∎ Descargar Girl of the Book Princila Murrell 9781502343963 Books

Girl of the Book Princila Murrell 9781502343963 Books

Download As PDF : Girl of the Book Princila Murrell 9781502343963 Books

Girl of the Book Princila Murrell 9781502343963 Books

For a first book, I thought this was very good. An excellent idea to have the story told from differing view points. This is an excellent book to pair with any other story about prejudice, discrimination, etc. when it's based on race or religion. (A Long Walk to Water and Inside Out & Back Again both come to mind.)

It was interesting to me that there was no clear reason why some people were more tolerant of a white, Christian girl, while others weren't. At first I thought it would end up being male vs. female. But it wasn't.

It does kind of end abruptly--either a sequel, or, if the author doesn't want to devote that much time to the continuation of the story, at least an epilogue of how Courtney ended up dealing with life in this new country would be a great addition to this story.


Tags : Girl of the Book [Princila Murrell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div><div><div><div>Twelve year old Courtney Parker is devastated to have to leave her friends and South Africa behind when her father accepts a lucrative contract and the family relocate to Saudi Arabia. Jeddah feels like a different planet to Johannesburg. In spite of her initial reluctance to venture out of the comfort and security of their new home,Princila Murrell,Girl of the Book,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1502343967,Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism,Children's Teenage fiction & true stories,Children's BooksAll Ages,Children: Grades 4-6,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Social Themes Prejudice & Racism,Juvenile Fiction : Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism,Juvenile FictionSocial Themes - Prejudice & Racism,Social Themes - Friendship,Social Themes - Prejudice & Racism,JUVENILE FICTION Social Issues Prejudice & Racism

Girl of the Book Princila Murrell 9781502343963 Books Reviews

So a good meal and a good book both tend to carry messages. They can tell us about the chef, they can tell us about the cultures that spawn and inspire them, and they can tell us about the human condition. Pretty nifty, don’t you think? Today, we have a middle ages children’s meal that wants to tackle some of those big issues! Does it succeed?

We’ll find out, but first we have some important news from Starving Review, LLC

I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

It seems that I’ve been pulling a fair number of children’s meals out of the pantry lately so I need to remind folks of my number 1 rule. The reality of reviewing literary cuisine is that there are some subjective factors. You just can’t review a meal for young teens in the exact same light as one for adults and, likewise, one reviewer’s preferences and tastes differ from another’s. So with that out of the way …

Girl tackles an important social issue in the modern world, though it is one that has had repercussions for centuries, namely the relations between Christians and Muslims. In this task, it does a good job as it introduces positive examples among both sides of that equation, though it is admittedly a bit edged towards the European Christian point of view (even though the main protagonist is actually a white South African). Still, it approaches the problems and situations in a subtle, realistic fashion. It feels quite authentic.

The meal itself is cooked up in a satisfactory fashion with a clean style that should be easy to wolf down for the age group it’s intended for. It represents a good, fun meal for children while not being too directly preachy about its subject matter. What it isn’t is one of those children’s books that transcends the age divide. While perfectly edible by an older audience, it just doesn’t have the spice to catch and draw in like the best children’s literature can do.

I know that this is ending as a short review compared to my usual culinary reminisces, but Girl is a straight forward meal to approach. In summation, Girl of the Book is a solid, balanced children’s meal with an important message to deliver. I would definitely recommend it to children of the appropriate age group (early teens, possibly earlier based on reading level) for its message and solid writing, but there are superior reads for older teens and adults that explore the same messages of tolerance and cultural diversity.

FINAL VERDICT **** (A solid, balanced children’s meal with an important message to deliver!)
This is a book that really spoke to my philosophy from the opening quote by Kofi Annan

"We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human race."

It reminded me very much of the sense of community, despite menial and ultimately insignificant differences indicated by Carl Sagan (who I reference a lot)

"If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another."

Murrell's tale depicts childhood experiences in Saudi Arabia of "Cougar", a girl, no less, neatly contrasted to her prior 12 years of life in South Africa, where religion did not place conspicuous restrictions on behavior and appearance. The change in lifestyle is, as expected, rather jarring. She maintains the childhood perspective brilliantly and uses it to great effect in highlighting the comparative oddness of these restrictions and acclimating to the loss of freedoms once taken for granted (apologies for betraying my western bias and eastern cultural ignorance here), and the general difficulty a child faces when adjusting to life in a new place.

It's a story that has been told before, but not one I've read with such a stark change in cultural environment, and as such the story is unique and informative.

With so much hostility publicized between Christianity and Islam, it was refreshing to see both sides represented civilly, and while there was underlying tension (brought on by the paranoid concern that something bad was inevitable), it never materialized in a horrifying, newsworthy fashion. People are people, after all, and not everyone is a zealot. This story was a nice reminder that people from different cultures coexist and are respectful of one another on a daily basis. Non-hostile interactions have gone on between humans with different backgrounds for thousands of years, after all, frequently to the benefit of both--considering the father of the main character is offered a contract in Saudi Arabia that pays better than his regular income would seem to support this fact.

If anything, I consider this an alternate dimension of Beverly Cleary. Something along the lines of Ramona Goes to the Middle East.

It's possible this is an overly rosy depiction of the interaction between these two cultures, but at the same time I think it's important to show the relationship doesn't have to be utterly dysfunctional. I enjoyed the book and the experience of being put in a severely awkward situation that resolved itself well.

I couldn't attest to the accuracy of the depictions, but I felt convinced. I enjoyed reading about the idiosyncrasies of the Islamic culture of Saudi Arabia, of reading about the blacked out windows of residences and the disorientation and displacement in time that resulted, the awakening to the sound of a singing imam.

Murrell's writing style is not challenging, but that doesn't mean the book is not clever. She executes the stranger-in-a-strange-land tale to great and enjoyable effect, and submits subtle, sensible observations with unobtrusive gentleness.

"Beginnings are always difficult, and with time, you'll get used to everything that happens around here. Well... not exactly everything."

So if you want a pleasant, middle-grade introduction to the tenuous relationship between East and West, how members of the societies interact with one another and can intermingle without smashing foolishly together, don't start with Cable News (in fact, never start with cable news for anything), start here instead. You will be glad you did.
For a first book, I thought this was very good. An excellent idea to have the story told from differing view points. This is an excellent book to pair with any other story about prejudice, discrimination, etc. when it's based on race or religion. (A Long Walk to Water and Inside Out & Back Again both come to mind.)

It was interesting to me that there was no clear reason why some people were more tolerant of a white, Christian girl, while others weren't. At first I thought it would end up being male vs. female. But it wasn't.

It does kind of end abruptly--either a sequel, or, if the author doesn't want to devote that much time to the continuation of the story, at least an epilogue of how Courtney ended up dealing with life in this new country would be a great addition to this story.