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tamikan 's review for:
Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame
by Supriya Kelkar
"This book is in honor of brave children everywhere, speaking up and speaking out against injustice, violence, patriarchy, and colonialism to ensure that equality and equity exist in their generation and beyond."
What a wonderful and important book. In 1847, Meera is turning 13 and is preparing to go live with her husband (they were married at 4 years old). But the night before, her husband is killed in a riot. Meera and her husband's family want her to commit sati and sacrifice herself in her husband's funeral pyre. Meera doesn't really want to be burned alive, so she runs away, meets Bhavani and they end up working in a British officer's household. At first, she is fine with her new life, but Meera grows to see the oppression and horrible practices of colonization through the local rebellion brewing.
I appreciated the Historical Notes in the back that had a lot of information about the times. The only thing that bothered me was the rebels spoke a lot about freeing India from British rule, but I know that Britain doesn't leave India for another 100 years, so that part of the plot fell flat for me.
What a wonderful and important book. In 1847, Meera is turning 13 and is preparing to go live with her husband (they were married at 4 years old). But the night before, her husband is killed in a riot. Meera and her husband's family want her to commit sati and sacrifice herself in her husband's funeral pyre. Meera doesn't really want to be burned alive, so she runs away, meets Bhavani and they end up working in a British officer's household. At first, she is fine with her new life, but Meera grows to see the oppression and horrible practices of colonization through the local rebellion brewing.
I appreciated the Historical Notes in the back that had a lot of information about the times. The only thing that bothered me was the rebels spoke a lot about freeing India from British rule, but I know that Britain doesn't leave India for another 100 years, so that part of the plot fell flat for me.