Courtney's Reviews > Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind

12-year old Shabanu lives with her parents and sister in the Cholistan Desert of Pakistan, where her father raises camels. She and her older sister, Phulan, are eagerly anticipating their upcoming marriages. However, their futures are drastically altered when an incident with a "Wealthy and powerful landowner" causes the death of Phulans' fiancee.

I thought this was a really good book. Shabanus' character is very likeable, and I was really wishing there was some way to fix the situation. I thought it was also really interesting to look at the cultural differences shown in the book, in comparison to the North American culture I'm used to. One of the things that I guess 'struck me' was how matter of fact it all was for them - They're 12, and getting to be adults, so of course their families have arranged marriages for them. Shabanu and Phulan are actually happy about their marriages, and that they'll get to stay close to one another, until Phulan's fiancee dies and the situation changes.