Anahita's Woven Riddle ~ Meghan Nuttal Sayers

Publisher: Amulet Books (2008)
ISBN: 978-0810995482
384 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Historical fiction, romance
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: A nomadic weaver in the deserts of Persia, Anahita agrees to marry the man who correctly solves the riddle she has woven into her wedding carpet.

Summary: In 19th century Persia, women marry according to their families’ wishes. Content with her weaving and hoping to apprentice herself to her tribe’s dyemaster, Anahita would rather not marry just yet. Striking an unusual compromise with her father, Farhad, Anahita agrees to weave a riddle into her wedding carpet and marry the man who solves the riddle. This arrangement causes tension within Anahita’s tribe, first among the conservative families who feel Anahita has over-stepped her place as a female, and then with the entire tribe when Anahita’s would-be husband (the Khan who represents the tribe to the shah’s government) angrily cuts off the tribe’s water supply, forcing a difficult migration for the nomadic shepherds. In the face of the tribe’s criticism, Anahita nearly quails, but impending battles for migratory rights force Anahita to look beyond her own future to that of the entire community. As the number of her suitors increases to include, among others, her childhood friend Dariyoush, her schoolteacher Reza, and the mysterious Arash, Anahita realizes not just her childhood but her entire way of life may be coming to an end.

Notes: Filled with details of desert landscape and nomadic life, this story transports the reader to a seemingly mythical place. Though there are no flying carpets in Anahita’s world, her story has a magical quality.
Flags: 4

A Northern Light ~ Jennifer Donnelly

Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books (2003).
ISBN: 978-0152167059
400 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Historical, mystery
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: With the real-life mystery of Grace Brown’s death as a backdrop, this novel tells the fictional story of Mattie Gokey in Uttica, NY in 1906.

Summary: In upstate New York in 1906, Mattie Gokey is working hard to hold her family together after her mother’s death and her brother’s desertion. In a constant struggle against poverty, illness and hopelessness, Mattie cares for her three younger sisters, helps her father run their small farm, and studies to earn her high school diploma. Her greatest dream is to attend Barnard College where she has gained acceptance and a full scholarship, but only Mattie’s good friend Weaver and her teacher Miss Wilcox are excited for her. Mattie’s father says no, her sisters do not want her to leave, and her intended, Royal, simply does not understand Mattie’s desire for further education. Then a traveler, a young woman by the name of Grace Brown, dies mysteriously. As Mattie tries to piece together an understanding of Grace’s life and death, she realizes the importance of her own story.

Notes: Though Mattie narrates the novel, many women’s stories are presented, offering an unflinching account of the hardships faced by women at this point in history. These struggles resonate with women today as well, making this novel a thought-provoking read. The book is an ALA Prinz Honor Book.
Flags: 4

Persepolis (Movie)

Based on Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics (2007)
Rating: PG-13

Genre: Animated film, autobiography
Director: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parannaud
Main Cast: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve

Viewer’s Annotation: Marjane struggles to reconcile her cultural identity as her country is torn apart by war and she is increasingly influenced by life in the West.

Summary: Marjane is a child in Tehran, Iran in 1978. In her close-knit family, there is discussion of the shah, the revolution, and communism, but young Marjane is unaffected by politics until her beloved Uncle Anoush is arrested at the start of the Iraq/Iran war. Around her Tehran becomes more and more conservative and when Marjane speaks out against her teacher in school, her parents decide it is best for Marjane to study abroad while life in Iran is so unstable. In Vienna, Marjane studies philosophy, matures into a young woman, and struggles to figure out her place as a foreigner in the Western world. To find herself, she returns to Tehran, but the land she finds upon her return is barely a shadow of the place she knew as a child.

Notes: The animation adds layers of insight, irony and humor that could not be achieved in another medium.
Flags: 5

The Shadow in the North ~ Philip Pullman

Publisher: Dell Laurel Leaf (1986)
ISBN: 0-394-82599-3
361 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Mystery
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: Sally Lockhart encounters unspeakable evil when she investigates the business ventures of Axel Bellmann.

Summary: In 1878 London, Sally Lockhart is undeniably unconventional. Self-employed as a financial consultant, Sally is devastated when a client loses her money after investing on Sally’s advice. Turning her devastation to recover her client’s money, Sally enlists the help of friends Jim Taylor and Frederick Garland to investigate the enterprises of the elusive businessman Axel Bellmann. As the friends dig deeper and deeper, encountering illusionists, spiritualists, fraud and murder, they uncover a sinister plan involving weapons technology and find themselves all in mortal danger.

Notes: This novel is the second book of the Sally Lockhart trilogy. Books one and three, respectively are The Ruby in the Smoke and The Tiger in the Well. Sally is 22 years old in this book, so not technically a teen heroine (though she is a teen in Book 1), but it is a very provocative book, treating themes still relevant more than a century after the book’s setting.
Flags: 5