| Motherland Contributor(s): Vijayaraghavan, Vineeta (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 1569472831 ISBN-13: 9781569472835 Publisher: Soho Press OUR PRICE: $18.05 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 2003 Annotation: Fifteen-year-old Maya is disgruntled when her mother impels her to visit India for the summer to reacquaint herself with her extended Indian family. Over the course of three months, Maya learns why a rift has always existed between her mother and herself, an understanding that allows her to bridge that gap. Maya also comes to realize that her home -- her motherland -- can be anywhere. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Cultural Heritage - Fiction | Family Life - General - Fiction | Literary |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 00041011 |
| Lexile Measure: 980 |
| Physical Information: 0.69" H x 5.28" W x 8.02" (0.58 lbs) 240 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Indian - Sex & Gender - Feminine - Topical - Family |
| Accelerated Reader Info |
| Quiz #: 68776 Reading Level: 6.0 Interest Level: Upper Grades Point Value: 11.0 |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Over the course of a single transformative summer, an American teenager travels to southern India to visit her relatives and gains new insight into her past, her family and her heritage. Born in Kerala, Maya spent the first four years of her life there, cared for mainly by her grandmother, Ammamma, until she was sent to live with her parents in New York. At 15, with her parents' marriage undergoing a rough patch, she is sent back to India to stay with her Aunt Reema and Uncle Sanjay, their 10-year-old daughter, Brindha, and Ammamma at their house in the tea hills above Coimbatore. It's been years since Maya came to visit, and this time she is keenly aware of cultural differences: the different spheres of men and women and the persistence of the caste system. She feels stifled by the attentions of Ammamma and resentful of the time she must spend with the old woman. When Maya suffers an accident while most of the family is away, she and Ammamma grow closer, and Maya learns a hidden family fact. But only when Ammamma falls ill and the entire family gathers, including Maya's parents from New York, does Maya begin to comprehend more deeply the complexities of relationships. |