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Feb 05, 2012

Sandi rated it:

Fifteen-year-old Jasmine (Jazz) Gardner travels with her family to Pune, India for the summer when her mother receives a grant to set up a clinic at the orphanage where she lived as a child. Jazz, who is part Indian and part American, is reluctant to leave her best friend and business partner Steve, as well as all that is familiar about her home in California. She has recently found herself falling in love with Steve, yet she does not feel herself worthy of his affection. Jazz struggles with a l More...

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Sep 04, 2010

Tahleen rated it:

15-year-old Jazz has just found out some big news. After receiving a grant, Jazz's mother will finally have the chance to pay back the orphanage in India where she spent her first years by building a clinic. The problem? Jazz, and the rest of her family, will have to join her, spending the entire summer in India and away from her best friend/secret crush Steve, not to mention the booming business they've created. She'll be halfway around the world from everything she knows in Berkeley, Californi More...

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Aug 24, 2010

Cindy rated it:

When fifteen-year-old Jazz Gardner discovers she’s going to spend the summer in India with her family she is not happy about it at all. She has a thriving business in San Francisco with her best friend Steve, and she can’t imagine leaving either one for three months. She’s certain one of the other girls from school will make a move while she’s gone and claim Steve’s heart before she even tells him how much he means to her.

When she arrives in the town where her mother was born and ado More...

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Apr 08, 2011

Jasmine rated it:

Okay, so this book was half good, and half really annoying, but the really annoying parts REALLY irritated me. Here's my problem: if you're going to make a teenage girl be completely insecure, you have to give her an actual reason why. You can't make her have awesome parents, a great little brother, a really nice male best friend (who is obviously in love with her), be really good in school, a great athlete, and tall and with a great figure, and have her be super insecure about herself without More...

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Mar 14, 2011

Erin rated it:

I liked a lot of things about this book....in general, I always tend to like books set in foreign locales that give you a real feel for the place and this one did that...explaining in detail the poverty, the landscape and the people. It also highlighted the difficulty of being a modern day American girl who's family isn't truly American...I think that it shows the real difference between the former white immigrants who came here wanting to be American and were proud that their children only spok More...

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Sep 20, 2009

Lydia rated it:

Perkins is an outstanding author, with an ability to introduce the Indian world to YA readers in a beautiful positive light. Jasmine "Jazz" is a bi-racial Indian-American whose mother is a shining star in the world of hands-on philanthropy. While her brother Eric, the bug expert, resembles their Indian born mother, Jazz resembles her tall blond father. At fifteen, Jazz and her best friend Steve have a prospering business in Berkeley, California; but Jazz realizes she is starting to fee More...

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Sep 16, 2010

Sherry rated it:

"Monsoon Summer" took me by surprise and blew me away with it's emotional depth, rich character development and complex layers. Set in modern-day India, fifteen year-old Jasmine Gardner (from Berkeley, CA) and her family spend a summer abroad in the village where the protagonist's mother was born and adopted. Poor villagers and rich industrialists share the same locale, poignantly showing teenage "Jazz" utter poverty and modern city life juxtaposed at the orphanage and her p More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Gwennie rated it:

A clean read, and really interesting to follow along with the main characters journey of self-discovery. Mitali Perkins has a website with reviews of multiethnic books. I'd recommend this book to girls who liked the Bindi Babes series and are ready to move into teen books.

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Oct 18, 2007

Kricket rated it:

This is a really cute story- goodhearted without being too preachy, and lots of fascinating Indian culture. Writing wasn't standout, and there's a few loose ends left at the end, but I will definitely recommend this at work.

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May 23, 2011

Mary Louise rated it:

Fifteen-year-old Jasmine "Jazz" Gardner reluctanly goes with her family to India during the monsoon season. The plan is for the family to volunteer at the orphanage where Jazz's mother was cared for years ago. Jazz would rather stay in Berkeley, California with her business partner and secret love,Steve. Jazz gradually volunteers and even helps Danita, the family's young Indian cook, with a business plan so that Danita does not have to enter a marriage of convenience. By the book's end More...

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May 26, 2010

Sam rated it:

This book could easily have begun and ended with, “I’m going to write a book that showcases the value of small business loans to women in developing countries!” Or, “I’m going to write another book about a girl finding herself and falling in love with her best guy friend, because there really aren’t enough books like that!”

Instead we get a javelin-throwing business owner, a little brother obsessed with bug collecting, a well-run orphanage that is not to be pitied, and an endearing lo More...

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Oct 24, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I met Mitali Perkins online via Twitter. One day she tweeted her frustration over getting her books into libraries. Curious, I went online to my library's catalog and saw that they had multiple copies of all but her newest book. They all sounded good so I asked her which book I should read first. She suggested Monsoon Summer.

Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins is about a family of four going to India for the summer (monsoon season). It's told from the first person point of view of fifte More...

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Jun 20, 2010

Beth rated it:

Mitali Perkins is an unsung author in the YA lit world. Monsoon Summer was my first experience reading her work, and after reading this book, I am convinced that her books need to be marketed more. Her goal is to make multicultural literature available, enjoyable, and accessible to young readers, and I'd say she succeeds on all accounts with this beautiful work of multicultural, modern-day fiction.

When Jasmine "Jazz" Gardener learns that she'll be spending the entire sum More...

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Jun 09, 2011

Ari rated it:

Something that's really starting to get on my nerves about girls in books is when they constantly complain about their bodies (which I get believe, I hate my body) but then there are AT LEAST 2-3 guys interested in them. In Jazz's case, she goes to a dance club and every guy wants to dance with her and I understand that before that she thought she was ugly but after that she should have felt way better about herself. And yet she continued to believe she was ugly, it especially pained me that she More...

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Mar 24, 2011

Lucy rated it:

Jazz Gardener’s mom was raised in an orphanage in India until she was adopted by Americans. Now, she has gotten a grant to go back to India and help out the orphanage where she grew up, and she’s taking her family with her.

Jazz is less than thrilled. For one thing, she hasn’t inherited her mother’s do-gooder genes, and for the other, she is dreading leaving behind her best friend (and unrequited crush) Steve. She’s afraid to tell him how she really feels, and even more terrified t More...

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May 20, 2008

Amitha rated it:

I'm not a huge YA chick lit fan, but I really enjoyed Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins. This novel is about a teenage girl from California named Jazz (short for Jasmine--she is half Indian) and her summer vacation at an orphanage in India. Jazz's mother was adopted at a very young age from the orphanage by American parents and wants to go back to find out more about her roots. Jazz is initially reluctant to travel to India because she has to leave behind her best-friend/crush Steve, but she even More...

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Nov 05, 2010

Melody rated it:

Charming and insightful story about Jasmine's summer in India. There's a lot here about body image, identity, acceptance and love all wrapped in a sweet little story. I enjoyed the father's story here especially- we don't often get to see adults pushing their boundaries and changing in kids' books. I think this book is meatier than it appears on the surface, and it resonates after one closes the covers. Recommended.

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Dec 14, 2011

Jenilyn rated it:

When I first started reading this book, I didn't get into it that much. It started out kind of slow and it took me about 100 pages or so to really get into it. However, once I did get into it I ended up loving it. I couldn't hardly put it down after I got involved in the story. My only issue was that I wanted it to go on just a little longer. There were a lot of really good things that happened at the end of the story, and I wanted there to be like one more chapter or something explaining like w More...

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Jan 11, 2012

Sarah rated it:

Jazz Gardner is the oldest daughter from an American-adopted Indian-born mother and a white bread dad. Her mother is a social activist in Berkley and decides to head back to the orphanage in India where she was abandoned to open a health clinic and take the whole family for the summer. Jazz is wary of social activism (which was the only odd sticking point for me) do-goodness of her mother, and instead is a young entrepreneur. She is also in love.
Obviously things change while they are i More...

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Oct 18, 2010

Tracy rated it:

Good young-adult-chick-lit (think: Traveling Pants) storyline. Would love to see it produced as a screenplay where the characters could be more fully developed! The main story, subplots, and setting were wonderful starting points - but the characters felt a little one dimensional to me, and I thought the dialogue was not always realistic. Enjoyed the "local flavor," East Bay landmarks.

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Apr 08, 2011

Cookie rated it:

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were likeable, the setting was vividly described, and the overall story was sweet. Plus, I've always wanted to visit in India...not sure if the descriptions of the country were colored by the author, but it only made my desire stronger.

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Dec 29, 2010

Melissa rated it:

Loved this story of a family finding themselves during a summer in India. I may have teared up while reading. And I desperately wanted to see some of the Nageena Designs. And eat some of Danita's food. Richly layered, I'm just going to have to check out the rest of Mitali's books. . .

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Feb 22, 2010

Chris rated it:

I have read two of Perkins' books, and I've really loved them both. I'm fascinated with Indian culture and this really brought it to life, with all the smells, sounds and color. I liked the way Jazz was eventually won over and loved India the way the rest of her family did.

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Jan 02, 2010

Avi rated it:

I absolutely loved this book! My parents love Indian books so my mom told me to read this book which I did not want to at first. I just had to read a few pages and I was hooked on it even though I dislike most Indian books. The book gives a great insight on life in India.

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Aug 26, 2011

Pam rated it:

Reva and I very much enjoyed this book. Themes of India, adoption, body-image, mothers and daughters, and a little high school romance, too. Also, this resourceful high-school heroine runs her own small business in Berkeley, CA. And plays a mean game of soccer.

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Jan 17, 2011

David rated it:

Another one of my paperback reads.

A nice little story about discovering what is important in life, and how we need to trust ourselves and others if we want to discover true friends. Sometimes that means you can get burned, but without risk there cannot be reward.

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Oct 31, 2010

Brooke.706 rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 05, 2011

Sara rated it:

Read for Battle of the Books. An encouraging read - very much a "coming-of-age" journey. A high school girl who strives to both find herself and also move beyond herself and care about the needs of others. Well written and developed characters.

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Apr 18, 2011

Tammy rated it:

A great book for showing the differences in families/culture between nations. Set between California and India - many differences present themself. What is beauty? Wealth? Proper education? This book piques those questions and more.

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Oct 29, 2011

Anita added it

If we'd all look past the end of our noses, we'll see that we are all gifted to be a blessing to someone... somewhere, even if it is half way across the world. And to borrow a line from the story: "I may not impact lives on (a grand) scale... but I (can do) something that makes a difference."

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