Synopses & Reviews
Leaving Home...forever.
Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly is getting married. When she discovers that the husband her parents have chosen for her is sickly boy with wicked parents, Koly wishes she could flee. According to tradition, though, she has no choice. On her wedding day, Koly's fate is sealed.
In the wake of her marriage, however, Koly's life takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself alone in a strange city of white-sari-clad windows. Her only choice seems to be to shed her name and her future and join the hopeless hordes who chant for food.
Even then, cast out in a current of time-worn tradition, this rare young woman sets out to forge her own exceptional future. And a life, like a beautiful tapestry, comes together for Koly-- one stitch at a time.
Books for the Teen Age 2001 (NYPL) and 2000 National Book Award Winner
About the Author
Gloria Whelan is a distinguished poet and award-winning author. She has written many books for young readers, including
Homeless Bird, winner of the National Book Award;
Angel on the Square; Return To the Island; Once on this Island, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award;
Farewell To the Island; Miranda's Last Stand; and
The Indian School Ms. Whelan lives with her husband, Joseph, in the woods of northern Michigan.