Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani

Title: Pashmina
By: Nidhi Chanani
Published: 2017
Call #: JGraphic Chana. N

Pashmina is the first graphic novel wholly created (written and illustrated) by an Indian American. It is a beautiful feminist coming of age story about a teenager who learns about her mother’s difficult choices in India. Full of magical realism (the pashmina transports her in full color images to a legendary India), this story is also the first full length graphic novel Ms. Chanani has written, so not all the transitions, not all the narrative elements work perfectly. That said,  I LOVE that Priyanka comes to more deeply appreciate her mother and her mother country, India. I would highly recommend it to girls (and boys) 5th grade through high school — and to adults, too. Relatable, beautifully illustrated, touching on single parent families, self confidence, finding your voice, and being open to the nuances of other cultures, this is a great  book!

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