THE SILVER ANKLET is a sequel to Mahtab Narsimhan's THE THIRD EYE,
which won The Silver Birch award in 2009. For those who don't know,
The Silver Birch Award is a province-wide honour given by Grade 3,
4, 5 and 6 Ontario students. Although administered by the Ontario
Library Association and run by teacher-librarians and teachers in
schools and by children's librarians in public libraries, the final
choice is made by the young readers.
The trilogy follows the adventures of Tara, a young Hindi girl who
lives in the village of Morni in India. When Tara's brother Suraj
and two other children disappear from a local fair, Tara and her
friends set off to find them.
I enjoyed THE SILVER ANKLET even more than the first book in the
Tara trilogy. Like its predecessor, the story kicks off with
immediate action and suspense, with a chase and a mystery, grabbing
the reader and not letting go until the very end.
Mahtab's vivid descriptions add rich detail to the exciting story,
weaving in Hindi colour and flavour that bring scenes to life for
the reader. My mouth watered for biryani wrapped in banana leaves
and spicy papads, and I shuddered as Tara and her companions
trudged through the dark forest, batting away clouds of
mosquitoes.
Tara is an appealing protagonist, fighting her private fears and
insecurities to save her brother. This is a story full of secrets
and discovery, betrayal and mercy. Fans of the first book will love
THE SILVER ANKLET.