Review by New York Times Review
AUTHORS OFTEN WEAVE immigrant narratives into tapestries of symbolic prose, metaphors for long lost homes and the strangeness of new cultures. For a young protagonist, like the teenage Priyanka of Nidhi Chanani's debut graphic novel, "Pashmina," the many layers of the newcomer's experience bring particular difficulties, fears and uncertainties. Following Pri as she explores her Hindu religion and her single mother's native country of India in search of identity and meaning, Chanani masterfully turns the complex immigrant narrative into a magical and captivating work of art. Priyanka finds solace in her talent for illustrating comics, and in an endearing father figure, Uncle Jatin. He is, for one thing, a much calmer, more trusting driving instructor than Pri's mother, who reminds her in the opening panels, "In India they don't allow girls to drive." Here is where Pri pulls from her inherited culture and reminds her mother that Shakti, "the goddess of energy and power," chooses to meditate on the word "om" instead of giving in to sadness. "It's a choice, mom! Choose to be calm," she explains. While these first pages are in black and white, Chanani switches to enchanting, colorful panels to depict Shakti as the goddess "becomes the ocean." As the book progresses, the panels featuring Pri's daily life as a high schooler - one who must pry into her own past by asking her mom questions about India and her estranged father - are rendered in black and white, while color fills the pages once again when Pri discovers a magical pashmina folded inside an old suitcase. Once she places it over her shoulders, she is transported to a land inhabited by a talking elephant, Kanta, and Mayur, a small blue bird, who proclaim, "We've been waiting for you." Pri discovers that this magical place is none other than India. A mysterious shadow lurks along the edges of these tender moments with Kanta and Mayur as Pri tours India's palaces. Before she can ask about it, the pashmina slips off and she is back in her black-and-white reality: not quite American, a social outcast among the cool girls at school, a self-doubting yet talented artist. The pashmina also comes with questions Pri needs answered: Did Uncle Jatin know her dad? Why doesn't her mother want to visit India? The magical pashmina serves also as a shroud for family secrets that have traveled across borders, seas and time. A new set of emotions begins to stir when Uncle Jatin becomes a father to a sickly infant and is less available. What has anchored Pri to her Indian identity is slipping away. She is left alone with her everintrusive mother, even as unanswered questions widen the chasm between them. Her mother begins to open up, albeit starting off with the truism, "It's harder to be a girl in India than you think." The pashmina continues to serve as a portal to the India of Pri's imagination, filled with palaces, tigers, coconut chutney and sitafal. But it is Pri's prayers to Shakti that create a more tangible path as this finely embroidered tale beautifully unfolds, much like the sacred pashmina. Every character, speech bubble, wordless panel and choice of color serves the story in meaningful ways. Chanani has created an immigrant narrative that is suitably complex, capable of grappling with identity, mythology and magic right alongside the practical choices girls and women face in cultures in which their oppression can be concealed by beautiful exteriors. IBI ZOBOI is the author of "American Street," a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 12, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
Priyanka is deeply curious about her mother's past in India, but she won't tell her daughter anything, not even Pri's father's name. Meanwhile, Pri finds a beautifully embroidered pashmina hidden in a closet, and when she puts it on, she's transported to a fantastical version of India, full of colorful scenes, magical creatures, and delicious food, which only amplifies her desire to visit the country. A family crisis causes her mother to reconsider her stance, and soon Pri embarks on the journey she's been dreaming about. Yet when she arrives in India, it's nothing like the visions the pashmina has offered, but tracking down the garment's origin helps illuminate both Pri's relationship to India and her better grasp of her mother's perspective. Chanani's stylized cartoons shift from a palette of gray, black, and white when depicting Pri's life in California to bold, vibrant color when the pashmina transports its wearer to a fantastical reality. Although some plot mechanics are a little murky, Chanani's debut is a lively, engaging exploration of culture, heritage, and self-discovery.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Priyanka is the teenage daughter of a single mother from Calcutta who won't answer her questions about why she came to the U.S. or who Priyanka's father is. "In India I would never talk this rude way to my mom," Priyanka's mother chastises. Mean girls make school rough; drawing is Priyanka's only solace. A silk pashmina in her mother's closet gives Priyanka the ability to see India, the homeland she's never visited, in sequences that explode with vibrant color, in contrast to the dark purples Chanani uses for Priyanki's everyday life. When she's finally able to travel there, her aunt answers the questions that have blighted Priyanka's relationship with her mother, and the pashmina gives her a mission. Newcomer Chanani's figures lean toward cuteness, softening the story's darker moments. Most impressive is the way Chanani keeps the story's distinct and fascinating plot elements spinning. One work can't represent a whole subcontinent, but readers will come away with a living sense of a small part of it-and characters to care about. Ages 10-14. Agent: Judith Hansen, Hansen Literary. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Priyanka is a teenage girl who loves to draw. Her mother emigrated from India years ago, leaving Pri's father behind. Pri is eager to learn about her father and her Indian heritage, but her mother refuses to discuss the subject. Then Pri finds an old pashmina in her mother's suitcase, and when she puts it on, she is magically transported to the India of her dreams. Pri is greeted by an elephant and a peacock, who offer to show her around the country. Though they provide some answers, they inspire even more questions, and Pri must figure out how and why reality and her dream world overlap. This heartwarming story about family problems and female empowerment will inspire readers to make their voices heard. Much of the artwork is reminiscent of the illustrations in Vera Brosgol's Anya's Ghost: black-and-white with clear thick lines. Whenever someone dons the pashmina, the pages are suddenly drenched in rich colors. VERDICT This dazzling blend of realistic fiction and fantasy is perfect for fans of characters who have to overcome obstacles on their way to growing up.-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this feminist graphic novel, a young woman searches for the truths of her past with the help of a long-lost aunt; Shakti, the Divine Mother Goddess; and a mysterious shawl. Indian-American teenager Priyanka "Pri" Das, a talented artist and a bit of a loner, wants to know both why her deeply religious mother left India for California so abruptly years ago and her father's whereabouts. But Pri's mother refuses to speak of India: "That subject is permanently closed." Soon, Pri discovers a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase in her Los Angeles home. When she wraps it around her shoulders, she is transported to an imagined, romanticized Indiaone as colorful as a Bollywood movie, in contrast to the black-and-white images of her everyday life. There, a talking elephant and bird introduce Pri (and readers) to the country's festivals, foods, and fashion, but Pri knows this isn't the "real" India. To find "her" India and uncover her mother's secrets, Pri will travel to the subcontinent, where she learns about women's choicesespecially her mother'sand living without fear. While the book covers well-worn territory about bicultural and immigrant conflicts, it also dramatically explores the ways women are constrained by patriarchy. Pri is the daughter of a single mother, a family structure rarely represented in young people's literature of the South Asian diaspora. An original graphic novel, the first written and illustrated by an Indian-American creator, this is both a needed contribution and a first-rate adventure tale. (Graphic novel. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
