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Summary: Homeless Bird Review
Review: It all started with an arranged marriage. The book Homeless Bird, by Gloria Whelan explains Indian culture and arranged marriages within the Hindu caste. A 13 year old girl, Koly, gets married and with in a few days her new husband, Hari, dies. Koly is now a widow with no future. Hari had tuberculosis, and his family knew it but they wanted him to marry Koly for her dowry. Homeless Bird, is a realistic fiction book about India in the 1970`s.
In the book, Homeless Bird, the characters and plot are very real. Koly is left to live with Hari`s family. Koly`s mother in law, Sass, is very mean to her. The conflicts between Koly and Sass, forces Koly to make some important decisions. These decisions change Koly`s life forever.
Koly has some internal conflicts like the fact that after Sass abandoned her in the city she needed to find a place to live. "I suppose part of me had known all along. The thought had been waiting like a Scorpion at the edge of my mind. Now it stung me, and I nearly cried out with the pain. There had been the letters from her brother in Delhi that she never let me see." (Page 121) She was left homeless and didn't have very much money. She couldn't afford a room or a house, and she couldn't find a job. As a result Koly needed to find a place to live and a job.
Koly has some external conflicts, Sass is mean to Koly and makes her work very hard. "Let me comb your hair and braid it for you. It was something that Chandra used to do for her maa. No. You are too clumsy. If you have time on your hands, there are pots to scrub." (Page 93) This shows that Sass doesn't want to do any thing with Koly she just wants her out of her life. This is because Sass never wanted Koly, she just wanted the money from the dowry. As a result Koly wanted to run away.
This book is full of India's traditions and customs. The theme of the book is that although sometimes your life is arranged for you, other times you have a choice and that choice could make your life the way that you want it. This shows that after all the hard work that Koly went through it paid off and she got the life that she wanted. She didn't give up she knew that if she was good and worked hard that something good would have to happen in her life. This book had a depressing beginning, but at the end it was happy. At the beginning Sass was mean to Koly and her husband died, but at the end she had got a room, and had friends. After all that she had gone though she finally had the freedom that she wanted. This is a good book to read to learn about family life in India.
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Summary: erics homeless bird review
Review: The book Homeless Bird is a realistic fiction novel by Gloria Whelan. The setting takes place in two cities, the village that the Mehta's live in, and Vrindavan, the city that her sass leaves her in. The main characters in the book are: Koly, the main character, Raji, a friend she meets in Vrindavan, and Sass, her mother-in-law. The time period takes place somewhere in the 1970's.
An external conflict that Koly experiences is that she is left in Vrindavan, a giant city where widows are left. She is stuck there with no food little money, and no place to live. Then another widow shows Koly a doorstep where they will not kick you off, and will give small portions of food. Then she meets a boy (Raji) who takes her to a house that takes widows that have been left there. Then she stays there until she has enough money to rent her own apartment.
An internal conflict that Koly experiences is whether to accept the arranged husband her parents have found or to run away. She doesn't know the man she would marry and doesn't even know his correct age. She knows though that if she runs away and doesn't marry Hari she will disgrace herself and her family. So in the end she decides to marry Hari and then Hari dies a week later because he is very sick.
I think that this book has a strong meaning. It tells you how some peoples lives can be so different then others. For example, in this book Koly gets married off to a man she doesn't even know, then is left a giant city alone. Other people would never dream of something that bad happening to them. But I think that this book is a very effective book that will keep you reading.
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Summary: Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan..
Review: Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan was not a good book. Please do not buy it. It is very bad and has not enough details. It is not true and does not tell all the facts.
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Summary: Homeless Bird
Review: This book was about a 13 year old girl Koly who gets married to a sick boy Hari. She is over whelmed with fear as her marriage comes. Once she's in her husband's house her sass treats her badly and Kloy wishes to excape. But with Chandra she has someone who she can talk to. Then things get worse and Hari dies leaving her a widow! Soon Koly is faced with a bigger problem she's abandoned by her sass in a widow populated city.But the clouds open for Koly and she meets Raji a ricksaw peddler who takes her to a widow home. There she founds a job and a best friend! Soon Koly is on a romantic rollercoaster with Raji. They have a "our place" near the river where they talk about thier days! This book shows how we need to respect other cultures other then our own! India is a magical place! The ending has you wanting to read more about her and Raji. At the end Raji asks Koly if he will marry her! Kloy is surprised but near the end she knows she loves him very much! A must read! I want a sequel!
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Summary: I can better understand other cultures from this book!
Review: This book was wonderful! Koly a girl my age(13)has an arranged marriage to a sick boy. After he dies she is left with her evil mother-in-law and her passionate father-in law. Then her sister in law marries and she's lefted lonely. Her evil sass abandons her in a widow city! There she meets Raji, a ricksaw peddler. The two have their special place and they talk about everything! Koly suddenly knows in her heart that she loves Raji no matter what. I put myself in her shoes it's like I'm her and seeing her life change for the worst but seeing that her life changed for the better,and that she found someone who loved her(Raji). I recommend this book to any person who wants to learn and understand other cultures instead of their own! You will love the ending!
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Summary: Homeless Bird Review
Review: Homeless Bird
By: Gloria Whelan
Reviewed By: K. Huynh
Period: 1
Homeless Bird is about a thirteen-year-old girl name Koly who lives with her mother and two brothers. One day, she had to get marry into another family. Her husband's name was Hari, but she didn't get to see him until the wedding day finally arrived. In India, women who are married cannot live with their own family, but will live in her husband's home. But, Koly finds out that she did get married for a reason, to save her husband's life from a terrible cold. The family used the money to take Hari to the Ganges in Varanasi, a place where it was thought that it had healing powers. It was the only hope left to save Hari's life. Can Koly and Hari make it through?
What I like about the book is how Koly can manage to live with anyone. When Koly was in the village living with her sass, sassur, and sister-in-law, she had to cope with her sass, or mother-in-law to be able to live in her household. She was forced to cook, do laundry, and even get up early to do cleaning. When Koly wasn't paying attention on doing her work, Sass would usually say, "You don't know the meaning of work. You idle about with your daydreams and your foolish books and your stitching. I will see to it that from now on you do indeed earn your keep." The only person that can cheer Koly up was her sister-in-law, Chandra. Koly reads her the Poem of Tagores, one of Koly's favorites. They both entertain each other and would never forget each other, even in the hardest times. Another part I like about the book is the setting. I learned a lot from the book. I learned more about Indian culture and the customs and traditions that they have there. I discovered that every culture in the world has many differences, which makes the world a bright place. The main character, Koly went through many challenges that were filled with adventure. The book wouldn't be exciting if it only take place in a barn. In the story, Koly gets lost in a holy city and found many challenges ahead of her. Without the help of a richshaw named Raji, Koly wouldn't have been able to live on her own with only 50 rupees. He said, "Don't blubber. I'll show you a place to go. You have to wait until I have finished work. Sit over there, and I'll come back for you."
My favorite part of the book was when Koly was lost in the city of Vrindavan and had to find some place to stay temporary. She first shared a place with an elderly woman who goes to the temple every morning to chant for four hours. Secondly, Koly visits a temple called Govindiji, to see if they offer free food for her. Lastly, Koly meets her rickshaw, Raji, who would take her to a place where she can temporary stay until she would have enough money one day to support her own self. While waiting, Koly meets a strange man who seemed to want her. Luckily, Koly was able to free herself from the man and soon, she was able to go live in a new place where she finally gets a job. I really like this book and would like to recommend this book for readers because it's a graceful and pleasing book to read.
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Summary: Homeless Bird
Review: The book Homeless Bird was interesting with a lot of details about India and the laws. Homeless Bird is about a girl that has to get married at the age 13. (That is the belief of the culture.) Her husband Hari dies of a disease tuberculosis. Then her stepsister moves away because she gets married. After that her sass (her step mom) and her sassur (her step dad) abandon her in a big town. Then she's on her own.
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Summary: Homeless Bird
Review: This story is about an Indian teenager who is married off to a sickly husband. Her husband dies shortly after she is married and she becomes a widow. As a widow, she lives with her husband's family. Eventually her mother-in-law abandons her in a city where she has to begin a new life on her own. After reading this book, I found three very important concepts. One is learning to like people and getting along with them whether you want to or not. The second is that you should make the best of the life that you have and try to live it with as much happiness as possible. The third is that everyone gets a second chance to improve things. You should take this chance and use it wisely. In this book, you learn about not only the Indian culture but also about life in general.
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Summary: i loved it!!!
Review: This book was awesome. The plot was great and it kept me wanting to keep reading. It was probably the most interesting book I've read this year because of where it was set in(India) and the fact that it was also set in modern time. I felt so bad for Koly though because she had such a depressing life. It showed you true reality and made a huge impact on you because it showed you how lucky you were to live in a country like America. It really helps to read the glossary at the end of the book because of the foreign words that no young person would know unless they were a genius. I really think that this book made an impact on my life and I thought it was wonderful to read. I would recommend this book to readers of all ages because it is so powerful and exciting that it will keep you interested through the whole story.
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Summary: Homeless Bird
Review: ...In this book, the main character, Koly, is a fourteen-year-old girl who's parents had arranged a marriage for her. Koly had to live in the husband's house for the rest of her life, which is a tradition for most Indians, unless there is a family emergency. Her husband and father-in-law had died due to a sickly disease, and she and her mother-in-law lived alone as widows. The mother-in-law hated Koly. One day, they went to a city for widows, and Koly was left alone. Fortunately, she was befriended by a rickshaw driver and a group of widows who worked in a sari palace. Eventually, she got married to the rickshaw driver and they lived a happy life.
Overall, I liked this book all the way through. The book was emotional, and it was very thrilling. The part where it said that Koly had to get married surprised me. I wondered why she had to get married at such a young age. It was a tradition, I found out. After she got married, it showed the life of Koly in that house through thick and thin.
Another part I liked was the part where she was abandoned in the city and made good friends. I felt happy for her because not only did the friends give her shelter. They also considered her a normal person, not a widow. Eventually in the end, she married one of her friends, the rickshaw driver, and settled down with him in a small house. They lived a happy life afterwards.
I think people of all ages should read this. A thrilling masterpiece written by Gloria Whelan. A novel which, if possible, deserves more than five stars.
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