In the past three years, I have read almost all books written by one of my favorite award winning authors, Mitali Perkins and I enjoy rereading her books.My favorites are Rickshaw Girl, Forward me back to you and You bring the distant near. This summer, I was able to read one of her new books Hope In the Valley. As soon as I set down the book, I was 100 percent ready to pour out my heart on this review.
Pandita Paul, a thirteen-year-old Bengali American living in the Silicon Valley in the 1980s hasn’t fully gotten over her mothers sudden death a few years ago. Luckily, she has her father and twin older sisters, Shar and Indy who’ve got her back. Pandita and her late mother used to have several stories and imaginations that had all begun in an abandoned property that her mom would call “Ashar Jaiga” also known as a place of hope. On Pandita’s thirteenth birthday, she finds out that the place is being sold for constructing rental units. She decides to fight back against the demolition of the property in order to preserve memories of her deceased mother. But things become harder when her best friend moves on, her father starts dating someone else and the Paul sisters don’t want their perfect mother to be replaced by someone else . But as the summer break begins, new challenges, and new friendships blossom.
What will happen next? How will Pandita deal with the unwanted changes in her life? If you’re into books that cover the topics of grief, family, friendship and coming of age, this book is just for you.
Please buy this book from a local bookstore, Amazon or borrow from the local public library.