Page Forty-Five

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

It is 1984 in Dahanu, India and Kavita Merchant gives birth to a girl, Usha. Kavita will do anything to save her second daughter from a culture who favours sons, so she and her sister leave the child at Shanti Orphanage in Bombay. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Somer and her Indian-born husband Krishnan realize that Somer will never be able to bear a child of her own. Somer allows herself to be convinced to adopt a child in India, and eventually the two adopt Kavita's child, now almost one years old and mistakenly named Asha. The author takes the reader through the next 25 years, alternating between the voices of Somer, Krishnan, Asha, Kavita, and Jasu. The adoption affects each person differently and distinctly, and the author explores topics such as motherhood, marriage, family, and identity.

This was a good read, but for some reason I found the book dragged on at times.

Page Forty-Four

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Two children, one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12-18 must be selected from each District in this futuristic country of Panem, which used to be North America, to participate in the annual Hunger Games. There can only be one winner. The tributes must hunt and forage to stay alive, and try to survive the elements, illness, injury, and each other. The Games are televised to the entire country, and bets are placed as to who will win.

Katniss Everdeen has volunteered to take the place of the only person she loves: her 12-year old sister, Prim. Coming from District 12, an area that is poor and ill-equipped, there is not much hope for her success, but her early heroism in saving her sister, her stylist team that pegs her as someone to watch out for during the Games, and her fellow Tribute from the District, Peeta Mellark, who convinces the audience and the Gamemakers that they are in love, quickly increases her status and lines up a number of sponsers.

Once the Games begin, Katniss must rely on her knowledge of hunting and her instincts in order to survive the brutal conditions that surround her, as well as manage to evade those who want her dead. For much of the book she struggles as to whether or not she can trust Peeta, and ultimately learns much about love and sacrifice.

This young-adult book was a very quick read, compelling, though annoying in how ignorant Katniss is to Peeta's obvious love for her. It ended in a way that almost forces you to read the next book in the trilogy, and I'm sure the second book would do the same.