| Title | : | Monsoon Summer |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1416900950 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781416900955 |
| Format Type | : | Unknown Binding |
| Number of Pages | : | 257 |
| Publication | : | First published August 10, 2004 |
| Awards | : | Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2007) |
Monsoon Summer Reviews
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Okay, so this book was half good, and half really annoying, but the really annoying parts REALLY irritated me. Here's my problem: if you're going to make a teenage girl be completely insecure, you have to give her an actual reason why. You can't make her have awesome parents, a great little brother, a really nice male best friend (who is obviously in love with her), be really good in school, a great athlete, and tall and with a great figure, and have her be super insecure about herself without some sort of trigger. Every time she started off on how she hates her body because she's SO TALL, I wanted to punch her. Every time she did the "she said that I was beautiful, which was obviously a lie" I rolled my eyes. By the third time she was obsessing about her best friend and how he was OBVIOUSLY out of her league, I couldn't take it anymore. And to add insult to injury, her name was Jasmine!
However, I liked a lot about this book that was about her and her family going to India for the first time, and about her mother seeing where she grew up, and Jazz learning to cook (obviously I would like that part), etc. I just wish that good stuff had been enough for me to get over the stuff that drove me insane. -
"Monsoon Summer" took me by surprise and blew me away with it's emotional depth, rich character development and complex layers. Set in modern-day India, fifteen year-old Jasmine Gardner (from Berkeley, CA) and her family spend a summer abroad in the village where the protagonist's mother was born and adopted. Poor villagers and rich industrialists share the same locale, poignantly showing teenage "Jazz" utter poverty and modern city life juxtaposed at the orphanage and her private school for girls. Perkins conveyed the wonderful truth that it is in giving to others that we receive our gifts. She did so without being preachy or condescending or regrettably obvious. She built a wonderful tale around the imperfect but sincere family who follows in faith to support their mother's convictions and dreams. Each member of the family finds their strength by embracing the needs of the people of the region. In turn, this helps them find and embrace their talents and discover for themselves who they are - and a glorious version of what they can become.
For a teenage girl, this is an especially important read, as the novel easily reveals how damaging it can be to see oneself through the negative comments of peers. The novel deftly navigates the feelings of female teen insecurity about body image and emotional maturation, initially giving the reader a herione strong in friendship, business sense and personal character, but equally strong in self-doubt. Over the course of the summer, within the context of friendship with Danita, a teen girl from the orphanage, she learns to appreciate all the strengths she has to offer, while learning to like herself. Not only is this a personal revelation, she is able to healthily adjust to her changing feelings toward her long-time male friend and business partner, Steve, as it's blossoming into real love. Steve shares the same feelings of love, and, after hiding them for years, get to express them when given the chance. Every teen, male or female, should have an opportunity to read this book.
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Mitali Perkins is an unsung author in the YA lit world. Monsoon Summer was my first experience reading her work, and after reading this book, I am convinced that her books need to be marketed more. Her goal is to make multicultural literature available, enjoyable, and accessible to young readers, and I'd say she succeeds on all accounts with this beautiful work of multicultural, modern-day fiction.
When Jasmine "Jazz" Gardener learns that she'll be spending the entire summer in India with her family, she is less than thrilled at the idea. Her mother, the exuberant do-gooder, wants to return to the orphanage where she was adopted to help set up a clinic for the poverty-stricken women and children in the area. Jazz, who still can't shake her own charitable failures, decides to stay as far away from the orphanage as possible. This plan backfires when she meets Danita, the young girl the Gardeners have hired to cook for the family during their stay. Danita has a dilemma that only Jazz can help her resolve, and she slowly begins to let herself be open to the beautiful people who are a part of the Asha Bari orphanage.
Despite the fact that the plot is predictable, there is so much more to love about the book than knowing what will happen next. The writing is full of so much sensory language that you can feel the rain falling on you, can taste the tantalizing flavors of the Indian cuisine, and you can feel the warmth of the people. It's a book that makes you realize, if you hadn't before, that despite the abject poverty, so much of India's beauty is its people.
The last few chapters of the book had me smiling, laughing, and crying all at the same time. This is the perfect summer read. -
3.5 stars, really--I liked the cultural details & appreciation, but it was hard for me to take Jasmine's crush seriously. Fourteen is a little young, folks. But Mitali Perkins always does a wonderful job at incorporating a level of faith into mainstream YA without either preaching or watering it down too much.
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When fifteen-year-old Jazz Gardner discovers she’s going to spend the summer in India with her family she is not happy about it at all. She has a thriving business in San Francisco with her best friend Steve, and she can’t imagine leaving either one for three months. She’s certain one of the other girls from school will make a move while she’s gone and claim Steve’s heart before she even tells him how much he means to her.
When she arrives in the town where her mother was born and adopted from the orphanage, she’s determined not to get involved in helping out in any way. All she wants to do is pass the time while she counts the days until she goes home. But her encounters with the people, and a little bit of monsoon madness, just may convince her she’s got something to contribute after all.
Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins is a great book for mother-daughter book clubs. Jazz is an independent girl whose parents are very much involved in her life. She constantly compares herself to her mother, and often feels she’s lacking. This book can generate great discussions on finding and believing in your own strengths, working to help others, trusting people and having the courage to say what you’re feeling. Perkins has an excellent mother-daughter book club discussion guide at her website,
http://www.mitaliperkins.com/mother_d.... Here’s just one of the questions that may provoke great discussion:
“What's the most risky thing you've tried when it comes to helping someone else? Did it work?” I highly recommend Monsoon Summer for book clubs with girls aged 10 and up. -
I liked a lot of things about this book....in general, I always tend to like books set in foreign locales that give you a real feel for the place and this one did that...explaining in detail the poverty, the landscape and the people. It also highlighted the difficulty of being a modern day American girl who's family isn't truly American...I think that it shows the real difference between the former white immigrants who came here wanting to be American and were proud that their children only spoke english and modern third world immigrants who want what America has to offer but want to keep their own culture. There is even a sentence where the lead character makes known her jealousy of the American ideal of beauty....it's a realistic portrayal of modern America as an undercurrent to the actual story of learning to be happy with who you are. That being said...some of the book was downright smarmy and I hated how whiny Jazz was about the time she was taken advantage of by the homeless woman who ripped off her business as well as the romance between her and Steve. Still a good read, but for me, it held a little rancor as well.
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This is a really cute story- goodhearted without being too preachy, and lots of fascinating Indian culture. Writing wasn't standout, and there's a few loose ends left at the end, but I will definitely recommend this at work.
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A clean read, and really interesting to follow along with the main characters journey of self-discovery. Mitali Perkins has a website with reviews of multiethnic books. I'd recommend this book to girls who liked the Bindi Babes series and are ready to move into teen books.
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So often I need a few weeks after reading a book to be able to write an adequate review. Here is a short one.
Monsoon Summer has powerful and beautiful descriptions of culture/climate shock and acclimation. Each member of the family is discovering new parts of who they are. -
Something that's really starting to get on my nerves about girls in books is when they constantly complain about their bodies (which I get believe, I hate my body) but then there are AT LEAST 2-3 guys interested in them. In Jazz's case, she goes to a dance club and every guy wants to dance with her and I understand that before that she thought she was ugly but after that she should have felt way better about herself. And yet she continued to believe she was ugly, it especially pained me that she thought that because she was tall. I really don't think a person's height should affect how good they feel about themselves. It was hard for me to relate to Jazz though because she's not a 'do-gooder' and while I don't do all I can to help people, volunteering is a huge part of my life so it was hard for me to fathom someone so dead set against it, even after her motive is explained. Plus who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to visit India? Yes it would be tough being without technology (I'm spending 10 days in Guatemala with no phone and I think I'm already going into withdrawal and I haven't left yet....) but this is a chance for Jazz to see a new country, learn more about her heritage and make a 'small' difference. I was sympathetic though to her being worried that Steve would start crushing on a girl while she was away. I can definitely empathize. But I was a bit peeved that Jasmine was 'in love' with Steve at the age of fifteen. *sigh*
Steve was an one-dimensional crush (well Jazz would say his flaw is that he's too nice/too caring) and that made it hard for me to take him seriously, but the other characters were well-drawn, especially members of Jazz's family and that made me happy. Granted Jazz was spending the summer with her family in close quarters so they needed to be described in great detail but I liked that their personalities were shown through their actions or Jazz's observations, not just Jazz talking to the reader. I also loved that a rich girl character we are introduced to wasn't a complete brat, she shows that she's privileged but she's nice to Jazz and as someone who is tired of the rich-girl-is-a-bully storyline I really appreciated the character. Jazz starts out the book being quite selfish so that makes her transformation all the more sweet to read about and Jazz isn't whiny selfish, she's just very cautious which leads to her being selfish. Reading about Jazz slowly opening up to the wonder and madness of monsoon season in India is cheering and India is described with resplendent detail, especially the scenes where Jazz describes the marketplace and Karthak dance.
Monsoon Summer's magic lies in reading about Jazz's maturing, it's a truly captivating coming-of-age because I wasn't always sure she would come around. *Spoiler: highlight to read* Is it selfish/mean of me to say that I was happy this story didn't turn into a miraculous meeting between Jazz's mom and her biological parents? That would have been incredible but not very realistic *End of spoiler* This is an absolutely perfect summer read since it's deep but I didn't drown in the depth and there are enough light-hearted moments that the story is entertaining. It's interesting to read about Jazz's struggle to balance two very different standards of beauty, American standards and Indian standards. The author shows the ridiculous American (thin is everything) and Indian ideas (dark skin=bad) of beauty that are ingrained in the respective cultures and how they hurt girls in both cultures. And as much as I thought Steve was unrealistic, he's still adorable and a great friend. Danita was my favorite character because how can you not like someone whose a hard-worker and is determined to keep her family together, even when the monsoon affects her and makes her almost-agree to something crazy? Jazz's parents are in my top ten favorite parents in YA because not only are they vividly present but they go on a date night. And Jazz treats her parents like human beings. *Happy sigh* Read this book for the setting of India and one of the most rewarding coming-of-age stories in YA. Plus the food sounds phenomenal.
PS Plus Jazz talks about track a lot, she does shot-put and she's proud. Hooray! -
When Monsoon Summer opened in Berkeley with a do-gooder mother planning a trip where she was going to give back to the orphanage she was adopted from in India, I sighed a little. I mean how cliche, socially conscious people from Berkeley. Luckily, I had just read this piece by Colby Sharpe: That One Time When Linda Urban Put Me in My Place. Please go read it too, it’s short and it’s very much worth it. The thing is, kids (and teens) aren’t adults. They don’t have the years of experience we do. Unlike me, they probably didn’t yet spend four years at an extremely left leaning liberal arts college that could give Berkeley a run for its money when it comes to wanting to save the world.
When I stopped to think, I realized just how few books out there actually have a main focus of charitable works and active involvement in your community. I can’t name very many honestly. And that’s a big part part of what makes Monsoon Summer special. Sure, absolutely, it’s a book about a girl who is in love with her best friend but has no idea what to do about. It’s a book about a family vacation. But it’s also about how many ways there are to make a difference in someone’s life.
Another winning point for Monsoon Summer is that it a feminist book. The main character, Jazz does not conform to what she perceives as the US standard for beauty. She spends a lot of time comparing herself unfavorably with those around her, in a way that had me concerned at first. But Jazz’s trip to India shows her that different parts of the world see things differently. That different physical traits are valued. Which leads to her coming to an understanding that maybe there isn’t just one way to be beautiful. But Monsoon Summer has more to give. It shows women as business owners and developers, consistently showing them as successful entrepreneurs. Jazz’s mother, who is known for her considerable charitable works, is particularly focused on women’s health issues, especially surrounding pregnancy and childbirth (although this is handled with delicacy, for those concerned, neither contraception nor abortion is mentioned).
Despite packing in some pretty thought-provoking material, the book is about family and friendship and does not have a weighty or heavy feel. The tone is light, lots of good things happen for everyone, so in some ways, you have all the positive impact of an “issues” book with none of the real sorrow (except, you know, I had a really hard time leaving kids at the orphanage at the end. I had a strong desire for a completely out of left field ending that involved adoption of the masses).
Age Recommendation: I would recommend this for Grades 6+. The romance is very tame and there’s not very much in the way of concerning content. Readers this young will absolutely understand Jazz’s self-criticism and self-doubt and hopefully will make the journey towards confidence with her.
Full content review on my blog at:
http://bit.ly/1IL72Pl -
15-year-old Jazz has just found out some big news. After receiving a grant, Jazz's mother will finally have the chance to pay back the orphanage in India where she spent her first years by building a clinic. The problem? Jazz, and the rest of her family, will have to join her, spending the entire summer in India and away from her best friend/secret crush Steve, not to mention the booming business they've created. She'll be halfway around the world from everything she knows in Berkeley, California—she knows it's going to be a rough summer, especially with the constant rains of the monsoon season.
But the more time she spends in the country, the more she learns about the culture and half of her own background. She has taken after her large, white father more than her petite Indian mother, and she begins to notice the attention she receives in India as a result. She also forges friendships with girls from different social classes, giving her a larger (and harsher) perspective on the situations that some girls must deal with.
Perkins managed to make this a book about poverty, class, Indian culture, body issues and love, seamlessly weaving all these themes together into one lovely coming-of-age story in which many young adults will see themselves. Jazz deals with all the issues you might expect a teen to encounter: being uncomfortable in her larger body, having a multiracial background, trying to live up to the legacy her mother has created, falling in love with her best friend, and fitting in to a new and foreign environment. Jazz's voice is also just spunky enough while staying realistic.
I love the lush descriptions of India and its people. As someone who has never been to Asia, I appreciated all of the details and explanations Perkins included. She doesn't shy away from describing the poverty in the country, mentioning children suffering from malnutrition and including a scene of a teen mother mourning the choice she must make to give her newborn child to the orphanage. -
I met Mitali Perkins online via Twitter. One day she tweeted her frustration over getting her books into libraries. Curious, I went online to my library's catalog and saw that they had multiple copies of all but her newest book. They all sounded good so I asked her which book I should read first. She suggested Monsoon Summer.
Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins is about a family of four going to India for the summer (monsoon season). It's told from the first person point of view of fifteen year old Jasmine (Jazz) Gardner. They are returning to the orphanage where her mother lived before being adopted by a California couple. Jazz is reluctant to leave her business partner (and potential boyfriend) for the summer. She's nervous about the orphanage, about being in school during her vacation and about losing her friend to the more beautiful and popular girl at their school.
Jazz and her brother are ethnically mixed and by far the most believable pair of California siblings I've run across in fiction. I clicked with them immediately and felt as if I were there with Jazz as she went to school, struggled with writing letters to her would be boyfriend and her developing friendship with Danita, a girl at the orphanage who has a fantastic talent for fashion design.
I don't want to give away anything. Let's just say I loved the book. I tore through it in two days in between my homework and research. When things calm down with my classes I plan to go back and read more of her books. -
When I picked this book from the (multi cultural) summer reading list, I could NEVER see myself liking this book. I wanted to read The Fattening Hut. However, I didn't have access to it. I'm glad I didn't though. This book changed me(I think). It has a really good theme. I finished this book like five seconds ago, and it took a while for me to get into. But once you finish it, you are so happy and proud. I'm SO glad I read this book.
A 15 year old girl (I think) named Jasmine Gardner, is going to India over the summer. Her mother was adopted from an orphanage there, and she's going back to set up a clinic for people in need. She doesn't want to go because she's in love with her best friend, Steve. He doesn't know. They also started a business together and she doesn't want to leave it behind. Even if it's just for the summer. When she gets to India, she gets the choice to volunteer at Asha Bari(the orphanage) or go to a weird academy. She picks the academy. Even though the rest of her family was working at the orphanage. Soon enough, Jasmine noticed she was the only person not prospering. Her whole family was so happy, and they were learning and growing so much; but she wasn't. She was depressed. However, a girl named Danita from Asha Bari was working for her family to earn money for when she gets married. When Jasmine's family wasn't home her and Danita would cook together and talk. Soon enough, they form a connection and Danita decides to tell Jasmine a huge secret. Jasmine has to decide if she's gonna take a huge risk, or if she's gonna stay on track. -
Jazz Gardener’s mom was raised in an orphanage in India until she was adopted by Americans. Now, she has gotten a grant to go back to India and help out the orphanage where she grew up, and she’s taking her family with her.
Jazz is less than thrilled. For one thing, she hasn’t inherited her mother’s do-gooder genes, and for the other, she is dreading leaving behind her best friend (and unrequited crush) Steve. She’s afraid to tell him how she really feels, and even more terrified that while she’s gone another girl will snap him up. But when Jazz meets Danita, the Indian orphan girl her own age who is struggling for a way to keep her sisters together with her, her perspective on what’s really important start to change.
The problem with this book is that for the first half of it, I want to beat Jazz up. She’s not just a realistically selfish and unlikeable character—she’s an unrealistically stupid character, and it pisses me off.
But towards the second half of the book, Jazz gets more interesting and the book gets more satisfying. I still wish that the secondary characters had been better developed—perfect Steve, Jazz’s introvert Dad, the silly Indian academy girls, even flawless Danita. They were all very one-dimensional, and I felt like even in the book’s best (though predictable moments) it fell a little flat. -
The plot is simple and predictable, but I found the main character, Jazz, lovable enough to keep rooting for her to figure out what I had known she would be doing from about page 10. I appreciated the positive relationship that Jazz had with her parents and her little brother--it was a nice change from a lot of other novels with teenage main characters that are filled with "you don't understand me" angst. I also liked that, even though there is a romance, the romance does not take center stage. It's not totally off in the wings, but it shares enough of the spotlight with the other main plot line that I could enjoy both.
This book does have two of my YA novel pet peeves, however:
1. Characters refer to each other by full name (first, last, AND middle) in casual conversation. Um, nobody talks like that. And, newsflash to YA heroines: it's not something to swoon over, either.
2. The self-conscious heroine is always chewing on her fingernails whenever she feels nervous or self-conscious, and it's a mark of love and devotion that the object of her affection is annoyed by it and constantly tells her to stop. Can we have some less cliched characterization, please?
I've been wanting to read a book by Mitali Perkins for awhile now, and I'm glad that I finally got around to doing it. I will certainly be looking forward to reading her other books as well. -
Perkins is an outstanding author, with an ability to introduce the Indian world to YA readers in a beautiful positive light. Jasmine "Jazz" is a bi-racial Indian-American whose mother is a shining star in the world of hands-on philanthropy. While her brother Eric, the bug expert, resembles their Indian born mother, Jazz resembles her tall blond father. At fifteen, Jazz and her best friend Steve have a prospering business in Berkeley, California; but Jazz realizes she is starting to feel differently about Steve. Out of the blue, her mother explains she has acquired a grant to start a clinic at the orphanage in Pune, India where she was raised until she was adopted. Now, instead of a summer of working the business with Steve, helping her brother Eric collect bugs, and spending time with her dad, Jazz must go to a country engulfed in poverty. She's scared.
Perkins, who is married to a minister, calls into question the genre of "Christian" literature. Her novels are based in a positive light which is not solely based on the concept of Christianity, while entertaining many of its elements. Each of them embrace a multiculturalism along with an interestingly humanistic philosophical foundation. I truly enjoy her writing and recommend it highly. -
I'm not a huge YA chick lit fan, but I really enjoyed Monsoon Summer by
Mitali Perkins. This novel is about a teenage girl from California named Jazz (short for Jasmine--she is half Indian) and her summer vacation at an orphanage in India. Jazz's mother was adopted at a very young age from the orphanage by American parents and wants to go back to find out more about her roots. Jazz is initially reluctant to travel to India because she has to leave behind her best-friend/crush Steve, but she eventually comes around. The story is sweet and the main character is likable from the get-go. The author does a great job of showing India from an American teenager's perspective (having gone to India myself as an American teenager). The ending was a little too optimistic to be believable but at least it was a happy one (phew!), which is almost essential in these kinds of books. I would highly recommend this as a fun summer read. -
Jazz Gardner is the oldest daughter from an American-adopted Indian-born mother and a white bread dad. Her mother is a social activist in Berkley and decides to head back to the orphanage in India where she was abandoned to open a health clinic and take the whole family for the summer. Jazz is wary of social activism (which was the only odd sticking point for me) do-goodness of her mother, and instead is a young entrepreneur. She is also in love.
Obviously things change while they are in India for the whole family. And I don't think I am giving any spoilers here, but the tidiness of the end was a little too perfect - but overall, I enjoyed this book. Jazz is a typical teen, and her path isn't always easy, but she was a strong identifiable character. This was a fun read and could be recommended to young teens. -
This was a fun story to read! It is about a family from Berkeley, California, who goes to Pune, India for the summer. The mother was adopted from a Catholic orphanage there and has been awarded a grant to set up a maternal health clinic at that same orphanage. She takes along her American husband and two children.
Jasmine Carol Gardner, her teenage daughter, is the main character of the story. She's struggling with being away from her business partner and best friend, Steve, for the summer. She is also reluctant to get involved at the orphanage like the rest of her family. The story is about her search to figure out who she really is as a mixed-race girl in India whose expectations of herself are perhaps higher than anyone else. Will she continue to close her heart to those around her, or will she risk opening herself up again? -
I wasn't so sure I'd like this book when I first started to read it--story about a typical insecure 15-year-old girl. Jazz-short for Jasmine-lives in Berkley, California with her parents and younger brother. She gets good grades in school, a star shot-putter on the track team, runs a successful business with her best friend-a guy she is potentially in love with, lives with both her parents and her younger brother, etc. But she doesn't really see all this because she's so insecure.
Then her family travels to India for the summer--monsoon season there--to do charity work in the orphanage where her mother lived before being adopted by American parents. There Jazz learns just how blessed she is and comes to love the people she works with there.
This is a good book. -
Fifteen-year-old Jasmine "Jazz" Gardner reluctanly goes with her family to India during the monsoon season. The plan is for the family to volunteer at the orphanage where Jazz's mother was cared for years ago. Jazz would rather stay in Berkeley, California with her business partner and secret love,Steve. Jazz gradually volunteers and even helps Danita, the family's young Indian cook, with a business plan so that Danita does not have to enter a marriage of convenience. By the book's end, India has worked its magic on Jazz and on the reader. I was mesmerized by the beautiful Indian culture, including the clothes, foods and especially the people
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When I first started reading this book, I didn't get into it that much. It started out kind of slow and it took me about 100 pages or so to really get into it. However, once I did get into it I ended up loving it. I couldn't hardly put it down after I got involved in the story. My only issue was that I wanted it to go on just a little longer. There were a lot of really good things that happened at the end of the story, and I wanted there to be like one more chapter or something explaining like what happened after all the good stuff happened. Regardless, it was still a really good story and I liked it a lot.
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This was an outstanding book. Jazz and her family spend the summer in India. Her mother wants to return and help out at the orphanage she onced lived in. Jazz, a fourteen year old girl along with her younger brother and father are reluctant to go. However, they are pleasantly surprised. Jazz not only learned a great deal about the Indian culture, but she also did a lot of growing up. Her dad experienced the great reward that comes from helping others with his computer help at the orphanage while her brother was fortunate to experience a completely different culture at his young age.
