Homeless Bird

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"What if I don't like him?"
"Of course you will like him."
"But what if I don't?"
Maa impatiently slapped at a fly. "Then you must learn to like him."

But Koly never gets a chance to find out if she does care for her intended groom. Married and promptly widowed at 13, Koly finds herself in the grim position of being cast out by a society that has no place for girls like her. With a seemingly hopeless future in India, this courageous and spirited young woman sets out to forge her own destiny. Through perseverance, resourcefulness, and sheer luck, she manages not only to find a niche for herself, but even to find happiness again.

Gloria Whelan's tale of a remarkable girl in an extraordinary situation will linger with the reader long after the last page is read. The shaping of Koly's life, as anyone's, is in her own hands, as well as the hands of the society in which she lives. Her ability to express herself--and ultimately support herself--with her exceptional skill in embroidery is a symbol of the creative ingenuity that will serve her well throughout her tribulations. (Ages 8 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
Whelan (Miranda's Last Stand) blends modern Hindu culture with age-old Indian traditions as she profiles a poor girl's struggle to survive in a male-dominated society. Only 13 when her parents find her a husband, Koly can't help feeling apprehensive about leaving home to live in a distant village with her in-laws and husband, none of whom she has met. The truth is worse than she could have feared: the groom, Hari, is a sickly child, and his parents have wanted only a dowry, not a wife for him, in order to pay for a trip to Benares so Hari might bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges. Koly is widowed almost immediately; later, she is abandoned in the holy city of Vrindavan by her cruel mother-in-law. Koly, likened to a "homeless bird" in a famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore, embodies the tragic plight of Hindu women without status, family or financial security. She is saved from a dismal fate by her love of beauty, her talent for embroidery and the philanthropy of others--and by Whelan's tidy plotting, which introduces a virtuous young man, a savvy benefactress and a just employer in the nick of time. The feminist theme that dominates the happily-ever-after ending seems more American than Indian, but kids will likely enjoy this dramatic view of an endangered adolescence and cheer Koly's hard-won victories. Ages 8-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Thirteen-year-old Koly's arranged marriage seems a blessing for her impoverished family. Her mother embroiders a wedding sari, while the girl stitches her family memories into a quilt. But when she arrives at the home where, according to custom, she will live for the rest of her life under the supervision of her mother-in-law, she discovers that her 16-year-old husband Hari is gravely ill with tuberculosis. She learns that her dowry was needed to finance a journey to Benares, with the hope that the holy water of the Ganges River will cure him. Hari dies there and she is trapped, a widow with no future. Luckily, her father-in-law recognizes her desire to learn and teaches her to read. A few years later, when he, too, dies, her mother-in-law abandons her in another holy city, Vrindavan. Raji, a young rickshaw driver, helps Koly find a place to live and keeps track of her progress. Eventually, she finds work embroidering saris. Raji has a plan, and a dream. He wants to make enough money to buy seed and tools and return to his village, with Koly as his wife. In a happy ending that suggests that established custom can be challenged in positive ways, she agrees. Whelan has enhanced a simple but satisfying story with loving detail about traditional Indian life, the harsh reality of feudal customs that persist today, and the complexity of cultural change. Readers with a curiosity about other worlds and other ways will find Koly's story fascinating.Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
At 13, Koly finds that her childhood is over as she enters an arranged marriage that ends almost before it has begun. However, there's no place for young widows in India, no opportunities, no hope. Sarita Choudhury, herself half-Indian and half-English, brings a lovely Indian cadence to her reading of this desperate, but ultimately hopeful, tale. Her first-person narration shines with the resourcefulness of a spirited and intelligent young woman cheated out of her dowry and forced to make her way alone in Vrindavan, the heartless and threatening city of widows. Choudhury's differentiation of characters is subtle but effective: Koly's stiff and condescending mother-in-law; Sass, her impudent yet kind-hearted friend; and the take-charge Maa Kamala, who takes Koly in and starts her on the path to independence and a new life. This National Book Award winner will transport young listeners to another world. T.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Thirteen-year-old Koly is getting married, not uncommon for girls her age in India. Although apprehensive, she knows this will lessen the financial burden on her family, and hopes for the best. Unfortunately, her husband is younger than promised, and sickly. Soon she is a homeless widow, deprived of her pension and abandoned by her selfish mother-in-law. She finds unexpected support in a widow's home, self-sufficiency in her gift of embroidery, and, ultimately, love and a new, rewarding life. This beautifully told, inspiring story takes readers on a fascinating journey through modern India and the universal intricacies of a young woman's heart. Whelan's lyrical, poetic prose, interwoven with Hindi words and terms, eloquently conveys Koly's tragedies and triumphs, while providing a descriptive, well-researched introduction to India's customs, peoples, and daily life. Koly is an appealing, admirable character, portrayed with sympathy and depth, who learns that art, heart, dreams, and perseverance can bring unexpected joy. Hindi terms are defined in an extensive glossary at book's end. An insightful, beautifully written, culturally illuminating tale of universal feelings in which riches are measured not in monetary wealth but in happiness and personal fulfillment. Shelle Rosenfeld

From Kirkus Reviews
PLB 0-06-028452-8 Whelan (Forgive the River, Forgive the Sky, 1998, etc.) creates a setting and characters as vividly realized as those in Joan Abelove's Go and Come Back (1997) for the tale of an arranged marriage gone unexpectedly wrong. The time is the present, but Koly's story is as ancient as India. Her impoverished family can scarcely afford to feed her, so she's married off at 13, with her in-laws using her dowry to buy a trip to the holy Ganges River for their son, her sickly young bridegroom. He dies before their marriage is ever consummated, and Koly finds herself a young widow in service to an angry and spiteful mother-in-law. When her father-in-law dies, and her husband's sistera beloved companionis married off, Koly is tricked and abandoned to Vrindavan, city of widows. Whelan maintains Koly's perspective so precisely that readers, too, begin to take for granted her circumscribed life and the limitations and formalities by which she is bound, and to understand that her skill with the needlethe means to her salvationis a gift not granted to every widow. Her path to a new life and work in the wake of many hardships is spun out in a burnished pattern against an exotic background; the tale is romantic, but it's both fascinating and chastening to find that in some parts of the world, learning to read is considered a cherished gift. (glossary) (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


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This novel tells the story of a young girl in India who follows her parents' wishes and agrees to an arranged marriage, only to discover that living the life of love and freedom that she had hoped for won't be easy. The chaos in Koly's life leads her to unexpected places, and the story takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the history, tradition and modern-day realities of Indian life. This story of hope and redemption embedded in history and culture will provide students and teachers alike with not only an inner glimpse of Indian life but a sense of joy and hope for humanity. The writing is swift, poetic, and beautiful, and an absolute delight to read. Includes a glossary in the back. An excellent book—a must for all middle and high school libraries. A National Book Award winner. Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2000, HarperTrophy, 186p., Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Sarah Applegate; Libn., River Ridge H.S., Lacey, WA Read all 7 "From The Critics" >


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