Vanished Book Review

Vanished by Sheela Chari

 Vanished

I am not sure how Vanished  by Sheela Chari came to my attention.  Truly, I have only really been looking at middle school and young adult novels written and published in the past couple of years for my school library.  Yet somehow I found it, and somehow I bought two copies. 

     I so enjoyed this story of Neela, and Indian - American girl, whose cherished instrument, a veena, is stolen from under her nose.  Determined to find it, Neela fits together clues; enlist the help of an unlikely friend, and travels to India in pursuit of it.  

     I love learning from books.  I learned about the veena - an instrument I am not at all familiar with.

And if one talks about the music of India, one must start with the veena.

Neela and her family speak Tamil. I was also not familiar at all with this South Asian language till this book.  I also loved that Neela was both American and Indian.  Many times, books by and of POC are about the struggle of assimilating into the America, fitting in, and the racism they experience.  And though there are parts of the book that touches these issues, the story is more about the mystery of the stolen veena.  This was important to me because as much as I want books in my library to be mirrors (and windows) for my students, I also do not want the stories to ALWAYS be about the struggle.  I do not want my students to only see themselves portrayed in books one way.

    I just recently finished watching Schitt's Creek, and I fell in love with the love story between David and Patrick.  I read somewhere that they just presented the love story, and nobody in the town of Schitt's Creek  questioned it, opposed it, were disgusted by it - it was just it - they accepted and supported the love between these two characters.   I want books also like this - books about the struggle, AND the acceptance.  

     I loved Neela!  She is so perceptive,( even as she struggles with her own inner voice). She and her friend, Matt, are looking at a giant inflatable lawn snowman.  Matt  tells her how it is ugly and gives him nightmares.  But Neela does not feel this way about the snowman.  In fact she states:  

"Isn't it strange how different people can see the same thing and have completely different ideas about it."

 This was an important quote to me, because of its truth.  Two people experiencing the same thing are going  to have different perspectives on it based off of their experiences and values.  In order for us to understand one another, AND accept each other, we need to be aware of this.  Neela takes this truth with her as the mystery of her veena begins to unravel.

    I would highly recommend this book if you love a good mystery and want to learn a little bit about another culture.