Rating: 
Summary: An insightful, and beautifully written book of modern India
Review: At age thirteen, Koly finds that her parents has already arranged a marriage for her, their only daughter, and Koly knows like many other girls in India, she will have to leave her beloved home forever. Using her great talent for needlework, Koly stitches a quilt of her dearest memories of home to take with her as her drowry. When the wedding day finally comes, Koly finds that things aren't what they were said to be. The boy she is to marry, Hari, is sickly, and Koly soon finds out the family only wanted her for her drowry, so they can find help for their son. Unfortunately Hari still dies and Koly finds herself caught up in tradition that will most certainly produce a horrifying fate. When her greatest fears are realized, and her Sass abandones her in the city of Vrindavan, known as the dwelling place for widows, Koly soon finds herself cast out into a cruel world that doesn't pity her kind---until her fate is changed when she meets a boy named Raji who brings her to a shelter for widows. For the first time Koly feels safe and realizes hope is one the horizon for her.This was a wonderful book about modern India, written beautifully by Gloria Whelan. It gives great insight and unfortunately many of the things stated are true in India still today, though I have doubt about the widows in the temple part. This book, though, has definitely become my favorite of all Gloria Whelan books.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is a great book. I loved it. It is about a 13 year old girl, named Koly, who is getting married to someone she doesn't know. After she marries she finds out that her husband is very sick and will die and the only reason his parents had him marry Koly was so they could sell the things in her dowry so they could buy train tickets to the holy city so that Hari, Koly's husband, can get well again. Hari ends up dyeing anyway and everything goes down hill from there. This book dose have a happy ending. This book is also a fast read for anyone who doesn't want to spend a long time reading a book. I loved this book and I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Some Good Some Bad
Review: I really thnk Homeless Bird would have been a stronger story had the girl found happiness and contentment WITHOUT romance. (as much as I love marriage and family!) The story really started to slide at that point for me. I felt that was a compromise "trying to appeal to young readers" cop out from the author. I would have liked to have seen Koli go back to her family and help support them , since there was a strong bond between them in the opening of the book. I give this book three stars. It was beautifully written and shows a real glimpse into another time and place but seriously question whether that place could be modern day India.
The facts do not add up if one has done their homework.
Rating: 
Summary: A journey to another world
Review: Koly is just thirteen when she is married to a boy that she has never seen in a village far from her home. The marriage is worse than she thought - her groom is a sickly boy, not the man his family claimed, and they need her dowry to try and make him well. Even though they try hard, Koly's husband dies and she is a widow. Being a widow is hard, especially with the contempt of her sass. When Koly finds herself alone in the city of Vrindavan she must make choices that will change her life forever in ways that she could not have imagined. This book is both highly readable and highly realistic. For most of us it is strange to think of paying a dowry to join another family, but it is a reality in the India of today and the India of the past. Time wise this bok is set somewhere at the end of the 20th century (computers, etc... show it is fairly modern). This book takes you on a journey with a young Indian girl who finds herself ina marriage where her husband dies shortly after the marriage, leaving her a widow in the home of her in-laws. It will spoil the book if I tell you too much, but this book was great! I highly recommend this book, especially if you like to learn more about toher cultures. If you do enjoy this book too, then try reading "A step from heaven", "Ties that bind, ties that break", and "When a girl is born" by Pamela Grant.
Rating:
Summary: A Widow's Tale
Review: My book is one of the best I have read in years. The story is about a girl named Koly and she lives in India. She has a mother, father, and two brothers's that both go to school.
Koly one day hopes to learn how to read, but her father does not approve of it.
One day something terrible has happened, her parents come and tell her that it is about time she finds a husband. Soon after Koly is married, she finds out that her husband is very ill and there is no way to cure him. But the groom's family is still hopeful. They go to a holy city and they take Koly's husband to a holy river where they say he will be healed. Koly's husband goes to the river and bathes in the holy waters, soon he feels revived but soon after he feels even sicker than he did before he came. He dies and Koly soon becomes a widow, and soon after that Koly's father-in-law dies of too much work and sadness, and Koly's mother-in-law to becomes a widow. Koly's mother-in-law gets a call from her brother and he asks her if she wants to become a maid and to live at his house with him and his wife. She excepts, takes Koly to a city full of widow's and her mother-in-law says that they will take care of you they are all widow's to. Koly is left with only 70 rupees from her mother-in-law. She finds a boy that takes her to a widow house, and the lady that takes care of the widow's in that house got Koly a job at the garland shop and soon a job at the shall maker, and makes a good amount of money for her age as a widow. If you want to find out the rest all you have to do is read the book. If I had to recommend this book to a certain age it would be 10-17. This was a great book and I couldn't stop reading it, I finished it in one day. And I bet you would to.
Rating:
Summary: Homeless Bird
Review: Homeless Bird, I thought this book was very good. It was mainly about a girl trying to make her life better. Her mother and father decided that when she was thirteen that it was time for her to get married. A terrible thing happens and she becomes a widow for the rest of her life and she is only thirteen!! She then just lived with her husband's family. Her sass( Mother-in-law in her culture.) was the worst she was really mean to her and made her do all kinds of work around the house everyday. But when sass left to live with her brother and then left Koly in the city all by herself Koly had to fight for her life. She had to live on the streets and chant for food and money like all the others. In this book you will find out all about her journeys in the city and the exciting twist that takes place!!
This book was one of my favorites because it made me realize how lucky I was to live in the culture I live in where I get to do what I want and not have my life already planned out for me. I recommend you read this book if you like adventure and excitement I suggest that you read this GREAT book you will want to read it over and over again. You will never be able to set it down! So I think that you should go and buy it right now and start reading it right away!!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: An amazing book that is a must to read. An Indian girl, Koly, is married and soon after widowed. She finds that her fortune was not what she hoped for and eventually feels alone with a shrewd mother-in-law and trapped in a quiet home. She is taken to a place where others like her chant for food and Koly feels as thoough there is no hope. This book made me fly through the pages and I was very upset to reach the back cover. You'll want to read this again and again. I applaud Whelan for this spectacular book!
Rating:
Summary: Homeless Bird Takes Readers By Surprise
Review: I thought that this was going to be another book about runaway girl who gets lost in the wilderness, ect. But I was surprised at how much this book made me think about my life, and how hard it must be to live in this part of the world, when I'm over in America, with crushes and teasing....but in the other half of the world, girls my age are already married. If you want to hear more about this book, stop reading this review right now,and go buy the book. But that's about all I can tell you without giving the book away, ut take my advice and READ THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This is a very good book, the only not-so-good thing about it was the sappy love story that was happening around the end of the book. but you know, to each his own.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: I was assigned a book report and i choose this book. I just took a random book but it wasn't that bad. It is pretty intersting. What i did not like was Sass but that makes the story good. I reccommend it, it is a good book and it is easy to read.
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