Is it the same for you?
What a unique title it is. We can relate it to our own lives. But what is the same thing the author wants to talk about?
These were some things racing through my mind when I first picked up this book.
This book is written by Neha Singh who has been commended for her work and also awarded the South Asia Book Award. This book is filled with powerful & heart touching illustrations by Priya Sebastian. The book is published by Seagull Books
The story begins with a young girl in Kashmir and how growing up in a conflict ridden zone has made her adolescence period tougher and desolate . The issues of terrorism, violence & death are all around her while she tries to deal with her changing body.
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During our adolescence, hardships are not easy to tackle. Our physical & mental health begins to develop and a lot of questions pop up in our mind.But going through all this, the protagonist of the story asks us, “is it the same for you?” Reading this book I realised that young girls in conflict zones perhaps face so much more than we will ever know.
What do you feel when childhood ends and the reality of beginning where you are hits you on the head?
When I first read the book , I found it mediocre but despite that , the illustration caught my attention . Recently, when I read this book again I was surprised to see how much I felt connected with the book. We all deal with pain & trauma and always light the flame of hope and love inside us, just like the girl in the story.
The complex feelings are expressed in such a great way that no matter how many times you read it you always find a new and different feeling in the story.I liked that the author has left it to us to imagine and complete the situation with each turn of the page . I loved the book and now I have grown much more curious about the actual situation of the unknown territory of Kashmir .
The second or third time I read it, I read this with my mother. At the end of the book, I was close to tears. Reading with her, I also got to know a few experiences of her life that might have been impossible to know , if I hadn’t read the book with her .
I feel so blessed and grateful that I was born in a society where we are safe and sound, today.
Reviewed by Parita Gosar | Std. 10