018 South Asia Book Award Honor Book, and the New Visions award. Mrs. Kelkar has a website as well! Check it out! https://supriyakelkar.com/ American as Paneer Pie is an amazing story that shows the importance of sticking up for yourself and describes the experiences of one girl who struggles with feeling like an outsider. American as Paneer Pie is a book written by Supriya Kelkar. It is about a girl born in America whose parents are from India and her struggles to find her voice and a balance between both “worlds,” home and school. Leyka, who lives in the fictitious town of Oakridge, Michigan, and has trouble with her classmates calling her names and teasing her based on cultural differences from the children at school. When a new girl from India moves in across the street from Leyka, she begins to discover a new self through building confidence and developing a relationship with this new girl. This book deals with discrimination and finding your voice. I would definitely suggest reading American as Paneer Pie. First of all, it has a great educational value. The inclusion of foreign languages, including Marathi and Hindi, provided me with a deeper understanding of the character’s experiences. It also was culturally educational, as it gave me a peek into the unique holidays and traditions of Leyka. It showed me some of the things that she believed, what she celebrated, and how her day was different and similar to mine. The author does a great job highlighting the different experiences we have in our homes based on our different cultures and how that makes all of us uniquely American. Another very enjoyable part of the book was the way that the author developed the characters. The author thoroughly described each character and made me feel as though I knew the character in real life. The plot was very fluid and kept me turning pages, wanting more. This book also is a great read for me because of the setting. It being in a modern setting in the general area of where I live makes this book so much more relatable. I think that my favorite part of American as Paneer Pie was being able to see into and understand Leyka’s life. Leyka has many different traditions and it was really interesting to see what she does and how she deals with discrimination she faces in the story. All in all, I would recommend reading American as Paneer Pie because it has great educational value and it develops the characters and plot in a thorough and delightful way. Quick facts: Title: American as Paneer Pie Author: Supriya Kelkar Lexile: 840 Page count: 303 Main character: Leyka PLEASE NOTE: This book is recommended for 5th graders and up because of content. Thank you. Ahimsa is an emotionally moving and empowering story set in 1942 during the time of the Indian revolution. Ahimsa is historical fiction written by Supriya Kelkar and is about a ten-year-old girl named Anjali, who lives in India. At this time, India was a colony of England and Gandhi was imprisoned while the people fought for India’s freedom. In the beginning of the story, Anjali tended to look down on those with less, but when her mom made a change, she saw a whole different perspective. Ahimsa is an ancient Indian principal of nonviolence. Ahimsa is the crucial overarching theme of this story shown through the characters persevering through violence and pushing through with peace. Ahimsa is about adapting to change, ignoring stereotypes and prejudice, and hearing all sides of the story. The main character undergoes major changes in character, life, and awareness. I would recommend reading Ahimsa for many reasons. First, it has great educational value. In Ahimsa, you get to learn about many of the unique customs and traditions that Anjali does each day, both from the time period as well as her culture. The author also included some of the native language instead of translating everything, which made it easier to connect with the story as well as stay in character. Another great aspect of Ahimsa was how the author incorporated suspense in the story. It really strengthened the plot and made me want to keep reading. Finally, the way that the author developed the characters was very impactful towards me as a reader and positively affected the way that the story was formed. This was shown through the way that the author made me feel sympathy, anger, and compassion while reading the book to help get points across and strengthen the story. The main way that this affected me was how I felt so many different emotions all at once which emphasized the messages in the story. In conclusion, you should definitely read Ahimsa. Make sure to go check it out in the book room! Quick facts: Title: Ahimsa Author: Supriya Kelkar Lexile: 830 Page count: 307 Main character: Anjali Comments are closed.
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Violet M What would you like to suggest? The Great Shelby Holmes 3 By Elizabeth Eulberg. Why? I have read other books in the series and I really like them. Varsha What would you like to suggest? I would suggest reading The Aru Shah series. I think it is really fun, and it gives you a taste of hinduism. It has humor, and heart. In short, it's plain amazing!!!! What book did you read? Song For A Whale What did you think? I loved the book! Iris's journey to find this whale is amazing, and I loved it with all my heart. Roz What would you like to suggest? Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson is great, there is adventure in every page! you will also learn some interesting facts about the Greek religion! It is the first of like 5 books, but don't let that discourage you! you can really feel what the people are going thru. it is a first person novel. anyway, I would seriously consider getting it. What book did you read? Harriet the Spy What did you think? I liked it. Safia What would you like to suggest? I would like to suggest NOT to read the second book of the Stories Thieves series. I would like to suggest to read A Pinch Of Magic, by Michelle Harrison. I would really recommend Harry Potter for people who have been reading- and love reading- fantasy, adventure, and who LOVE suspense! I know that almost EVERYBODY has heard of this book, but have you actually READ it? If you have watched the movie, then you don't know the full story, or the story correctly. I the movie, there have been A LOT of changes, due to many things. So, if you read the book, you can get the tiniest detail. You can also read the parts that have been SKIPPED in the movie because they were small. If you REALLY think you TOTALLY CANNOT read it, take me as an example. I didn't even DARE touch it, because I thought it was the WORST book on Earth, for NO reason (I guess I did have a reason, I thought it was TOO overrated). And guess what? I ended up reading the WHOLE series multiple times and even sending a letter to J.K Rowling ( with a reply!!!!!) ! So, overall, I REALLY recommend Harry Potter, especially fans of Fantasy and Adventure. Bye! What book did you read? The One and Only Ivan What did you think? Great! |