For reading purposes I consider July 1 the start of the new school year, so this is the first book of the 2014-15 school year...and it was a great read! It has something for everyone: adventure, mystery and history. And there is the reminder: education and equality is not provided for all and the process to change that is a never ending battle. In this book the battle is centuries of belief systems that demonize people and oppress women and children.BOOKTALK: My name is Dorothy, meaning "gift of God." But in the Sukuma ethnic group in Tanzania (still in 1960s) if when I was born bad fortune came to my family at the time of my birth, I would have been named Shida, meaning "problem." And there after I would be suspected of causing most problems that arise for my family and my village. Thus the title of this book: A Girl Called Problem. Shida's village leader decides to move the village but the people in their new home are not welcoming and indeed may be doing their best to discourage them from staying. It is an opportunity for the children, including girls to go to school, but even one of the teachers does not want to teach girls. As calamity descends on Shida's people, a curse is thought to be the cause. However Shida has new knowledge that might reveal the true cause of their troubles. Will the village listen to a Girl Called Problem? This book was problematic for me and it called into question a white author writing from a non-white (Tanzanian) perspective and I hate that I had that thought, because I don't think it's especially valid. First and foremost it read like a hi/low novel, but I don't think it was. I think I felt like this because it read a lot like a middle grade novel, but the cover and the fact that you don't tend to study modern sub-Saharan African countries until high school or even later made it seem like it shouldn't have been MG. If that makes any sense. There was also a huge, clunky info dump at the beginning. So I guess it was the writing in this that was the problem. It was an interesting story about a historical event I hadn't heard of.
What do You think about A Girl Called Problem (2013)?
I loved this book. It made me think of my travels in Tanzania a year ago.
—Kitkat
This would be a great addition to a multicultural YA collection.
—Sasha