Ryan's Reviews > Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind

Shabanu and the sequels are important books for the world we live in because they describe a proud, independent people who are now in the midst of what will be a long, horrible war. The image of Pakistanis as either terrorists or helpless refuges are popular with news and entertainment (just watch Ironman...for all that I love movies with explosions I was horrified and saddened by that movie).

Shabanu is the youngest daughter of desert people - her description of her family. She loves the desert, loves her camels and through her eyes I grew to love them too. She describes a world with little water, little comfort and yet rich with life. And a life foreign to my own. I read this to my kids years ago and my daughter, then about 10, was horrified to hear the matter-of-fact way in which the 12-year-old Shabanu talked about her marriage, which would take place in a year.

The books are well-written - which I think means that I believe them, even though they are fiction. I worry when writing is good and I believe the story, especially when the subject is real. In this case, the author was a reporter who covered India, Pakistan and Afghanistan for a number of years.