2 Months gone and only 10% read...

Yikes! The end of the second month already! February did not see as many books read as I would like at all, but I will have to write that off to it being a shorter month and an especially busy month. Not to mention the extensive class reading. If I could count required reading on this list we would be talking about a whole different story, but then it would miss the point of encouranging pleasure reading, right? And, anyway, spring break is around the corner and I have set aside the vast majority of those two weeks for nothing but reading...ahhhh...

But, at least I have finished book #10 and thus achieved 10 percent of my goal! And what a delightful book it was! Let's check out the stats:
Title: The Forbidden Daughter
Author: Shobhan Bantwal
Publisher: Kensington Books
Date: 2008
My start date: 2/18/10
My finish date: 2/27/10

This book was another success for Bantwal. As mentioned a couple of posts ago, I had read this author's previous book and loved it. Well, Bantwal has shown her consistency and produced yet another winner. Her strength: great characters. She writes stories about young Indian or Indian-American women in tough situations and they are so believable and real. You want them to succeed right from the beginning. Unlike other books that I read, which have characters with whom I can't at all identify, even if their lives are theoretically much closer in nature to mine, these women draw me in and make me understand them even though their lives are galaxies away from mine. That is really a talent on Bantwal's part. And her male leads are so lovable!! In both books I have come away completely taken with the male character and cheering for the two to get together. But perhaps best about Bantwal's characters is their realism and personal strength. I am talking about a lot of aspects here, but what I want most to highlight is the fact that Bantwal doesn't have her couples chasing a typical cheesy ending. Her women are strong and learning to be independent, against the odds of a society that really hasn't let them stand on their own before. As mentioned in the beginning, I try really hard not to give things away about the plots of these books, so there won't be spoilers for people who want to read them, but let's just say that I love how the women don't just fall into the arms of the men. They want to stand on their own and make sure that any relationship is on their own terms. But that doesn't mean you won't find a good love story!

On that note, my other praise is for Bantwal's talent at seamlessly weaving a thrilling mystery or adventure story with a sweet love story. She really writes the best of both worlds. It is almost like two seperate plot lines which effortlessly dovetail together in the end. And don't let the early tendency to put the romance on the front burner deceive you. By the time you reach the last third of the book, the suspense is so high that you will not be able to put the book down. Total page turner. Like I said, the best of both worlds.

Bantwal specializes in confronting social issues which haunt traditional Indian society and she does her research. This book confronts the issue of selective female abortion in societies which cherish male children over females. She provides some chilling facts. I think it is great that she is using what is clearly an excellent literary talent and her ability to tell a captivating story to spread the word that there are still things going on in the world that most of us don't know about. This book definitely enlightens you.

So, yet another winner from Shobhan Bantwal! As already said, she has another book out that looks great and also announced this week that her fourth book will be out in August. You can expect to see both of them on this blog eventually.

Ok, a horrible cold prevented me from posting as soon as I had finished yesterday and it still hasn't relinquished its hold on my head, so that about wraps things up for today and I plan on falling directly in to bed to sleep this thing off. However, I have started another book, so look for more soon on Lauren Wiesberger's Chasing Harry Winston.

In the meantime...
Happy reading!
Sarah