The Village by the Sea

This heart-reading and well-told tale of life in village India, where children are forced so young to be adult, deserves a wide audience amongst our teenagers, but Guardian Award winner though it may be, I doubt whether all but a few will persevere with it unless coaxed by a sensitive and informed adult. For Hari, Lila and their two younger sisters things seem destined only to get worse --- a drunken father, a chronically sick mother, debt and more debt, starvation and deprivation, and now the onslaught of industrialization, which threatens their whole way of life --- yet the human spirit to survive blazes through, and with tenacity and hard work the brother and sister are sure to keep on coping and adapting --- 'we are here on earth, we cannot leave it. We must live here, somehow,' says Hari. Highly recommended for all teachers and as many pupils, mid/upper secondary, as possible.