Girl of the Southern Sea
by Michelle Kadarusman
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Pub Date May 02 2019 | Archive Date Dec 06 2019
Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC | Pajama Press
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Description
From Governor General’s Literary Award finalist Michelle Kadarusman, an empowering novel about a girl from the slums of Jakarta who dreams of an education and the chance at a better life
From the time she was a little girl, Nia has dreamed up adventures about the Javanese mythical princess, Dewi Kadita. Now fourteen, Nia would love nothing more than to continue her education and become a writer. But high school costs too much. Her father sells banana fritters at the train station, but too much of his earnings go toward his drinking habit. Too often Nia is left alone to take over the food cart as well as care for her brother and their home in the Jakarta slums.
But Nia is determined to find a way to earn her school fees. After she survives a minibus accident unharmed and the locals say she is blessed with 'good luck magic,' Nia exploits the notion for all its worth by charging double for her fried bananas. Selling superstitions can be dangerous, and when the tide turns it becomes clear that Nia’s future is being mapped without her consent.
If Nia is to write a new story for herself, she must overcome more obstacles than she could ever have conceived of for her mythical princess, and summon courage she isn't sure she has.
A portion of the proceeds from this #ownvoices story are in support of Plan International Canada Because I Am A Girl
A Note From the Publisher
2019 Northern Lights Book Award: Pre-Teen Cultural Winner
2019 Junior Library Guild selection
2019 Governor General's Literary Award: Young People's Literature - Text Finalist
2019 Northern Lights Book Award: Pre-Teen Cultural Winner
2019 Junior Library Guild selection
Advance Praise
(Grades 4-7) In this contemporary tale set in the slums of Jakarta, Indonesia, a talented girl resolves to become a writer in spite of poverty, her father's alcoholism, and grief over her mother's death. Nia's dreams of pursuing higher education are put on hold when she has to take over her father's fried banana cart because he squanders his earnings on alcohol instead of feeding Nia and her younger brother. When she survives a minibus crash, the community believes that Nia has miraculous abilities, which she is influenced to use to her advantage. In spare and elegant prose, Kadarusman weaves a quiet tale of survival, grit, and integrity. As Nia struggles to decide between right and wrong, she also takes care of her sibling, confronts the male figures in her life, and builds supportive relationships with female characters. Peppered throughout are stories that Nia crafts, based on Indonesian legends about the princess of the Southern Sea. With nuanced characters, this is a lovely gem for fans of irrepressible girls and contemporary stories set outside of the U.S.--Booklist
Featured Reviews
Cheriee W, Reviewer
Nia is a compelling character from the Jakarta slums. Her story provides a window for better off readers helping them understand what it means to live in abject poverty. All Nia really wants to do is go back to school, but students in Jakarta have to pay to go to high school. Unfortunately, her irresponsible father drinks their money away, often even the rent funds. Nia has to work in the family's fried banana stand to support her younger brother. She never stops writing and telling stories of the Javanese mythical princess, Dewi Kadita.
catherine h, Reviewer
This book appealed to me as it reminded me of Everlasting Nora, a similar sort of story. I enjoyed this story just as well and can't recommend it enough as a book to both older children (think 6th grade up) and teens. I have recommended it to friends. It's a hard scrabble life for Nia who dreams of being a writer, but so many obstacles are in her way- a father who's a drunk, a younger brother, poverty....You find your self rooting for Nia immediatly. I just wanted to see her beat the odds so badly. I love underdog tales-so inspirational.
Leigh S, Educator
I received this from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.
Nia is a wonderful character living in poverty in Indonesia. Her alcoholic father sells her family's banana fritters at a cart in the local market, but he is unreliable at best, and it is fourteen year old Nia who is left to run the household and care for her younger brother. Her dream is to go to high school so that she can become a famous writer, but it is a goal that doesn't seem to be attainable in her given circumstances. When it is most needed, she finds help from the unlikeliest of friends.
Laurie E, Librarian
Could you imagine having your life mapped out for you and you have no control over it? Nia's life is spiraling out of control, she is forced to live a life she doesn't want, and decisions are being made for her. At age fourteen, Nia has had to grow up way too fast. Her mother passed away just after giving birth to Nia's little brother. Nia's father has never recovered from her death and he spends most of his time and their money drinking. Nia has had to raise her little brother all by herself in the slums of Jakarta. Nia is extremely smart and wants to become a writer but those dreams seem to be as far away as the ocean is deep. In Jakarta your schooling is free until you reach high school, then you have to pay to go to school, and Nia doesn't have the money for that. Nia and her dad run a fried banana cart and what little money they make goes to rent the shack they live in, meager groceries, and mostly to her father's alcohol. Nia wants to write her own story but things go from bad to worse when she survives a minibus accident. She is the only one who survives so people now think that she is "magic". She exploits this by doubling the price of her fried bananas, but her "good luck" runs out quickly and she seems to lose everything. Her father leaves her and her brother alone, an angry mob attacks her when her "magic" runs out, and her father has promised her hand in marriage to a man she refuses to marry. Can Nia turn her life around or will she be stuck in the slums forever? Will Nia's father ever come back to help her or will she be forced to marry a man just because her father promised? Will Nia ever be able to attend high school and become a writer telling all of the stories her mother used to tell her about the Queen of the Southern Sea? Read this incredible story to find out the answers to these questions and so much more!!
This story is so full of sadness, loss, bitterness, and heartbreak but it is also so full of love, friendship, hope and determination! Nia is an inspiration to me because she has been dealt such a bad hand in life but she is intent on making a better life for herself. I am so naive when it comes to how people live outside of my little bubble in this world and it breaks my heart to know that people truly live like this. It also saddens me to know that there are girls today who do not have a choice about what they do or who they marry. This is why I commend Michelle Kadarusman for donating a portion of the book's proceeds to Plan International Canada's #BecauseIAmaGirl campaign. This is a book that needs to be in every library and every classroom around the world! Let's make a change!!!
Educator 251522
Thank you NetGalley and Pajama Press for the advanced copy. This was a beautiful glimpse into the slums of Jakarta where we meet Nia, who dreams of going to high school. Unfortunately, her life keeps changing in ways she never expected and now her future is also being decided for her. She has the choice to just accept her new fate or to fight for her dream of going to high school. Fortunately, Nia chooses to fight for her future and her family.
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