Josanne La Valley

Mehrigul is fourteen. She lives with her family on a farm in Uyghur (pronounced We-gur) , the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. They eke out a living by selling what they grow in the weekly market. When an American lady comes to the market and buys a basket she had made for herself, Mehrigul begins to dream about a different life.

The trials Mehrigul encounters and her relationships with her grandfather and sister, in particular, are poignantly told. Young people in the western world will be introduced to a new culture. But adults will also enjoy this story. All readers will laugh and weep with Mehrigul, as I did.… (mais)

Mehrigul is a 14-yr old in East Turkestan who lives on her family's farm near a small village between desert and mountain. Her brother's recent departure (to avoid capture by the ruling Chinese) has affected all her family, exacerbating the difficulty of life already made hard by land seizures of the Chinese. Her mother is depressed, her father is turning to drink and gambling, and Mehrigul becomes burdened by responsibilities which keep her from school. Mehrigul doesn't think much about politics, however, and the story focuses on following her thoughts and feelings as she goes about her daily work. We see the strength of her inner spirit as she struggles to let it bloom in a situation which expects more humility and unchallenged obedience. She is very perceptive about her father's moods, she fosters a love of learning in her younger sister and supports her innocent joy, she confides in her grandfather and lovingly assists him.
An excellent book for middle to older children (or adults, especially those who are craft workers or interested in other cultures). Provides an insight into another culture without using too many unfamiliar terms, often simply by the choice of phrasing. E.g. in the evening Mehrigul notices "The sun had already joined the earth."
What I loved: the unobtrusive depiction of learning to access her intuition to create new beauty.
What bothered me: nothing--the entire book was worth the read. My review doesn't really reflect the storyline as much as my interpretation of the underlying issues.… (mais)

This was a great eye opener albeit a sad read on what’s going on with the Uyghur and how they’re being treated by the Chinese government. They’re not a very well known group of people and after finishing this book it’s an eye opening experience.

Throughout the novel you follow the narrative of Roshen, who’s left her family behind and a potential fiance to work in a factory. As a reader you already have an idea on how this is going to go as factories over there are usually sweatshops with grueling horrifying conditions. What I was not expecting, and because I didn’t know much of these peoples is they’re on the bottom rung of the ladder everywhere they go. Since they don’t look like your average Chinese, they stick out as a visible minority and because their beliefs are very much different, they get treated horribly and are pretty much slaves.

You follow Roshen and a group of Uyghur girls as they toil through the factory under horrible conditions. You can feel their fear and mistrust, even amongst themselves because anyone can become an informant. What I was not prepared for, was for Hawa’s character. You already had an assumption about her because of her behavior but when she does something completely unspeakable on behalf of Roshen it was a complete blindside. The negative feelings you had towards Hawa disappears completely and is replaced with a kind of respect for what she went through.

Definitely recommended to read. It’s horrifying what these families and girls go through, and awareness is key.… (mais)