From the Publisher
"Bilan's story is an eye-opening adventure with one-sandalled foot in atmospheric realism and a toe-hold in the mythical." -- The Observer"An evocative debut...weaves ancient Hindu beliefs into a fast-past quest." -- The Guardian (Book of the Month)"A modern epic." --The Times"Weaves themes of faith, friendship and greed into a vibrant adventure with a rich seam of magic realism." -- The Bookseller
Kirkus Reviews
2020-02-09
When her papa disappears and moneylenders come to collect on old debts, Asha knows it’s up to her to save her family farm.
Eleven-year-old Asha loves her village of Moormanali, in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, where her ancestors have lived for generations. Times are hard, however, so her papa has gone to the big city of Zandapur to find work to help pay for the family farm. But when he disappears for four months without sending any wages home, Asha’s mother is forced to take a loan from a cruel moneylender who demands repayment. Determined to find her father, Asha decides to set off for Zandapur with her best friend, Jeevan—and with the help of a lamagaia, a vulturelike bird that Asha is convinced is the spirit of her long-dead grandmother. Bilanhas created a richly drawn setting, fast-paced plot, and a strong but tender first-person-present narrative voice. The last third of the book, in which Bilan fully commits to the story’s more magical elements, is the most enjoyable, while the first two-thirds rely more on conservative Hinduism and therefore feel less imaginative. At times, the interactions between Jeevan and Asha fall along gender-stereotypical lines, but the most troubling aspect of the book is the title, which seems to appropriate Native American beliefs about spirit animals that do not have a parallel in Hinduism.
A well-plotted narrative rooted in Hinduism. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 10-14)
