Nothing's worse than liking a boy knowing that even if he somehow noticed you and actually liked you back, you'd never be allowed to date him. Well, some things could be worse. Your older sister could be a supernerd who manages to set the academic bar so high you'd never even come close AND be the perfect Pakistani daughter. You could have some severe body hair issues-- like a line of hair running down your back right in the spots where you can't reach it to wax or bleach it. But, if you're Nina Khan, even with all of these problems, you have an excellent voice that makes readers laugh out loud at your dry, wry sense of wit and observation.
It's as though there's an unofficial Pakistani prestige point system; the higher your score, the more esteem you hold among the aunties and uncles, and the more attractive you are as a marriage prospect for their sons and daughters. Everyone starts off with zero, and points are added and subtracted based on different types of criteria. For example:
+5 if you're a doctor
+4 if you went to an Ivy League school
+3 if you're a businessman, a lawyer (the moneymaking kind), or an engineer
+2 if you're fair, if you speak Urdu, or if you're moderately religious
+1 if you're slim (for a woman), or if you're tall (for a man)
-1 if you can't speak Urdu, or if you're fat or short
-2 if you can't understand Urdu, or if you're dark
-3 if you're a religious fanatic
-4 if you're an artist, musician, poet, and anything else in the creative fields
-5 if you're gay or an atheist
Salman has to be at least an eleven. So does Sonia. Asiya's brother Zeeshan is up there too. If I do get into an Ivy League school, I'll be at least a six. But I have a feeling, when everything is said and done, that my score could end up in the negatives, and so I will be a disappointment to my parents, and the aunties and uncles will be reluctant to allow their songs to marry me. But, once you're able to leave home, maybe the amount of fun you have is inversely proportional to your score, which would mean all those gay Pakistani atheists out there must be having the absolute time of their lives.
I loved Nina's voice. I loved her snarky headings of the short chapters. I loved how she was just the right amount of self-involved-- a believable teen with issues she was dealing with but not too much invented woe-is-me drama. I loved how the fact she couldn't go to parties and stuff was commented on, but not really an issue (except with her arch-nemesis). I also loved her big, jolly, happy father. So nice to have a family life that's stricter and traditional in a way many Americans aren't used to but WITHOUT the crazy mean authoritative parents. Seriously, I loved her father.
Overall, just a lot of love for this one.
Book Provided by... my local library
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By: Jennie,
on 5/26/2011
Blog: Biblio File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: YA, Fiction, Sheba Karim, Add a tag
By: Amanda,
on 7/29/2009
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Mary Hogan, Sheba Karim, Add a tag
I recently finished these two books, though very different in main characters, they have the same overall message they're attempting to convey to teen girls: love yourself for who you are.
Pretty Face, by author Mary Hogan, introduces us to Hayley, a curvy teen that loves her food, knows that she won't ever fit into a bikini, and is obsessed with super-hot Drew Wyler. Hayley is often depressed and miserable, knowing that she is bigger than all of her friends (her mother constantly tells her) and certainly not pretty enough to win over a popular guy like Drew.
Her parents decide to send her to Italy for the summer, to clear her head and live with her Aunt's family, immersing herself in the Italian culture. In the beautiful Italian countryside, Hayley is able to grow into a young woman, one who realizes that being curvy is considered gorgeous, where she is encouraged to eat what she wants, and even manages to fall just a little bit in love.
I really enjoyed Hogan's portrayal of Hayley. She came off as a very typical teen girl that you would find in any high school across America (she actually sounded just like me as a teen). I love that her body image was able to grow into respect for herself, in a way that did not seem contrived or fake. And Italy is just a wonderful place for a location!
If I had one minor "complaint," it would be the cover. Feet on a scale has been done before and for this specific book, it gives nothing to the wonderful adventure you're about to take with Hayley to Italy. More than a little boring.
This one would be great for any teen. A nice choice for library shelves (though I think it's only sold in paperback) and a great gift.
Pretty Face
Mary Hogan
224 pages
Young Adult
HarperCollins
9780060841133
March 2009
In Skunk Girl, written by Sheba Karim, we have a different type of body image, but it leads to the same place as the previous book.
Nina Khan is Pakistani and believes it is totally impossible to lead a normal teen life because of it. Her parents are incredibly strict and won't let her spend time with her friends and definitely won't let her date, even though the cutest boy in school seems to be more and more interested in her as the days go by.
As a Pakistani girl, one of Nina's biggest problems is her body hair. She's not allowed to remove it until she's older and is stuck wearing long pants and bleaching the hair on her upper lip...her nightmare, however, is the long stripe of black hair going down her back. She's skunk girl.
Nina not only has to come to terms with the strict rules she is required to abide by in her family, but she also has to learn to love herself for who she is, hair and all.
Skunk Girl is a nice choice for those battling culture issues, as well as body image issues. Another good selection for libraries.
Skunk Girl
Sheba Karim
240 pages
Young Adult
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
9780374370114
March 2009
By: Aline Pereira,
on 7/27/2009
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Eventful World, multicultural book events, Neesha Meminger, Shine Coconut Moon, Asian American Writers Workshop, Muslim American indentity in young adult literature, Sheba Karim, Sikh youth experience in young adult literature, Skunk Girl, Add a tag
PaperTigers is always happy to help spread the word on multicultural children’s and young adult literature events. If there is an event happening in your neighbourhood that you think would be of interest to our readers, send an email to corinne(at)papertigers(dot)org and we’ll post it on the blog. Here’s what promises to be a great event sent to us by Anjali Goyal, board member on The South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC):
Beyond Gossip Girls: An Evening with Young Adult Authors Neesha Meminger and Sheba Karim
Books and films for young adults have exploded onto the scene recently with the success of the Twilight series, Gossip Girl, Harry Potter, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. How do teens of color fare amidst this explosion? What is it like to try to publish works with multicultural characters or characters of color in an industry clamoring for the next Twilight?
Join us for a reading and discussion with young adult novelists Neesha Meminger (author of Shine, Coconut
Moon) and Sheba Karim (author of Skunk Girl). Meminger and Karim deal with issues ranging from the Sikh experience post 9/11 and single parenthood to body image and Muslim American identity, while providing cohesive narratives of South Asian American adolescences and their growing pains. Both authors will read from their new novels and discuss their different paths to publication and writing for a teen audience. Booksigning and reception to follow.
Wednesday, July 29 at 7pm
The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
16 West 32nd Street, 10th Floor
New York, New York
Both books look good. I agree with you about the cover of Pretty Face. I wish the cover conveyed Italy somehow.