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A review by eusteph
The Color of our Sky by Amita Trasi
4.0
Wow...I just. How do I even begin writing this review?
When I first requested this book on NetGalley I had no idea I would have been so emotionally impacted by this story. I have stated this before, and I'll say it again, stories of abused children always hit a nerve in my heart. With this one it wasn't different. As I read the synopsis, I expected it to be some sort of coming of age story involving the strong bond of a friendship between two girls. It was so much more than that. I felt deeply connected to both protagonists for different reasons. Tara's unconditional admiration for her father reminded me of how naïve I was as a little girl, thinking my own father was the most righteous man on Earth and a true hero. Mukta's selflessness reminded me of people in my life who I am sure would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for others. Although it is a fictional story, knowing that things like what happened to Mukta and the women in her family still happen around the world enfuriates me. I cannot fathom how someone would do such atrocious things to another human being, let alone a woman to other women and their children. I try my best to respect other cultures, as I would expect people to respect mine, but judging a person by whatever society 'labels' them as just sounds plain stupid to me. Realizing many people go hungry, are mistreated and abused daily, and those in power do not even bat a lash also sounds absurd to me. The worst part is realizing that corruption seals the fate of families all around the world even nowadays.
This book is definitely not for those faint of heart. I would not recommend reading this if you can't deal with graphic descriptions of child abuse. Hell, even I don't know how I got through all of it. At times it just seemed like there was no hope for either of the characters. The ending, although not exactly what I hoped for, was satisfying enough. The narrative was a bit slow at times, and there were minor editing errors. Overall, it was a tragically beautiful story. I would have given it five stars, but I can't seem to do so with stories about abuse. 4/5.
When I first requested this book on NetGalley I had no idea I would have been so emotionally impacted by this story. I have stated this before, and I'll say it again, stories of abused children always hit a nerve in my heart. With this one it wasn't different. As I read the synopsis, I expected it to be some sort of coming of age story involving the strong bond of a friendship between two girls. It was so much more than that. I felt deeply connected to both protagonists for different reasons. Tara's unconditional admiration for her father reminded me of how naïve I was as a little girl, thinking my own father was the most righteous man on Earth and a true hero. Mukta's selflessness reminded me of people in my life who I am sure would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for others. Although it is a fictional story, knowing that things like what happened to Mukta and the women in her family still happen around the world enfuriates me. I cannot fathom how someone would do such atrocious things to another human being, let alone a woman to other women and their children. I try my best to respect other cultures, as I would expect people to respect mine, but judging a person by whatever society 'labels' them as just sounds plain stupid to me. Realizing many people go hungry, are mistreated and abused daily, and those in power do not even bat a lash also sounds absurd to me. The worst part is realizing that corruption seals the fate of families all around the world even nowadays.
This book is definitely not for those faint of heart. I would not recommend reading this if you can't deal with graphic descriptions of child abuse. Hell, even I don't know how I got through all of it. At times it just seemed like there was no hope for either of the characters. The ending, although not exactly what I hoped for, was satisfying enough. The narrative was a bit slow at times, and there were minor editing errors. Overall, it was a tragically beautiful story. I would have given it five stars, but I can't seem to do so with stories about abuse. 4/5.