Customer Reviews

Neela: Victory Song (Girls of Many Lands)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is excellent! Neela, who is adventurous and brave (something very important in a good heroine), takes a dangerous trip to try to save her father with the aid of an intriguing freedom fighter during the era of protest over British rule. Every girl I have recommended this title to loved it, and I can't see why anyone would think this book is just "about a girl who doesn't want to get married" (like my fellow reviewer). I recommend it without reserve. It is an exciting story, that will interest the reader in Indian culture.

Neela is a twelve-year-old girl, she is brave, smart and intelligent. She lives in India with her mother, father, and her sister who is getting married. Neela is worried about India's freedom. Her father left to go fight for Mother India's freedom. Now Neela is stuck with her mother who is trying to find a husband for her, but Neela has other things on her mind than marriage. Three weeks go by, and now Neela is very worried about her father, who was supposed to come back two weeks ago.
Is her father still alive? Will he come back soon? Find out!
*Lali*

Neela is truly an inspiration to me in this book. I loved how she went to extreme lengths to rescue her father. I am also indian and feel for my parents the way she did for hers. I learned about one of the most important times in India's history in this book and it made me realize how lucky I am to live in America where there is freedom. I am also thankful to be a girl in this day and age where girls can do anything they please. I really felt bad for Neela's lack of opportunities but despite that she still got through all her obstacles. This is truly a great book!!!!!

Neela Victory Song Pleasant Company, ©2002,pp.193,$7.95
Chitra Banerjee Divaongkaruni 1-58485-521-5

This book is about a girl that hears about India's fight for freedom and how the girl deals with almost losing her father because he wanted to help India fight for freedom. The girl runs away from home so she can try to help her father. This is a historical fiction.

I liked this book because it has you in suspense the entire time. I could not put the book down it was so good. On a scale from one to ten I would give this book a ten because it is exciting and fun. With every turn of the page I got more excited. This book is full of action. I would say if you like action and suspense this is the book for you!

Brittany L, Grade 6
Bales Intermediate, Friendswood, Texas

This book contains quite a bit of information about the politics of India at a very tumultuous time; the information is presented in a way to make it extremely accessible to young women, which is an impressive feat. It seems to me like a lot of the Pleasant Company's main characters are somewhat rebellious, which makes them more attractive to a modern audience but also probably makes them less realistic. However, supporting characters, like Neela's sister in this book, let us view what more traditional young women would be doing as the action (in this case, Neela risking everything familiar to save her family and help her country) took place.

A MUST GET for girls 10-18!!! I have love the suspence and action I had to read the whole book in 2 hours!!! Has all the things a girl could want in a book!!!

Neela is a young ,12 year old girl who lives in India.While her older sister is getting married,the struggle for India's independence from England rages all around her world.When a band of men who support the revolution barge into the wedding asking for support,money,and food,Neela and her father are inspirered.But when her father gets captured at a peace rally,it's up to Neela to rescue him.This a great book about a brave young girl,the love she shows for her father,and India in the year of 1939. I truly recommend this book and all the other books in the Girls Of Many Lands series

Like the stories of "American Girl" series, Victory Song provides a glimpse of a tumultuous time and place through the eyes of a brave and spirited heroine. I'm not sure how realistic it would be for a 12-year old Indian girl in 1939 to run away from home dressed as a wandering minstrel and help her father break out of prison. However, it makes a great story. Victory Song deals with some challenging historical issues without unseemly language or "inappropriate" material, so it's a good choice for preteens who have moved beyond simpler stories. It's also a very readable introduction to a part of history that most American kids never hear about. Five stars for Neela!
Janet Gingold
author of Danger, Long Division

The year is 1939. Twelve-year-old Neela Sen wants nothing more than to please her mother after her fifteen-year-old sister, Usha, is married and moves away, but from the night of the wedding, the only thing she appears to be able to do is disappoint. Neela wants to obey her parents, but it is hard for her to think about settling down and getting married, when the only thing she wants to do is climb trees, play with her cow, Budhi, and learn everything she possibly can. And getting married will compromise all of that for her. However, when Freedom Fighters arrive at Usha's wedding, demanding that everyone donate a piece of jewelry, and hand over some money to support the cause to free India from Britain's rule, Neela begins to look further into the problems facing her beloved country. The problems that will certainly affect her in the future, even if they are not directly affecting her now. But then Neela realizes that she is being affected by India's fight for independence. For, soon after Usha's wedding, her father reveals that he will be going to Calcutta to march, and learn more about the problems affecting the world around them. Neela knows that her father will be fine, as he is a strong, kind man. But when he doesn't return home after one week, when he is expected, she begins to worry. She just knows that something horrible has happened to him, and decides to do the unthinkable...run away from home, leaving her mother to fend for herself, to search Calcutta for her beloved family member. While the world is a big, lonely place for Neela almost instantly, with the help of the relatives of a Freedom Fighter whom she helped escape from danger, Neela is able to integrate into upper class society, and learn more both about British rule, the fight for independence, and information regarding her father's whereabouts. Now, however, Neela must confront natives who have turned against their own kind, in an attempt to reunite her family, and save the only country she's ever known and loved.

I know very little about India. From its culture, to the Indian's fight for independence from Britain. However, since reading Neela's story, I feel as if I have walked away with a mind full of information that was not there prior to picking up this book. Neela is such a wonderful character. Full of spirit, and curiosity. Her transformation from an immature child to an educated, brave young woman is amazing to see happen before your eyes. Neela was determined from page one, and found the inner strength to strike out on her own during a time that was full of danger and uncertainty, and attempt to accomplish a task that seems so far-fetched for a girl of her age. A girl who was victim to a time when women were considered second-class citizens, and didn't have the same rights as men. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni paints a remarkable picture of the times of 1939. Her descriptions of the landscapes, and the lavish feasts and accommodations people of Neela's class, and those of higher officials, participated in on a regular basis were interesting to learn about, and really make readers think twice about the poverty that some people during those times experienced. NEELA: VICTORY SONG is a delightful addition to the GIRLS OF MANY LANDS series that brings India to life - taking readers on a cultural adventure.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

This is the story of 12-year old Neela, a girl living in India under the rule of the British. Neela lives in exciting but turbulent times. She has difficult choices to make in terms of whether to be a dutiful young woman and marriage prospect as her culture dictates. The most difficult decision she must face is how to define moral justice and independence for her country and people. The political opinions of her family and people living in her village result in Neela taking a stand and putting her very life at risk. I read this book with my daughter and we determined that it is a must read. The story was fast-paced and exciting. The main character is a vibrant, and curious girl who evolves into a courageous individual.