Pashmina (edition 2017)

Beautiful middle grade graphic novel. Where Priyanka pushes to learn about her family in India. ( )

Priyanka doesn't want her life to change, but it does. She wants to know about her mother's life in India and about her father. She finds a magic shawl that seems to show here the beauty of India. Finally, she travels there to stay with her aunt and learns about her family. ( )

Teen-aged Priyanka loves making comics and spending time with her extended 'family' (an uncle and aunt who are actually just friends of her mother. The latter is threatened by the arrival of a new baby in the family. Meanwhile, Priyanka is determined to learn more about the father she never knew as well as about her mother's past life in India, despite years of her mother staying mum on those two subjects. One day, Priyanka comes across a suitcase full of her mother's old things, including a pashmina scarf. Whenever Priyanka dons the scarf, she is transported to India -- but is this what India is really like?

There were a lot of things I liked about this book, including the gorgeous artwork that alternates between black-and-white, sepia, and full color, depending on what part of the story is being told. I also loved the magical realism, the relationship between the various family members, the subtle message about the rights and choices of women being respected, and the meta-references to the art of making comics. Where I thought the book faltered a little was on expanding some of these themes. Overall though, I was impressed by the author's first foray into graphic novels. My one big quibble is that Priyanka seems to have romantic feelings for one of her teachers, which was inappropriate and unnecessary to the rest of the story being told. ( )

Wonderful YA graphic novel about a young Indian-American girl trying to find out about her heritage.

Especially the coloured pictures of India are wonderful. ( )

Beautiful story that I want to read again immediately. Art is gorgeous with some lush colors. Characters are endearing and believable. Really top notch comic. ( )