HC $15.99
for: Mid Grades
218 pgs.
Rating: 3.5
In 1919 India, being the daughter of a high-ranking British official gives you wealth, prestige, and power. In Small Acts of Amazing Courage, Gloria Whelan tells of such a daughter,15-year-old Rosalind James. Rosy's father has been away a lot, leaving her care to Rosy's mother and a huge household of various Indian servants. Rosy has grown up with her maid's daughter, loves the bazaar and all things related to India. Her father greatly forbids her to have anything with the native population. She's strong headed and disobeys him. And this leads him to send her to England - for the first time in her life - for a "proper" education, under the care of her two aunts.
The setting goes from privileged life in India to a steamship from Bombay to England, to life in England and back to India again. Along the way we meet Gandhi and many of his followers and sympathizers, learning about nonviolent protesting and the plight of the Indian people. We learn a bit about Hinduism, the caste system, and the colonials. It's an interesting taste, but it's just a taste. I would have liked a little deeper look into life of this girl. Where some books are just too long and involved, this one needed a little more. I love Gloria Whelan's work, and I was a bit disappointed with this one.
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