 | Bit of Earth Author: Riazi, Karuna | |
| Price: $23.98 | ||
Summary:
Growing up in Pakistan, Maria Latif has been bounced between reluctant relatives for as long as she can remember. Maria has always been a difficult child, and it never takes long for her guardians to tire of her. So when old friends of her parents offer to "give her a better life" in the America, Maria is shipped to a host family across the world.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (02/01/23)
School Library Journal (+) (00/03/23)
Booklist (02/15/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/01/2023 A Bit of Earth is a contemporary, multicultural rendition of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel, The Secret Garden. It takes place in Long Island, New York, and features a cranky Maria Latif, newly exiled from Pakistan and Bangladesh, as the protagonist. Like Mary Lennox, Maria is grappling with the twin traumas of being orphaned and displaced and finds respite in a garden and an unexpected connection with a peer. Riazi flavors her rendition with heavy doses of cultural references, nostalgic trappings of the people and practices that Maria left behind and then learns anew in the Bangladeshi diaspora on Long Island. Despite some narrative gaps and incongruities, A Bit of Earth sustains credibility in plot and character. A nice difference from The Secret Garden is the presence of a larger sense of community and adults who are held accountable for their actions. Mary had Colin and Ben (and the robin), but Maria gains quite a gaggle of friends and family. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
Booklist - 02/15/2023 A Bit of Earth is a contemporary, multicultural rendition of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel, The Secret Garden. It takes place in Long Island, New York, and features a cranky Maria Latif, newly exiled from Pakistan and Bangladesh, as the protagonist. Like Mary Lennox, Maria is grappling with the twin traumas of being orphaned and displaced and finds respite in a garden and an unexpected connection with a peer. Riazi flavors her rendition with heavy doses of cultural references, nostalgic trappings of the people and practices that Maria left behind and then learns anew in the Bangladeshi diaspora on Long Island. Despite some narrative gaps and incongruities, A Bit of Earth sustains credibility in plot and character. A nice difference from The Secret Garden is the presence of a larger sense of community and adults who are held accountable for their actions. Mary had Colin and Ben (and the robin), but Maria gains quite a gaggle of friends and family. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
