Climbing the Stairs

I'd forgotten how amazing reading is. 

Seriously, lately I've had legit no time at all to do much reading. When I did find time, I would be rereading books because I have no time to go to the library. 

As I mentioned previously, I found the book Climbing the Stairs on my bed (and I suspect my amazing grandmother had left it there for me x). I couldn't put it down. 

So, let's do a quick review: 

Synopsis: 

Fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of going to college, an unusual proposition for a girl living in British-occupied India during World War II. When tragedy strikes, Vidya and her brother, Kitta, are forced to move into a traditional household with their grandfather and their extended family, where men live separately upstairs and the women who live below are meant to be married, not educated. 

Breaking the rules, Vidya finds refuge in her grandfather's second-floor library. There she meets Raman, a young man also living in the house. Surprisingly, he treats her like an equal and encourages her intellectual curiosity. But soon it's clear that Raman wants more that just friendship, and when Kitta makes a shocking choice the family cannot condone, Vidya's life becomes a whirlwind of personal and political complications. Will she be strong enough to survive the storm? 

So many different parts in this book made me want to cry and scream and laugh. It took me about three or four school days to read this, and each night, I would be up reading until I was the last one awake in my house. (yes, I was rather tired at school the next day, but it was so worth it!!) It was so easy to fall in love with these characters, I felt like dying when something horrible happened. (I'm  trying to avoid spoilers) 

The author paints such a beautiful picture with the emotions, the scenery, the characters, and the plot. Some parts were a little... sketchy, but overall, I loved this book. I wouldn't really recommend it to boys, there are some parts that they wouldn't really enjoy. But for a girl, a young teenage girl especially, this book is a plane ticket to a whole other world. It's so interesting, seeing this different kind of lifestyle that they have where the men live upstairs and only make contact with the women at meals. And even then, the women are meant to serve the men and eat when they have finished. 

Overall, this book was amazing and got me back into reading. Now I'm in a mood where I wont read unless it's something I haven't read before. I'm half-way through my next book, but I'll save that for another time. 

Score: 
4.5 out of 5 stars 

Okay, I am exhausted from a party last night and from stressing about this science project, so I'm going to sign off now and find a way to stay awake a little while longer. 
--Abby