A remarkable debut novel set in India that shows one girl's struggle for independence.
During World War II and the last days of British occupati...
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May 13, 2008
Amitha
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Before I start this review, I do have to say that I have met the author, and like her very much, but have tried to make this review fair and unbiased. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman is a YA historical fiction about a fifteen-year-old girl named Vidya that takes place in India during the struggle for Indian independence and WWII. Outspoken and willful Vidya is excited about her future, but when her father is injured in a freedom rally, Vidya’s hopes of entering college are shattered whe
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Jul 09, 2011
Athira
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"Amma," I said tentatively. "I don't want to get married."
"What, Vidya kanna?" Amma said anxiously.
"I mean, I don't want to get married until I finish school," I said nervously.
Amma's expression cleared a little. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm sure we can wait a little longer. After all, girls are getting married much later these days. Even seventeen is not considered too old anymore."
For me, the essence of Climbi More...
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Sep 14, 2010
Anne
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Vidya is a fifteen-year-old girl living in Bombay, India during World War II. She loves climbing trees, spending time with her friend, Rifka, and her dog, Raja. And she has dreams of going to college. A dream her father promises to help make come true.
But her father is a member of Gandhi’s non-violent freedom fighter movement against the British. And when Vidya rushes out into the street in the midst of a protest, her entire world changes.
Into the strangling, tradition-bo More...
But her father is a member of Gandhi’s non-violent freedom fighter movement against the British. And when Vidya rushes out into the street in the midst of a protest, her entire world changes.
Into the strangling, tradition-bo More...
Jan 22, 2009
Peggy
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This is the story of a 15-year-old girl in British-occupied India during World War II and her struggle to be her own person and go to college instead of following the traditions of her strict culture. It is a good role model for girls today. There is outstanding imagery portrayed in descriptive language with good insight into Indian culture and religion. The realistic characterization uses opposites to portray the father/uncle and brother/sister. Prejudice is captured in the description of t
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May 24, 2011
Sarah
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I loved reading about how World War II affected India, I learned a lot of new terms, and the Indian culture was fascinating. I feel awful for the Indian women, they are the men's slaves, and have to do the chores. It's all about getting married, and keeping your husband happy, no college unless he allows. I would hate that! Vidya was lucky to have an education.
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Jun 07, 2008
Edie
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While this is a very ambitious book, tackling the British rule of India, Gandhiji's efforts to a non-violent revolution, the role of women in India during World War II, a young girl's sense of guilt over her father's life altering injury and her ambition which flies in the face of tradition and some family expectations. But the author pulls it off well, the heroine's voice is clear and genuine and at least this reader identified with her and cared about her. While some of the secondary charact
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Aug 02, 2011
Shaya
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I quite enjoyed Climbing the Stairs. I'm not at all familiar with Indian culture but it definitely seems very different from American culture.
There were a few moments when I was completely appalled at how few freedoms women in India had at that time period. Like this passage:
"Amma," I said tentatively. "I don't want to get married."
"What, Vidya kanna?" Amma said anxiously.
"I mean, I don't want to get married unt More...
There were a few moments when I was completely appalled at how few freedoms women in India had at that time period. Like this passage:
"Amma," I said tentatively. "I don't want to get married."
"What, Vidya kanna?" Amma said anxiously.
"I mean, I don't want to get married unt More...
Jul 29, 2011
Savannah
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I really like Indian literature, it shows how other cultures can operateso differently in one world. I wish to one day go to India. This book is about a fifteen year old girl who's life was canged all because her father was injured. Cause women cannot work with no experience what so ever. Her whole family; Kitta, Appa, Amma, and Kanna(main character). She must leave her friend, her school, her house, everything she didn't even take books or anything with her. The relatives they move in with are
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Jul 05, 2011
Alex
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It is 1941 and 15 year old Vidya is a lucky girl. Though she was born into India’s upper Brahman caste, her parents are very liberal; she is able to attend a private girls’ school; and she can dream about the possibility of going to college, a rare privilege for Indian women, who are expected to marry relatively young. And she is exceedingly proud when she discovers that her father, a doctor, is using his medical skills helping the injured victims of Ghandi’s non-violent Freedom Fighters, as the
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Nov 02, 2010
JocelynRose
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 28, 2010
Adrienne
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Fifteen-year old Vidya lives a privileged life in British-occupied India during World War II: her family loves her, she attends a girls' school and is working toward her dream of going to college with her parents' blessing. When a family tragedy forces them to leave their home and live with in her grandfather's house, Vidya's life is turned upside down.
Before she lived in comfortable daily association with her father, brother and mother; now she is separated downstairs with the wo More...
Before she lived in comfortable daily association with her father, brother and mother; now she is separated downstairs with the wo More...
Aug 25, 2010
Sheryl
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The premise of the book sounded very interesting and I did enjoy the description of India as a British colony during World War II. However, I found it difficult to really like the main character. She seemed at once both too modern (I kept forgetting that the setting was WWII and not the 21st century) and too shallow. She feels great guilt for what happened to her father but does little to alleviate this guilt. She feels bad for her mother but doesn't often try to comfort her. She believes in non
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Jul 20, 2010
Rachael
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Quick read (just the way I like them).
I have never read a book about India during World War II. I have always been fascinated by Indian cultures, beliefs, religions, etc. This is little gem of historical fiction. I enjoyed that the author told (in an Author's Note at the end of the book) which parts of the book were based on her own family history or actually events.
The main character, Vidya, was interesting. I grow tired of girls always running away rather than talking them More...
I have never read a book about India during World War II. I have always been fascinated by Indian cultures, beliefs, religions, etc. This is little gem of historical fiction. I enjoyed that the author told (in an Author's Note at the end of the book) which parts of the book were based on her own family history or actually events.
The main character, Vidya, was interesting. I grow tired of girls always running away rather than talking them More...
Mar 25, 2010
Cynthia
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I've read many book for young adults set during WWII, but this is the first book I've read that is set in India during that time period. Vidya is a 15 year old girl living with her family in Bombay. Her father is a successful doctor and she has led a sheltered, indulgent life. That all ends when tragedy strikes her family and they have to go to Madras to live with her father's family. Young Vidya must give up all that is familiar to her to live in a world of solitude and silence in her grand
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Jan 05, 2010
K
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 11, 2009
Debbie
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Vidya is a bright ambitious girl who lives in Bombay with her family during WWII. After a tragic accident, her family has to move to another city and live with their extended family, whose way of life is much more restrictive than Vidya is used to.
I know very very little about India, so I found this book enjoyably informative. (History is so much easier to learn from novels than from textbooks.) I had heard of Gandhi of course, but I probably couldn't have told you that he was associ More...
I know very very little about India, so I found this book enjoyably informative. (History is so much easier to learn from novels than from textbooks.) I had heard of Gandhi of course, but I probably couldn't have told you that he was associ More...
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Aug 14, 2010
Erin
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This book is on my required reading list for the children's lit class I'll start in the fall and I thought I'd try and get ahead of the game a little. It surprises me that this would be on the list for a class for el. ed. teachers though, because I certainly wouldn't classify this as a book for K-6 readers. I'd say more in the YA category. There were some things mentioned that I would consider for more adult readers, and there was a short violent scene that left me feeling pretty green for
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Nov 08, 2010
Nancy
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Fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of one day attending college, when society states she should be planning for marriage. Living in India during World War II, the world around Vidya is falling apart. Many Indians make use of nonviolent demonstrations to protest England's colonization of their country, and Vidya's father is one of these demonstrators. One day, her father is horribly injured during a protest, making him incapable to continue his profession as a doctor. Vidya and her family must move in
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Apr 20, 2009
Christine
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I have to say that this is my favorite way to learn history, through a novel, set in a foreign country during an era less known to me. Vidya is an Indian girl growing up in World War II India. This novel touches on the Hindu caste system, British rule of India, and Hitler’s army encroaching ever closer to her home. Talking through Vidya, the author gives us insight into the Hindu religion and way of life in 1942 India. Vidya is a dutiful and independent minded daughter of Brahmin parents. H
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Nov 01, 2011
Chris
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Summary and review from Booklist:
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Growing up in a progressive family in Bombay during World War II, 15-year-old Vidya hopes that college is in her future, though her classmates are preparing for arranged marriages. After her father is severely injured in a riot, her life suddenly, irrevocably changes. Vidya, her older brother, and their parents move to Madras to join her grandfather’s traditional household, where men and women live separately and Vidya’s po More...
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Growing up in a progressive family in Bombay during World War II, 15-year-old Vidya hopes that college is in her future, though her classmates are preparing for arranged marriages. After her father is severely injured in a riot, her life suddenly, irrevocably changes. Vidya, her older brother, and their parents move to Madras to join her grandfather’s traditional household, where men and women live separately and Vidya’s po More...
Dec 16, 2010
Diana
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 14, 2010
Emily (Lihua Lili)
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Fifteen-year-old Vidya wants to go to college. This is, of course ... rather a weird choice in British-occupied India of the early 1940's.
But Appa, Vidya's father, doesn't see why she shouldn't. When Vidya receives encouragement from her charismatic and loving father, she is thrilled and compelled by the peace march they happen upon in the street. Despite Appa's warnings, Vidya follows him into the crowd ... and her universe collapses.
Written gently, with the flavor of an More...
But Appa, Vidya's father, doesn't see why she shouldn't. When Vidya receives encouragement from her charismatic and loving father, she is thrilled and compelled by the peace march they happen upon in the street. Despite Appa's warnings, Vidya follows him into the crowd ... and her universe collapses.
Written gently, with the flavor of an More...
Sep 25, 2011
Michele
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This beautiful book is about a young girl finding her path toward becoming a woman. The setting is India in 1941; India on the edge of World War II and independence, much like the main character, 15 year old Vidya. It is a slow-moving book, but so well drawn that I felt like I was right there, trapped in the gender-divided household with Vidya. Part of the beauty of this book is that while there is some description of things specifically Indian, it does not explain every detail didactically.
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Nov 05, 2009
Heather
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Lately I've come across a few novels dealing with WWII in different areas of the globe, likeSarah's Key,The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and The Book Thief. This is the first time I've read anything dealing with life in India during this war. This book does a good job of dealing with all of the issues of that time, like India's struggle to be independent, their reactions to the call to fight in WWII, and the treatment of women.
But even with all of the seriousness More...
But even with all of the seriousness More...
May 19, 2009
Darla
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(Genre:Young Adult literature/historical fiction) This is an interesting novel about a 15 year old girl named Vidya living in World War ll India. She and her family are HIndu and belong to the Brahmin caste (scholars and others who sought for wisdom and learning rather than wealth and riches) which is one of the upper classes in the Indian caste system. When Vidya's father is injured, she and her family are relocated to her paternal uncle's house where life is much different for her than it was
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Jan 24, 2012
Maxx
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This was a nice, light read. i could tell it was a first book, but she did a pretty good job.
This is the story of a girl living in India right around the time of WWII. It was interesting to read this book written about an Indian girl and the challenges faced with being a girl and the expectations to marry and be a wife rather than pursing her own interests. I know this theme plays out across many cultures, but I particularly loved reading about the food they made. I even dreamed abo More...
This is the story of a girl living in India right around the time of WWII. It was interesting to read this book written about an Indian girl and the challenges faced with being a girl and the expectations to marry and be a wife rather than pursing her own interests. I know this theme plays out across many cultures, but I particularly loved reading about the food they made. I even dreamed abo More...
Jan 23, 2012
Mara
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Vidya is a fifteen-year-old Indian girl belonging to a non-traditional Brahamn family in WWII English-occupied India. She dreams of attending college and doing something grand with her life. But when her father is thrown into jail, she and her family must live with her traditional-minded grandfather. In his home, women do not go outside unveiled, they do not eat with the men, they live downstairs separately from the men, and they most certainly do not attend colleges.
In a des More...
In a des More...
Jul 20, 2009
earthy
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Set in India during World War II, Vidya's family is forced to move in with her restrictive uncle after her father is involved in an accident for which Vidya blames herself. While at home Vidya had the freedom to read, go to school, and converse openly with her brother, at her uncle's house, traditional male/female roles are strictly observed, and Vidya's dreams of attending college are threatened.
This is a fascinating time period--one I haven't seen a lot of YA fiction on--and the wa More...
This is a fascinating time period--one I haven't seen a lot of YA fiction on--and the wa More...
Oct 16, 2011
Jami
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At first I had a hard time getting myself to stay focused enough to read this novel. Once I got into in though, I really got into it! I didn't want to put it down! There were parts of the story I was able to connect with some of the characters. Especially being scared for my family's safety or being around family that treats others badly.
I learned a lot about how different the culture is in India from back in the 1940's compared to our culture now. (Differences between religion, marriage, More...
I learned a lot about how different the culture is in India from back in the 1940's compared to our culture now. (Differences between religion, marriage, More...
Mar 18, 2011
Emily
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I thought I had pretty much exhausted the WWII-era genre, but Climbing the Stairs brought a fresh perspective for me to discover. Being pretty much totally ignorant of Indian culture, let alone India in the 1940s, I was very appriciative of Venkatraman's clear explanations, even if some say it slowed the pace of the story a bit. The traditional lifestyle of her family, the British presence in India and the peaceful protests, and the opression Vidya faced and questioned were thought provoking, as
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