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Staples Suzanne Fisher

Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind (Readers Circle)

Laurel Leaf

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Life is both sweet and cruel to strong-willed young Shabanu, whose home is the windswept Cholistan Desert of Pakistan. The second daughter in a family with no sons, she’s been allowed freedoms forbidden to most Muslim girls. But when a tragic encounter with a wealthy and powerful landowner ruins the marriage plans of her older sister, Shabanu is called upon to sacrifice everything she’s dreamed of. Should she do what is necessary to uphold her family’s honor—or listen to the stirrings of her own heart?
The House of Djinn

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

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It has been ten years since Shabanu staged her death to secure the safety of her daughter, Mumtaz, from her husband’s murderous brother. Mumtaz has been raised by her father’s family with the education and security her mother desired for her, but with little understanding and love. Only her American cousin Jameel, her closest confidant and friend, and the beloved family patriarch, Baba, understand the pain of her loneliness. When Baba unexpectedly dies, Jameel’s succession as the Amirzai tribal leader and the arrangement of his marriage to Mumtaz are revealed, causing both to question whether fulfilling their duty to the family is worth giving up their dreams for the future.

A commanding sequel to the novels Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind and Haveli, The House of Djinn stands on its own. Suzanne Fisher Staples returns to modern-day Pakistan to reexamine the juxtaposition of traditional Islamic values with modern ideals of love.


Haveli

Laurel Leaf

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The world of Newbery Honor book Shabanu is vividly re-created in this novel of a young Pakistani woman's heartbreaking struggle against the tyranny of custom and ancient law. Shabanu, now a mother at 18, faces daily challenges to her position in her husband's household, even as she plans for her young daughter's education and uncertain future. Then, during a visit to the haveli, their home in the city of Lahore, Shabanu falls in love with Omar, in spite of traditions that forbid their union.
Under the Persimmon Tree

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

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Intertwined portraits of courage and hope in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose name means “star,” suddenly finds herself alone when her father and older brother are conscripted by the Taliban and her mother and newborn brother are killed in an air raid. An American woman, Elaine, whose Islamic name is Nusrat, is also on her own. She waits out the war in Peshawar, Pakistan, teaching refugee children under the persimmon tree in her garden while her Afghan doctor husband runs a clinic in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Najmah’s father had always assured her that the stars would take care of her, just as Nusrat’s husband had promised that they would tell Nusrat where he was and that he was safe. As the two look to the skies for answers, their fates entwine. Najmah, seeking refuge and hoping to find her father and brother, begins the perilous journey through the mountains to cross the border into Pakistan. And Nusrat’s persimmon-tree school awaits Najmah’s arrival. Together, they both seek their way home.

Known for her award-winning fiction set in South Asia, Suzanne Fisher Staples revisits that part of the world in this beautifully written, heartrending novel.

Shiva's Fire

HarperCollins

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On a remarkable day
when fish leap among the stars,
and bird., mar beneath the waters,
a girl is born in the South of India.

From her childhood, Parvati is known in her village for the extraordinary events that seem to spring from her dancing feet, and which set her and her family apart. One day a great guru, a master of Indian classical dance, comes to see Parvati. He invites her to study with him, and she commits herself to a rigorous program of dance, study, and devotion. Then she meets a gentle-eyed boy who turns her life upside down, and she learns that destiny can be an elusive thing.


Born during the worst storm ever seen by her small village in India, Parvati is both blessed and cursed with mysterious powers that confound her people. Wild animals flock to her; she is able to charm fish, birds, even deadly cobras. But Parvati's truly exceptional talent is her ability to dance like the Hindu god Shiva himself. At age 6, she hurls herself into a cooking fire and dances safely through the flames, emerging without a single burn. Naturally, these powers scare the other villagers. Only her mother Meenakshi loves and believes in her, protecting her from the their curious and hostile stares. The guru Pillai, a famous Indian dance teacher, hears of Parvati's talent and comes to offer her a position in his dance school, or "gurukulam," in the large city of Madras. Once there, she questions her destiny, or "dharma," as she experiences both a devastating loss and a blossoming romance; "...she thought about the mystery of dharma--how some things were very difficult to accept, while others opened as simply and as naturally as a flower." But through it all, the fire of Shiva burns within her, and Parvati knows that, despite all other callings, she was born to dance.

Suzanne Fisher Staples, renowned author of the award-winning Shabanu and Dangerous Skies, has woven together a magical tapestry of a tale that is a mystical hybrid of history and legend. At a time when teenage girls have more options than ever when choosing their own destinies, Parvati's story will inspire readers to set high goals and settle for nothing less than their true heart's desire. An instant classic. (Ages 12 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert


Suzanne Fisher Staples: The Setting Is the Story (Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature)

Scarecrow Press

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After spending more than a decade as a journalist in South Asia, Suzanne Fisher Staples turned to writing realistic novels about young people coming of age in modern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, as well as the United States. Her elegant prose and compelling character development draw readers into lives and cultures that are always warmly appealing. In Suzanne Fisher Staples: The Setting Is the Story, Megan Lynn Isaac explores the award winning novels of this unusual writer.

Comprised of eight chapters—one exploring each of Staples's works (six novels and a memoir) and an additional chapter detailing the critical reception of her most famous books, the Pakistani trilogy (Shabanu, Haveli and The House of Djinn)—Isaac considers the predominant themes, characters, and settings of each work and provides background information about the countries, religions, art forms, and other aspects of the cultures of South Asia that are central to Staples's writing. Original material from the author's interviews with Staples provides new insights into her work and experiences. Biographical information about Staples, both in chronological and narrative form, is also included, as well as a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly material related to Staples.

This book will help scholars and fans of Staples to explore the themes and literary techniques employed by her, as well as to deepen their understanding of the cultures and traditions upon which she draws.

Staples Suzanne Fisher News




Monday's high school roundup - Connecticut Post
Monday's high school roundupStaples 158, Trumbull 164, Darien 173 (at Wee Burn, par 35): S--Andrew Gai 37, Kirk Massie 39, Austin Alianiello 41, John Choi 41; T--Evan Deluca 38, Scott Gallo 42, Steve Anrico 42, Adam Wolfe 42; D--Andrew Winter 43, Sean Fahey 43, Christian Freeman