Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 03/10/2025 As the only girl in her wealthy family, 11-year-old Zarina feels as if she leads a charmed life in 1947 Poona, India-until Zarina and her Muslim family flee from India to the newly formed Muslim country of Pakistan. Zarina witnesses incidents of violence and turbulence between Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus as she travels from Poona to Karachi, and the trip proves traumatic and dangerous, especially for her pregnant mother. Disenchanted with her new home, Zarina becomes inspired when her brothers leave for boarding school. Despite her mother’s protests, Zarina pressures her parents to send her to boarding school as well. While attending a religious academy run by a British administration, Zarina blossoms. Faruqi (The House Without Lights) draws on her grandmother’s experiences during the partition of India, as addressed in an author’s note, to sensitively conjure a touching tale of loss and change. Depictions of frightening violence and genuine acts of kindness are balanced via deliberate verse that eschews judgment and compassionately showcases how societal perceptions of religious differences can impact relationships. It’s a simultaneously gentle and gripping story led by a strong-willed protagonist eager to advocate for herself in a changing world. Ages 8-12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (May) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 06/20/2025 Gr 4 Up—Zarina, an 11-year-old Muslim girl, is forced to move from India to the newly formed country of Pakistan during the Partition of India in 1947. Based in part on the life of the author's grandmother, the story shows that Zarina lives a comfortable life in India with her parents and four brothers, in a large house with several servants. Her father is an official in the Muslim League, active in politics. When tensions arise between Hindus and Muslims at the end of British rule, the family is forced to flee their home and take a perilous journey by train and boat to the city of Karachi in Pakistan, where they eventually settle. Told in verse, Faruqi's novel skillfully weaves history with personal narrative, creating a potent first-person view of the violence and chaos of the time from a young person's perspective. The book is divided into short sections rather than chapters, and text occasionally stretches across the page to add emphasis. Zarina's eventual happy time spent at a girls' boarding school in the mountains of Pakistan takes up a lot of the narrative but nonetheless focuses on how she and her classmates learn to live peacefully together despite their different backgrounds. Included are a glossary, author's note, photographs, and a map of Zarina's journey. VERDICT A recommended purchase that adds to the growing—and needed—number of stories about this time period.—Sue Morgan - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.