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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
One thing I like about buddy reads is that I read books that I normally will not pick-up and find that there are lots of good books outside my normal genre and that is true with this book. Glad I buddy read this with readwithtoni and looking forward to the discussion.
The Orphan Keeper is based on a real life story of Taj Rowland. It’s his journey from the time he was kidnapped as a seven-year old boy named Chellamuthu, sold to a Christian orphanage, adopted by a couple in the US. With language barrier between Chellamuthu and his adoptive family, it took sometime for them to learn that he already has a family in India. They tried to track down his family but was unsuccessful. Despite of that, Chellamuthu was loved and became part of the Rowland’s. As he grew up, he tried to seek himself. Decades later, he met and married Priya who turned out has ties to his past. It made him questions himself more, wanting to go back to India and seek his family.
This is an incredible story on family, belongingness, deep loss and perseverance. Heartbreaking at times especially his life in India as a little boy, knowing that a lot of kids are kidnaped and sold with the intent of making money out of them. But it also feels hopeful and good towards the end knowing that he did well in his adult life. The journey that Chellamuthu / Taj went through is incredible as it is, his life in the orphanage, his journey to the US, his life as a student and he survives it all. Though I find the dialogue a bit like a script and has no emotions in it, the overall story is inspiring. I also wish more insights are presented on what happened to the orphanage, the people responsible in the orphanage and kidnaping itself.
The Orphan Keeper is based on a real life story of Taj Rowland. It’s his journey from the time he was kidnapped as a seven-year old boy named Chellamuthu, sold to a Christian orphanage, adopted by a couple in the US. With language barrier between Chellamuthu and his adoptive family, it took sometime for them to learn that he already has a family in India. They tried to track down his family but was unsuccessful. Despite of that, Chellamuthu was loved and became part of the Rowland’s. As he grew up, he tried to seek himself. Decades later, he met and married Priya who turned out has ties to his past. It made him questions himself more, wanting to go back to India and seek his family.
This is an incredible story on family, belongingness, deep loss and perseverance. Heartbreaking at times especially his life in India as a little boy, knowing that a lot of kids are kidnaped and sold with the intent of making money out of them. But it also feels hopeful and good towards the end knowing that he did well in his adult life. The journey that Chellamuthu / Taj went through is incredible as it is, his life in the orphanage, his journey to the US, his life as a student and he survives it all. Though I find the dialogue a bit like a script and has no emotions in it, the overall story is inspiring. I also wish more insights are presented on what happened to the orphanage, the people responsible in the orphanage and kidnaping itself.
This was a 3 1/2 stars for me. I really enjoyed the first half but the second half wasn't as interesting. Good story.
This book tells the story of Chellamuthu who was kidnapped and taken from his family and sold to an orphanage. He was later adopted by an American couple and given the name Taj. The book tells about his life as a young boy, his time in the orphanage, and the first while in America after being adopted. The book then jumps forward to his senior year in high school. I particularly enjoyed the first part of the book. When the book jumps forward I had a hard time warming up to Taj. He seemed to really struggle with his identity. This is totally understandable but I was turned off by it at times. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
Popsugar challenge #31 A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you
Popsugar challenge #31 A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you
The story is very intriguing, especially considering it is real. I found the pacing to be a challenge, with some sections I couldn’t put it down and others where I was forcing myself to continue, with the timeline enforced by my expiring loan. It shines a light on the dark side of international adoption.
Read via ebook.
Read via ebook.
Completely crazy that this is based on a true story. Well written and great depth of character showing all the various emotions and likely thoughts that they were going through
I was fortunate enough to meet Camron Wright and Taj Rowland and hear them talk about the book before I read it. As a result, I might be a bit biased as I liked both of them. But that aside, I think I would have enjoyed the book anyway. The story was told well without sentimentality and I appreciated that. It was an incredible real life fairy tale in many ways.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
This is fiction but based very closely on a true story about a young boy who was kidnapped around the age of seven and brought to an orphanage about three hours away from his village in India. He was adopted by a couple in the United States (who thought he was an orphan). The book goes through his early days as a boy living in poverty in India, his abduction, and his adoption. The book focuses on his feelings of not fitting in and feeling like something was missing in his teen and early adult years. It is his journey in learning about who he is. Well done and an easy, page turning read.
Loved this story. Difficult story about orphans in India. Somewhat similar to the book that inspired the Movie Lion, but different enough to read them both.