SHAMED

By Sarbjit Kaur Athwal

[Burb: In 1998, Sarbjit Athwal was called by her husband to attend a family meeting. It looked like just another family gathering. An attractive house in west London, a large dining room, two brothers, their mother, one wife. But the subject they were discussing was anything but ordinary. At the head of the group sat the elderly mother. She stared proudly around, smiling at her children, then raised her hand for silence. 'It's decided then,' the old lady announced. 'We have to get rid of her.' 'Her' was Surjit Athwal, Sarbjit's sister-in-law. Within three weeks of that meeting, Surjit was dead: lured from London to India, drugged, strangled, and her body dumped in the Ravi River, never to be seen again. After the killing, risking her own life, Sarbjit fought secretly for justice for nine long, scared years. Eventually, with immense bravery, she became the first person within a murderer's family ever to go into open court in an honour killing trial as the Prosecution's key witness, and the first to waive her anonymity in such a trial. As a result of her testimony, the trial led to the first successful prosecution of an honour killing without the body ever being found. But her story doesn't end there. Since the trial, her life has been threatened; her own husband arrested after an allegation of intimidation. Shamed is a story of fear and of horror - but also of immense courage, and a woman who risked everything to see that justice was done.]

A hard but powerful book to read. When you think of the power of Religion and customs and what some women must go through to to keep their family from 'shame'. I felt for Sarbjit, who was caught in a very difficult situation, and was in fear of her life for so many years. Even when she was brave enough to reach out for help from authorities she was ignored. A fascinating story, which is probably not isolated to this family, but which made me thankful for my free choice.

TIGER'S CURSE

by Colleen Houck

Wow, what a series! I started reading this series because a friend of mine (a book guru) said I'd love them and gave me the whole set to read. Although I adored the cover of 'Tiger's Curse', I was doubtful I would really enjoy them as I'm not really into fantasy much, but was willing to give them a try... glad I did!

Full of adventure and danger that's on a par with 'Indiana Jones',  the story starts with a teenager, Kelsey Hayes, who has just finished school and decides to get a summer job. A circus wasn't what she had in mind but straight away she grew to love the atmosphere and the people. Little did she know that her job of looking after a beautiful white tiger named Ren, would change her life forever. She is asked to escort the tiger back to India by a mysterious man and when she accepts she is soon half way across the world starting an unbelievable adventure full of mystery, magic, fear, danger, ancient prophecies and of course... romance... but not just any old romance that's for sure. She must deal with issues of 'fate', 'passion' and 'loyalty' as she finds out she is the only one who can break the ancient curse put on Ren and his brother.

A great read that you can't put down. Thanks 'book guru' for recommending it to me... I'll never doubt you again! The other books in the series are Tiger's Quest, Tiger's Voyage and Tiger's Destiny.

Watch the book trailer to get you excited about the journey.

A BEAUTIFUL LIE

by Irfan Master 


This story is set in India during 1947, before partition, when India was divided. Bilal is a young boy forced to care for his dying father who hates the idea of India being torn apart and longs for the traditions of India. Because of the strong love for his father, Bilal, decides to lie to his father and hide him from any information reaching him of the riots and killings going on in his town. This is not an easy thing to hide so he must ask his friends to help him and stop visitors to his father who may tell him the terrible troubles that are surrounding them.


I loved the idea Bilal had of taking 'memory photos' of life around him to remember his life. Snapshots like a camera would take. Bilal also found that once he had lied he had to keep telling lies to cover up the original lie, and he also found that lies became easier the more you told.


I didn't find this book particularly gripping but it did give an insight into life in India during this time and  the tension that existed during the lead up to partition and the loss of friendships once people were dispersed to other parts of India to survive.