Review: A Chera Adventure (Girls of India Series)
Author: Preetha Leela Chockalingam
Illustrator: Rabia Ozyurt
Publisher: Puffin
Type: Paperback
Pages: 224
Age Group: 9 years +
Disclaimer: We got this book as part of #kbcReviewerSquad and we feel happy and privileged to be part of it as we are free to have our opinions and give an honest review of the book. Posting this review on behalf of my 10 year old daughter, Miss. M.
This book is a fictional adventure book set in the backdrop of the Chera Empire (now, Kerala). You get the feel of it right from the aptly illustrated cover page by Rabia Ozyurt.
The story is about a girl named Sharadha and her adventure. She is a curious girl and always has lots of questions to ask. Sharadha along with her mother, cousins, aunts and grandmother, all live in their ancestral home named Vishwasam (meaning faith). It is located in a calm and serene village called Marayur.
Sharadha’s grandmother, Devaki Amma, was fond of all the grandchildren despite being strict. She was a healer and made medicinal concoctions from the herbs available in her surroundings. She was respected a lot by the royal family. She never allowed her grandchildren to venture out of Vishwasam as they lived on the borders of a forest.
The children were allowed to play only under adult supervision. This always made Sharadha wonder what lay outside the premises of Vishwasam. She always felt curious and dreamt of the city lifestyle.
One day, in an unexpected turn of events, Sharadha gets lost and ends up in the city of Mahodayapuram where she finds a young girl of her age named Ruthie.
While Sharadha felt excited to get to know the city life walking in the streets of Mahodayapuram, a crisis baffles her. The Chola Empire wages war all of a sudden. Will everyone survive? Will Sharadha be able to reunite with her mother? Read the book to find out more!
This book gave me a picture of Kerala’s culture, cuisine, architecture and language. The author’s notes at the end of the book are more useful to understand the culture better. Reading about the matriarch family structure of the Nairs amazed me. I couldn’t believe there weren’t any adult male members in the Vishwasam.
Also, I loved the way Sharadha and Ruthie gelled with each other despite their difference in culture, dressing style, accents, etc.
The black and white sketches by the illustrator Rabia, aptly portray the Chera period. The story comes alive with them.
If you want to walk into the past and feel the Chera culture without moving an inch, then grab this book soon.
(P.S. What I liked about Sharadha was she was as curious as me and was brave too. It made me feel as if I was Sharadha and it was me who was into this brave adventure!!!! Hahahahahaha!!!)
A Chera Adventure is a part of the Girls of India Series.
If you enjoyed this review and wish to set off on an adventure too, you can buy the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),
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