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Title details for Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman - Available

Climbing the Stairs

by Padma Venkatraman
Sumeet Bharati
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of going to college— an unusual aspiration for a girl living in British occupied India during World War II. Then tragedy strikes, and Vidya and her brother are forced to move into a traditional household with their extended family, where women are meant to be married, not educated. Breaking the rules, Vidya finds refuge in her grandfather’s library. But then her brother does something unthinkable, and Vidya’s life becomes a whirlwind of political and personal complications. The question is, will she be strong enough to survive?

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 16, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525627845
      • File size: 167921 KB
      • Duration: 05:49:50

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 750
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 28, 2008
      Venkatraman makes a memorable debut with this lushly evoked novel set in India during WWII. Fifteen-year-old Vidya is shocked and proud to learn that her appa
      (father), a compassionate doctor, has joined the “freedom fighters,” who follow Gandhi's example of nonviolent protest against British rule. But tragedy strikes: during a rally Vidya's father is beaten nearly to death and left with severe brain injury. Because he can no longer practice medicine, the family is forced to move in with relatives, who treat them as servants. The only bright moments of Vidya's days, otherwise spent under the thumb of her tyrannical aunt, come before dinner, when she is allowed to slip upstairs to the library and bury herself in books. More than a feisty Cinderella story (and yes, Vidya does find a prince), this novel vivifies a unique era and culture as it movingly expresses how love and hope can blossom even under the most dismal of circumstances. Ages 12–up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:750
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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