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    Homeless Bird: A National Book Award Winner
    Homeless Bird: A National Book Award Winner
    Homeless Bird: A National Book Award Winner
    Ebook129 pages2 hours

    Homeless Bird: A National Book Award Winner

    By Gloria Whelan

    4/5

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    • Coming of Age

    • Self-Discovery

    • Friendship

    • Survival

    • Family

    • Fish Out of Water

    • Mentorship

    • Rags to Riches

    • Young Love

    • Poverty Porn

    • Forbidden Love

    • Mentor

    • Chosen One

    • Star-Crossed Lovers

    • Family Drama

    • Widowhood

    • Gender Roles

    • Family Dynamics

    • Tradition

    • Education

    About this ebook

    The National Book Award-winning novel about one remarkable young woman who dares to defy fate, perfect for readers who enjoyed A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park or Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. 

    Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly faces her arranged marriage with hope and courage. But Koly's story takes a terrible turn when in the wake of the ceremony, she discovers she's been horribly misled—her life has been sold for a dowry. Can she forge her own future, even in the face of time-worn tradition? 

    Perfect for schools and classrooms, this universally acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning novel by master of historical fiction Gloria Whelan is a gripping tale of hope that will transport readers of all ages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061975820
    Homeless Bird: A National Book Award Winner
    Author

    Gloria Whelan

    Gloria Whelan is the bestselling author of many novels for young readers, including Homeless Bird, winner of the National Book Award; Fruitlands: Louisa May Alcott Made Perfect; Angel on the Square; Burying the Sun; Once on This Island, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award; and Return to the Island. She lives in the woods of northern Michigan.

    Read more from Gloria Whelan

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    Reviews for Homeless Bird

    4/5

    351 ratings25 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title a heartwarming and captivating story. They enjoy reading it and wish there was a sequel to know more about Koly's life. The ending is considered appropriate. Overall, readers find this book interesting and honest.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      13-year-old Koly is forced into an arranged marriage - and her sickly husband dies soon afterward. Now his family doesn't want the responsiblity for her, and abandon her at shrine in a city that is holy to widows. She needs to discover her own skills in order to survive.
    • 5/5
      interesting honest and captivating and I think you'd like it
    • 5/5
      A quick read and a very heartwarming story . I like it very much and want to know more about Koly's life after her marriage to Raji.
    • 5/5
      Read this book when I was in middle school and rereading it now just makes my heart ache and kickstarts my love for reading all over again . Wish there was a sequel bc I want more or Kolys life . But I think the ending is definitely appropriate
    • 4/5
      A sweet story about the struggles a young girl living in India. It gave an interesting insight into the culture.
    • 5/5
      Such a beautiful story. I learned so much about Indian marriage customs.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a girl named Koly, who is 13. She lives in India, and where she lives in India, 13 is the age to get married. Her parents have to choose her husband for her. She leaves her parents to go live with her chosen husband. Will it work out? _IAF_
    • 5/5
      Young Koly has truly had misfortune heaped upon her. Because of her family's economic situation, she has to marry at the age of 13 in order for her family to have enough food to survive. When they arrive at the bridegroom's house, they discover that certain things have been kept from them about the boy she is to marry. This foreboding beginning sets the tone for the entire book. Just when you think nothing worse can happen to Koly, something else does. It is a book you can't put down until you see how things turn out for Koly.
      In addition to this being one of the most popular books my 5th graders read all year, one of the things I like about it is that Gloria Whelan based this book on actual events. She read an article in the New York Times about a woman in India who travels much the same path as Koly, making it even more heartbreaking and poignant. It is hard to imagine that such a thing could happen in this day and age, making it all the more fascinating to read about.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful, simple prose and a realistic and strong heroine. Love it!
    • 5/5
      13-year-old Koly is forced into an arranged marriage - and her sickly husband dies soon afterward. Now his family doesn't want the responsiblity for her, and abandon her at shrine in a city that is holy to widows. She needs to discover her own skills in order to survive.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book and found the elements of the Indian culture to be fascinating. However, it did make me glad that I was never in a situation where I could be married at age thirteen. This book had a strong, interesting plot centering around problems that a young person from India and possibly some other traditional cultures might really have. The characters in this story came alive through the use of figurative language and depictions of their actions, but I will admit that the balance of good and bad qualities in characters was sometimes lacking. Koly was the only thoroughly developed character with balanced qualities, the other characters were mostly all good or all bad. The book's overall style did flow steadily and easily and it dealt with Koly's problems in a way that left me with insight into both Koly's life and into some aspects of one of India's cultures. The relatively happy ending at the end of the book may not have been typical of the same type of situation that some of the girls in India face, but it was presented in a believable fashion.
    • 3/5
      This YA book provides a snapshot of Indian culture, rich in beauty, conversely with a stark dark side of some traditions that are abhorrent.

      When young 13 year old Koly's poverty stricken parents arrange a marriage with a young man whom they have never met, Koly's fate seems sealed to a life of cruelty and abuse.

      Married to a sickly, spindly, nasty younger boy who has TB, Koly soon learns the deceit of her new family and in addition is gravely mistreated by her mother in law.

      When, shortly after the arranged marriage, the young boy dies, Koly is blatantly reminded that there is no responsibility by the boy's parents to take care of her.

      Using her dowry for a last desperate effort, the trip taken by his parents to the Ganges river for healing of the young man merely hastens his death.

      After her mother in law arranges a widow's pension for Koly, the money is stolen each month. Koly is unable to support herself when shortly after the death of their son, she is deserted in a Holy city filled with widows who are young girls and older women are also deserted and cast aside by the families who stole their assets.

      Unable to bring shame on her family, Koly cannot return to her biological parents.

      Penniless, hungry and destitute, Koly sleeps on the streets and begs for food.

      When she meets a young man who assists her, she is taken to a home supported by a rich woman who helps widows. There she learns a trade and gains independence.

      After reading this book, I realize I need to learn more of the Indian culture to discern if the author carefully researched her facts.
    • 3/5
      HOMELESS BIRD slightly bored me, but also shocked me. How this was going on right now, families giving away their daughters, starving, living in huts, and yet at the same time they have such modern lives- for example, Koly's sister-in-law and Koly become best friends, giggling and hiding from a bat, reading movie magazines- Koly's-sister-in-law even marries a man who works with computers- and Koly's sister-in-law says, "he works in computers, he must be very learned." Very learned! It really shows the modern world now in poor parts of the word.
    • 5/5
      At the age of thirteen, Koly’s family arranges a marriage for her. Tricked by her in-laws for her dowry, she is married to Hari, a young boy suffering from tuberculosis. Despite a pilgrimage to Varanasi to bathe in the sacred Gange River, Hari passes away, leaving her a widow at the mercy of her mother-in-law. A cruel woman, her mother-in-law criticizes everything Koly does, leaving Koly unhappy and trapped in a hopeless situation. Her mother-in-law then abandons Koly in Vrindavan, a city of windows. Koly’s story is one of tragedy and strength. Despite her untenable situation, she is able to survive, and even thrive on her own, something unheard of in India.
    • 4/5
      This is Koly's story about being married and widowed at thirteen, being abandoned in a large city, and surviving with the help of kind friends. Koly lives in India in a working-class family who marries her off to a family whom they believe will take care of her. Koly finds herself married to a boy not much older than she, who is very sick. His family lied to hers about his age and health
    • 5/5
      Personal Response:

      This was a great book. I listened to the audio version in my car and I was eager to get in the car to hear what happened next with this story. I have already recommended this book to some adults friends and will be sharing this book with students when school starts.

      School/Classroom Uses:

      I would love to do a book discussion group with middle school aged girls using this book. This could be done in a school library, classroom, or public library.
    • 5/5
      Supposedly a quick little read, I found myself taking my time in understanding a culture where females are only as good as their dowry. Once the in-laws are poor again, it may become necessary to lose the daughter in law for a new dowry. If she becomes a widow, the widow's check is not seen by the widow but the in-laws. She is stuck.Author paints a poignant and rather depressing picture of the women/girls of India, even in the highest class.On a personal note, I understand better why my Asian Indian sister-in-law, orphaned young, was still single when my brother found her and married her.He required no dowry.
    • 4/5
      The descriptions brought back vivid memories of my time in India, and my favorite city of Varanasi. Although the story has a happy ending, the events in Koly's life may be depressing for outsiders to read about. However, Koly's spirit and her determination not to bring shame on her family are realistic. Koly finds peace in knowing that she does what is expected and what would make her family proud, and this is part of her culture. This would be a very eye-opening read for American students. It would be a challenge for some students to read this without judging, but knowing and understanding is the first step to acceptance. Students would learn a great deal about India and Hinduism and I imagine this book may lead to very interesting personal inquiry projects. In a diverse classroom, this book would also lead to a discussion of the differences between cultural practices of marriage, language, widowhood, art, and careers. By looking closely at another's culture, we come to better understand our own. A great connection would be to read the picture book Amal and the letter from the King written by Chitra Gajadin and Helen Ong. This book is written in both Bengali and English and is based on a play written by Rabindrath Tagore, the Nobel Prize-winning Indian author talked about in this book.
    • 4/5
      Homeless Bird follows Koly, a 13 year old Indian girl experiencing a traditional arranged marriage. When the arrangements go awry and her sickly young husband dies, Koly is left to fend for herself as a widow. She experiences many setbacks, but eventually becomes self-sufficient, triumphing over the odds for girls in her situation. Koly defies cultural expectations by learning to read, finding an embroidery job for herself, and eventually marrying again to a man of her choosing.
      This book gives pre-teen readers a glimpse into traditional Indian culture. Many Hindi words are used (and defined in a glossary at the end of the book). Young girls especially will enjoy and feel empowered by Koly's refusal to adhere to the roles that are assigned to her. Libraries could use this book in a pre-teen book club, especially if it is female-oriented. Young female readers can learn about traditions of another culture while simultaneously receiving empowering messages about strength and perseverance.
    • 5/5
      Travel to India and meet Koly. Her family is so poor they arrange a marriage for her at the age of 13, hoping it will make life better for them all. But the boy she weds is seriously ill and Koly is soon widowed. In keeping with Indian tradition, Koly lives on with her in-laws where she is tossed between kindness and cruelty. Ultimately, she finds herself facing the plight of many Indian widows, outcast and homeless. Through her own courage, talent, and resourcefulness, Koly forges a future for herself.

      Beautifully written, this book is engaging, touching and memorable. It is appropriate for middle school students and those interested in learning about India. For older students, it could be a springboard for human rights research and discussions.
    • 5/5
      Awesome! I LOVE this book!
    • 5/5
      This is a tale of a young girl from a traditional Indian family, Koly, who is subjected to an arranged marriage. (What date this story is set, I don't know. I'm assuming it's a modern day setting as the book mentions color photographs and computers) As you might guess from the title, it doesn't quite work out very well. How it doesn't work out, I won't reveal. It was an interesting tale, well worth checking out. The characters are done quite well, with a bit of depth to them. Koly especially is likable--I couldn't do anything but root for her as she faced the challenges ahead of her. I think the book also does a fine job of respecting the traditional culture. Ms. Whelan doesn't hesitate to point out its failings, but neither does she present it at as some horrible monstrosity which smothers any possibility of happiness. 'Twas well done.
      --J.
    • 4/5
      Koly is in her early teens when she is married. Unfortunately her husband is very sick and dies soon after the marriage. Because of the culture, Koly is stuck with her in-laws. After her father in-law dies and Koly's mother-in-law has abandoned her in a city for widows, Koly must figure out how to fend for herself and build a meaningful life. WOW! It's hard to imagine being a young teen (she's 13) and going through all that! Powerful look at another culture.
    • 5/5
      Even though it is a young adult book, it is a beautiful and heart wrenching story of a 13 year old bride, and then a widow, set in contemporary India. It received a National Book Award and has been rightfully praised in many book reviews. “Graceful and evocative.” says The New York Times Book Review.

      I heartily recommend it to everybody.
    • 5/5
      This story, like the exquisite embroidery of young Koly -- an Indain girl of just 13 years, will weave its way into readers’ hearts. Despite her intense desire to stay with her family, Koly agrees, as is the custom for girls her age, to be married and move in with her in-laws so that her poor family might have a little more to share. When the marriage ends shortly in the death of her young husband, a series of events manipulated by her mother-in-law leaves young Koly alone and destitute in a large city where widows must beg for food. Her will combined with the embroidery skills she picked up from her mother, reading skills learned from her father-in-law and a lot of help from her friends leads this child away from her certain destiny for solitude and indignity to a life she can call her own. Inspiring and informative of Indian culture.

    Book preview

    Homeless Bird - Gloria Whelan

    one

    Koly, you are thirteen and growing every day, Maa said to me. It’s time for you to have a husband. I knew why. There were days when my maa took only a bit of rice for herself so that the rest of us—my baap, my brothers, and I—might have more. It’s one of my days to fast, she would say, as if it were a holy thing, but I knew it was because there was not enough food to go around. The day I left home, there would be a little more for everyone else. I had known the day was coming, but the regret I saw in Maa’s eyes made me tremble.

    My baap, like all fathers with a daughter to marry off, had to find a dowry for me. It will be no easy task, he said with a sigh. Baap was a scribe. He sat all day in his marketplace stall hoping to make a few rupees by writing letters for those who did not know how to write their own. His customers had little money. Often from the goodness of his heart Baap would write the letter for only a rupee or two. When I was a small girl, he would sometimes let me stand beside him. I watched as the spoken words were written down to become like caged birds, caught forever by my clever baap.

    When they learned Maa and Baap were looking for a husband for me, my two brothers began to tease me. My older brother, Gopal, said, Koly, when you have a husband, you will have to do as he tells you. You won’t sit and daydream as you do now.

    My younger brother, Ram, whom I always beat at card games, said, When you play cards with your husband, you’ll have to lose every time.

    My brothers went to the boys’ school in our village. Though there was a school for girls, I did not go there. I had begged to go, promising I would get up early and stay up late to do my work, but Maa said school was a waste for girls. It will be of no use to you after you are married. The money for books and school fees is better put toward your dowry, so that we may find you a suitable husband.

    When I stole looks into my brothers’ books, I saw secrets in the characters I could not puzzle out. When I begged them to teach me the secrets, they laughed at me. Gopal complained, I have to sit in a hot schoolroom all day and have my knuckles rapped if I look out the window. You are the lucky one.

    Ram said, When a girl learns to read, her hair falls out, her eyes cross, and no man will look at her.

    Still, I turned over the pages of my brothers’ books. When Maa sent me into the village for some errand, I lingered under the windows of the school to listen to the students saying their lessons aloud. But the lessons were not like measles. I did not catch them.

    My maa had no use for books. When she was not taking care of the house, she spent her time embroidering. Like her maa before her, and her maa, and as far back as anyone could remember, the women in our family embroidered. All their thoughts and dreams went into their work. Maa embroidered the borders for saris sold in our market-place. One sari might take many weeks, for a sari stretched all the way across the room. Because it took so long, each sari became a part of our lives. As soon as I could work with a needle, I was allowed to stitch simple designs. As I grew older, Maa gave me peacocks and ducks to embroider. When the border was finished, Maa took the sari to the marketplace. Then there would be rupees to spare in the house.

    Now Maa sat with a length of red muslin for my wedding sari on her lap. Because he valued her work, the shopkeeper had sold the sari to Maa for a good price. She was embroidering a border of lotus flowers, a proper border for a wedding sari, because the lotus pod’s many seeds are scattered to the wind, suggesting wealth and plenty.

    Relatives and friends began to search for a bridegroom. A part of me hoped they would be successful and that someone wanted me. A part of me hoped that no one in the world would want me enough to take me away from my home and my maa and baap and brothers. I knew that after my marriage, I would have to make my home with the family of my husband. For my dowry I began to embroider a quilt, making all my worries stitches, and all the things I would have to leave behind pictures to take with me.

    I embroidered my maa in her green sari and my baap on the bicycle that took him to the market-place every morning. My brothers played at soccer with a ball they had fashioned from old rags. I added the feathery leaves of the tamarind tree that stood in the middle of our courtyard and our cow under its shade. I put in the sun that beat down on the courtyard and the clouds that gathered before the rains. I put myself at the courtyard well, where I was sent many times each day to get water. I stitched the marketplace stalls heaped with turmeric and cinnamon and cumin and mustard. I embroidered vegetable stalls with purple eggplants and green melons. I made the barber cutting hair, the dentist pulling teeth, the man who cleaned ears, and the man with the basket of cobras. Because I was kept busy at all my other tasks, the stitching took many weeks.

    While I stitched, I wondered what my husband would be like. Stories were told of girls having to marry old men, but I did not think Maa and Baap would let that happen to me. In my daydreams I hoped for someone who was handsome and who would be kind to me.

    My older brother said, We’re too poor to buy you a decent husband.

    My younger brother said, There is sure to be something wrong with anyone who agrees to marry you.

    When I heard that at last a husband had been found for me, I almost ran away. How could I spend the rest of my days with someone I had never seen? Yet Maa had finished embroidering the wedding sari, Baap had written a letter of acceptance to the bridegroom’s family, and my brothers began to treat me with respect, so I didn’t run away.

    A gift of money had to be paid to my bridegroom’s family for taking me. To get money for the dowry, Maa sold three brass vases and a brass wedding lamp that had been a part of her own dowry. Hardest of all, our cow had to go. The family would no longer have fresh, rich milk to churn for butter to make into ghee. Instead they would have to buy ghee in the marketplace, where it was expensive and not fresh. Money was not enough, though. The family of my bridegroom asked, What jewelry will she bring?

    I had two bangles made of glass beads and some plastic toe rings, nothing more. I heard Maa and Baap talking together so late in the night that the moon slid up and down in the sky. The next morning Maa brought out the silver earrings she had worn as a bride. They were solid silver, and so heavy that when I tried them on, I was afraid my ears would stretch to the size of an elephant’s. The bridegroom’s family was satisfied.

    To please me, my baap asked for my bridegroom’s picture, but none was sent. I knew little about him except that his name was Hari Mehta and that he was sixteen. He has a younger sister, Maa said, so you will have help with the household tasks.

    The marriage was considered a good one. Hari’s baap, like mine, was a Brahman, the highest Hindu caste, and he was a schoolteacher. Hari would surely have been to school. Will he mind that I have no learning? I wondered aloud.

    What do you mean no learning? Maa asked in a cross voice. You can cook and keep a house, and you embroider as well as I do. Should a wife sit with a book and let the work go?

    Even though it meant leaving my home for the home of my bridegroom’s family, I was becoming very nearly happy about my wedding. There was someone who wanted me. Best of all, instead of scraps from my maa’s worn saris, I was to have a sari of my own to wear.

    Because the Mehtas were anxious to have the ceremony as soon as possible, the astrologer was told to be quick in fixing an auspicious date for the wedding. The ceremony was to take place at Hari’s home instead of our home. This was not usual, but it pleased my parents, for it meant they would not have the expense of feeding wedding guests.

    My brothers were not to come with us. I dared to hug them as I said good-bye. My older brother looked embarrassed, and my younger one shy, as I clung to them. Though they sometimes teased and tricked me, they could be kind as well. If no one was around to see him, my older brother would help me carry the heavy pails of mud from the pond to plaster our walls. My younger brother had once caught four fireflies in a jar for me.

    As I walked out of the courtyard with Maa and Baap, I looked back. The courtyard was where we had our meals and where we slept on warm nights. I would awaken to the sound of the cuckoo in the tamarind tree that shaded the courtyard. Maa and I would wash our hair by the courtyard well and dry it in the sun. Then we would braid each other’s hair. Once when the small wild lilies were blooming, I wove them into Maa’s hair, and she laughed like a girl. All this I was leaving behind.

    I carried with me my quilt, a sandalwood box that held the silver earrings, and a photograph of my parents, my two brothers, and myself. It had been taken the year before by a traveling photographer. My brothers and I are grinning, but

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