Status
Available
Publication
First Second (2017), 176 pages
Description
Indian-American teen, Priyanka "Pri" Das, attempts to reconnect with her mother's homeland through a magical pashmina shawl. Presented in comic book format. Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri's mom avoids these questions and the topic of India is permanently closed. For Pri, her mother's homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Carolibrarian
They say the grass is always greener on the other side...
When Pashmina puts on the shawl she finds hidden in the closet she is transformed to a beautiful India and wants to visit where she came from, everyone warns her it is not safe but she believes it will be just like her visions.
When her aunt
What she finds is a different India, with poverty and dirt. How could this be so different?
The shawl will not work for her in India, so her aunt helps her to find the story behind it.....
When Pashmina puts on the shawl she finds hidden in the closet she is transformed to a beautiful India and wants to visit where she came from, everyone warns her it is not safe but she believes it will be just like her visions.
When her aunt
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calls to say she is having a baby it is the perfect reason for Pashmina to visit. What she finds is a different India, with poverty and dirt. How could this be so different?
The shawl will not work for her in India, so her aunt helps her to find the story behind it.....
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LibraryThing member lindamamak
Graphic novel how a young girl tries to learn about her mother's life in India before moving to the United States.
LibraryThing member ecataldi
I'm glad to see more diversity in teen graphic novels and the illustrations bordered on manga style which may garner a wider teen audience. The story was pretty solid and discussed themes of cultural identity, women's rights, family issues, religion, and bullying. It is a perfect fit for teens
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trying to fit in and discover their place. Priyanka is a teenager with lots of questions, why does her mother hang out to their cultural identity, yet refuse to ever go back to India? Where is her father and better yet, who is he? Very well done. Show Less
LibraryThing member BillieBook
This book is just lovely—part fantasy, part heartfelt family story. Much like the movie version of The Wizard of Oz, the "real-world" sequences are in monochrome and the pashmina sequences are in full, saturated color. Not only is it physically beautiful, but it's emotionally beautiful as well.
My
My
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only quibble is that Priyanka seems more like a young teen than the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old she's supposed to be. On the plus side, that makes the work suitable for and appealing to a younger reader than it might otherwise. Show Less
LibraryThing member Calavari
My first Read Harder 2018 book! This was my choice for task #8, a comic written or illustrated by a person of color. Though I try to read about other cultures, I do have a tendency to get the terms for things mixed up. I do this with my own mix of Cuban and American things, routinely forgetting
I had originally expected pashmina to be the name of our protagonist, which is actually Priyanka. She's an Indian-American teenager plagued by not quite knowing her whole story and feeling incomplete on account of it. She has a mysterious father that her mom won't tell her about, nor will she do anything to promote Priyanka's image of India. She has an uncle and aunt that she loves but is selfish with them. And then Priyanka finds the pashmina.
First of all, I love the art. The comic itself is primarily in black and white. Color comes in at special moments and in special places and offers this ethereal feeling that plays perfectly into the plot of the story.
The story itself follows a fairly typical coming-of-age narrative where the protagonist has something missing and must go in search of it, without her normal comforts of home. I adore the way the story affects more than just the protagonist too. Once I got to the end, I was smitten with not only Priyanka's journey but with Shakti as well. The concept of the pashmina is wonderful. I wish it were real.
I also loved the inclusion of all the Indian foods they ate, terms for things and the glossary in the back. It's often a sign to me of things not actually written in Miami when writers miss the little things, like Vicky Bakery or Cuban coffee or the absolute density of Hispanic people of many backgrounds in Miami. It's also in all those words that are better in Spanish than English or at least more precise and that no one uses the English word for down there. I imagine that Chanani included the terms that felt natural to her and the characters ate typical foods for first or second generation Americans. I know I eat a lot of Cuban food whenever I can, but my son hasn't quite found a fondness yet, while other family members never stray from a more Cuban diet.
Altogether, I really enjoyed the comic! It had a solid message and I hope more people find it. I know it was on several other lists for this year's Read Harder Challenge, so I'm sure it's going to be a popular comic for a while.
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what my mom calls some things in Spanish while others are burned into my brain. That said, I had forgotten that a pashmina is kind of scarf. Okay, that's not really what the word means, but google pashmina and you'll find cashmere scarves. The word itself is a derivative of the Persian word for wool according to a few websites. In the story, it's a specific wrap, the one wrapped around our protagonist on the cover.I had originally expected pashmina to be the name of our protagonist, which is actually Priyanka. She's an Indian-American teenager plagued by not quite knowing her whole story and feeling incomplete on account of it. She has a mysterious father that her mom won't tell her about, nor will she do anything to promote Priyanka's image of India. She has an uncle and aunt that she loves but is selfish with them. And then Priyanka finds the pashmina.
First of all, I love the art. The comic itself is primarily in black and white. Color comes in at special moments and in special places and offers this ethereal feeling that plays perfectly into the plot of the story.
The story itself follows a fairly typical coming-of-age narrative where the protagonist has something missing and must go in search of it, without her normal comforts of home. I adore the way the story affects more than just the protagonist too. Once I got to the end, I was smitten with not only Priyanka's journey but with Shakti as well. The concept of the pashmina is wonderful. I wish it were real.
I also loved the inclusion of all the Indian foods they ate, terms for things and the glossary in the back. It's often a sign to me of things not actually written in Miami when writers miss the little things, like Vicky Bakery or Cuban coffee or the absolute density of Hispanic people of many backgrounds in Miami. It's also in all those words that are better in Spanish than English or at least more precise and that no one uses the English word for down there. I imagine that Chanani included the terms that felt natural to her and the characters ate typical foods for first or second generation Americans. I know I eat a lot of Cuban food whenever I can, but my son hasn't quite found a fondness yet, while other family members never stray from a more Cuban diet.
Altogether, I really enjoyed the comic! It had a solid message and I hope more people find it. I know it was on several other lists for this year's Read Harder Challenge, so I'm sure it's going to be a popular comic for a while.
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LibraryThing member lycomayflower
This YA graphic novel follows teenager Priyanka Das as she tries to discover who her father was, why her mother left India, and who Priyanka wants to be. A magical shawl figures into all this in a most excellent and intriguing way. The art is nice and comes particularly alive in the full-color
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sequences involving the shawl. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member villemezbrown
This book did nothing for me. I did not care about the bratty teen protagonist, and I would much rather have seen either the mother's or aunt's story brought to the center of the book. I intensely dislike dream sequences, and most of the color fantasy sequences smacked of useless dream sequences to
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me. The tiny little glossary in the back barely scratched the surface of the questions I had about the terminology, concepts and cultural points of view presented in the book. Perhaps I didn't fully understand what I was reading or I was not the intended audience. Regardless, I made no connection with the material. Show Less
LibraryThing member emeraldreverie
Beautiful story that I want to read again immediately. Art is gorgeous with some lush colors. Characters are endearing and believable. Really top notch comic.
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
Teen-aged Priyanka loves making comics and spending time with her extended 'family' (an uncle and aunt who are actually just friends of her mother. The latter is threatened by the arrival of a new baby in the family. Meanwhile, Priyanka is determined to learn more about the father she never knew as
There were a lot of things I liked about this book, including the gorgeous artwork that alternates between black-and-white, sepia, and full color, depending on what part of the story is being told. I also loved the magical realism, the relationship between the various family members, the subtle message about the rights and choices of women being respected, and the meta-references to the art of making comics. Where I thought the book faltered a little was on expanding some of these themes. Overall though, I was impressed by the author's first foray into graphic novels. My one big quibble is that Priyanka seems to have romantic feelings for one of her teachers, which was inappropriate and unnecessary to the rest of the story being told.
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well as about her mother's past life in India, despite years of her mother staying mum on those two subjects. One day, Priyanka comes across a suitcase full of her mother's old things, including a pashmina scarf. Whenever Priyanka dons the scarf, she is transported to India -- but is this what India is really like?There were a lot of things I liked about this book, including the gorgeous artwork that alternates between black-and-white, sepia, and full color, depending on what part of the story is being told. I also loved the magical realism, the relationship between the various family members, the subtle message about the rights and choices of women being respected, and the meta-references to the art of making comics. Where I thought the book faltered a little was on expanding some of these themes. Overall though, I was impressed by the author's first foray into graphic novels. My one big quibble is that Priyanka seems to have romantic feelings for one of her teachers, which was inappropriate and unnecessary to the rest of the story being told.
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LibraryThing member lilibrarian
Priyanka doesn't want her life to change, but it does. She wants to know about her mother's life in India and about her father. She finds a magic shawl that seems to show here the beauty of India. Finally, she travels there to stay with her aunt and learns about her family.
LibraryThing member untitled841
Beautiful middle grade graphic novel. Where Priyanka pushes to learn about her family in India.
LibraryThing member livingtech
I loved this.
LibraryThing member JulesGDSide
Wonderful YA graphic novel about a young Indian-American girl trying to find out about her heritage.
Especially the coloured pictures of India are wonderful.
Especially the coloured pictures of India are wonderful.
LibraryThing member reader1009
children's middlegrade graphic novel (Indian immigrant family, teen daughter wants to go back to her roots; magical realism). The illustrations are gorgeous and the message is good (new perspectives are always appreciated)--the plot is just okay.
LibraryThing member RandyMorgan
In a long forgotten suitcase Mom’s old pashmina is tucked away. Determined to be seen, the pashmina moved itself and the suitcase right into Pri’s path. Several times! Once discovered, the pashmina transported Pri to her mother’s native land, India. Pri had to experience India for herself.
Nidhi Chanani wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Pashmina. This heartwarming tail demonstrates the struggles experienced by immigrants and their children. Nidhi does a majority of her work in a monoclonal scale. When illustrations are in full color it creates a lot of stimulation. Pashmina is a lighthearted family tale for any day and all ages.
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Taking her farther than ever before to meet extended family and discover the real India. Nidhi Chanani wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Pashmina. This heartwarming tail demonstrates the struggles experienced by immigrants and their children. Nidhi does a majority of her work in a monoclonal scale. When illustrations are in full color it creates a lot of stimulation. Pashmina is a lighthearted family tale for any day and all ages.
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LibraryThing member caedocyon
I liked the elements, but Pashmina doesn't quite manage to hang together, for me. The plot keeps darting in different directions, each of which could be the basis for an entire book (the ill-advised prayer which might have come true? mysterious family stuff? the difference between how you imagine a A god shows up and tells you it's OK, the baby is going to be fine. You solved half the mysterious family stuff, but what is up with your aunt and uncle's relationship? The scarf is powerful because it shows women their options, and that's the thing that matters most!/Except how you imagine things is always different from how they are, and understanding the difference between fantasy and reality is what matters most! Yup straight up magic and ghosts all of a sudden at the end. )
The strongest thread is the one about the twin experiences of being an immigrant and being a child of the diaspora: colorful dreams that reality can't quite live up to, while also trying to distance yourself from the thing that wants to define you. That thread is enough to carry the book, you just have to live with the loose ends.
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place and reality? straight up magic?), and then doesn't have time to resolve any of them satisfyingly. (The strongest thread is the one about the twin experiences of being an immigrant and being a child of the diaspora: colorful dreams that reality can't quite live up to, while also trying to distance yourself from the thing that wants to define you. That thread is enough to carry the book, you just have to live with the loose ends.
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Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Children's Literature — 2018)
Blue Hen Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — 2019)
Golden Poppy Book Award (Winner — Middle Grade — 2017)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — Middle School — 2020)
South Asia Book Award (Honorable Mention — Young Readers — 2018)
Isinglass Teen Read Award (Nominee — 2020)
Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List (Selection — 2017)
Three Stars Book Award (Nominee — Middle Readers — 2019)
VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award (Winner — Youth — 2017)
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Book (Junior — 2018)
Nerdy Book Award (Graphic Novels — 2017)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2019)
Great Graphic Novels for Teens (Top Ten — 2018)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Fiction for Older Readers — 2017)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017-10-03
Physical description
8.83 inches
ISBN
1626720886 / 9781626720886