Betty Hicks (Children's Literature)
Parvati's story begins with the most destructive cyclone in India's history, two mysterious births, and many deaths. From this foreboding beginning, Staples weaves the spell-binding tale of a young girl, magical from birth, whose destiny is to perform with the passion and skill of Shiva, the Hindu god of dance, destruction, and re-creation. Considered dangerously different, Parvati grows up lonely, trying to hide her mystical connections to animals, music, and fire. When a master of dance recognizes her "bad" talents as good ones, Parvati knows that her purpose on earth is to dance. However, when the fate of a maharaja's son becomes cosmically and romantically intertwined, Parvati must make a difficult choice about her destiny. This powerful story has everything--depth, mystery, magic, suspense, and romance. With captivating prose and a page-turning plot, Staples has created a narrative that is both folkloric and contemporary, and full to the brim with the sights, sounds, and smells of India. 2000, Farrar Straus Giroux, $17.00. Ages 12 up.

Jerry Weiss (Parent's Guide, Fall 2000 (Vol. 3, No. 1))
This is the coming of age story of Pavrati, born while a cyclone devastates her village in the South of India. Her mother saves a statue of Shiva, lord of the dance, and as Pavrati stares at the statue, she sees the god dancing in a circle of fire. Does Pavrati have mystic powers? At the age of twelve, she is invited to attend a prominent dance academy in Madras. Her life while studying, her interactions with other dancers, her relationships with her family are described most interestingly. Weaving mystery and romance, the author presents a fascinating introduction to this culture. A good addition to multi-cultural studies. 2000, Farrar Straus Giroux, $17.00. Ages 12 up.

Fern Kory (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2000 (Vol. 54, No. 1))
The latest novel from the author of the Newbery Honor book Shabanu (BCCB 10/89) is a contemporary anti-Cinderella story about a young Indian woman who finally chooses to follow her career and not her modernized prince. The novel begins with the birth of its remarkable main character, an event that coincides with a natural disaster that kills her father and destroys her village. Parvati is a born dancer who “thumped [her mother’s] sides in an odd slow rhythm” even before her birth. Her extraordinary natural talent--and the social isolation that results from people’s fear of her inexplicable abilities (her memory extends to the day she was born; she dances on fire) and the “many small miracles” that surrounded her birth--lead her to accept the offer of dance training from a Guru who had “revived the ancient art of bharate natyam, a classical dance form.” She eventually becomes a devadasi, one to whom “dance is prayer as well as art.” Though the tone is sometimes oddly disaffected, this is compelling young adult fiction, full of family drama, intriguing cultural details, romance, and mysterious/mystical coincidences. The focus on a cultural tradition that may strike contemporary Indians as somewhat exotic gives the book an old-fashioned tone that conflicts with the modern setting (an author’s note and authoritative preface obliquely sets the story “some forty years” after India’s independence). However, the possibilities offered, accepted, rejected, and embodied by these characters will fire reader’s imaginations. A glossary is appended. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2000, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2000, Foster/Farrar, 276p, $17.00. Grades 7 up.

Michael Levy (The Five Owls, September/October 2000 (Vol. 15, No. 1))
Staples, a former UPI foreign correspondent, spent time in Pakistan, the setting for her Newbery Honor-winning Shabanu and its sequel Haveli; and she also served in India, the setting for this lovely, understated contemporary fantasy novel. Strange things occur on the day that Parvati is born. A terrible cyclone all but destroys her village, killing thousands; a crow speaks to her mother while she is in labor; her father is trampled to death by an elephant driven mad by the storm; and the local maharaja's son is born, apparently at the same instant that Parvati opens her eyes upon the world. Strangest of all, however, Parvati is conscious and entirely self-aware from the moment of birth, and she remembers everything. The death of her father reduces the family to poverty and Parvati, her mother and two brothers are forced to live on the sufferance of her uncle and her very nasty aunt. The little girl is recognized by the villagers from very early on as different, someone to be avoided and despised. Fish and birds come at her call. A deadly cobra refuses to bite her. Music is heard whenever she lights a fire. She sees a sandalwood statue of the Lord Shiva actually dancing, surrounded by flames. Most amazing of all, Parvati can dance the sacred bharata natyam virtually from birth and does so, on one occasion, in the middle of a cooking fire without being burned. Parvati grows up poor and an outcast in her village, but one day she receives a visit that changes her life. The Guru Pazhayanur Muthu Kumara Pillai, a master of Indian classical dance, has heard of her and recruits her for his gurukulam in the great city of Madras. Never having left her backward village before, Parvati is at first awed by the big city, but soon settles in to the convent-like life of the gurukulam, where her waking hours are entirely devoted to chores, basic education and, of course, the sacred dance. Although she again finds herself isolated from the other students, who consider her as strange as did the people of her village, Parvati excels at her studies. The only excitement in her life besides the bharata natyam, occurs when another student, her only friend at the gurukulam, elopes with a famous bandit who has been secretly courting her. In a remarkably short amount of time, Parvati is named a devadasi, a full-fledged sacred dancer, and her fame spreads across India. Soon she is asked to dance before the maharaja, and she and the maharaja's son make a series of startling discoveries about each other. Eventually, Parvati finds she must make an almost impossible choice between the remarkable young man she has grown to love and the sacred dance which is her life. Staples writes beautifully and movingly about South Indian culture, treating the traditions of Parvati's people with respect and conveying just enough information to make her readers comfortable in their understanding of Hindu religious belief and particularly the bharata natyam sacred dance tradition. The horrific events that begin the novel, the cyclone, the deaths of thousands, her family's extreme early poverty, are dealt with in a straightforward, but understated fashion. What's finally at the center of this satisfying and magical book, what drives it to its conclusion, is Parvati's powerful and mystical connection with the Lord Shiva and the sacred dance. 2000, Farrar Straus Giroux, $17.00. Ages 10 to 14.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2000)
Parvati's uncanny, eerie prescience marks her as different, and people begin to hold her responsible for the catastrophic cyclone that opens the novel. Parvati seeks pleasure in mimicking the dance movements of a statue carved by her deceased father, which comes alive for her alone. Staples breathes life into her evocation of India. Despite an uneven pace, this is a memorable novel about a fascinating place and mythology. Glos. Category: Older Fiction. 2000, Farrar/Foster, 276pp, $17.00. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Marjorie Wood (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 13, No. 1))
To dance with Shiva is to know freedom from the cycle of birth and death." This quote from Perinkulam P. Ramanathan, cultural coordinator of the Indo-American Cultural and Religious Foundation, helps explain this mostly believable piece of fiction. Parvati, the main character, supposedly remembers the day of her birth and all the tragedies that occurred on that day. Her father, a respected artisan and elephant trainer, dies, and there is a terrible monsoon storm and widespread destruction. Parvati and her mother blame her birth, and she is shunned by many because she is different. Parvati's family has to live with an aunt and uncle in a terribly small house, where the aunt is hateful to them. As she grows up, all she can think about is dancing, and she finally is allowed to leave the small village where she has always lived and to go to a dancing school where young women are trained to be holy dancers, or devadashis. Even there, Parvati is different and mostly shunned. Her one good friend, Nalini, is abducted by a thief with whom she has fallen in love, so Parvati is even more alone. She loves dancing, though, and becomes totally enrapt in it. When she is chosen to dance at a special event, she falls in love with a young man her age named Rama, and they find out that each of them is different and feels alone. She must make the choice of whether to run away with him or to continue her dancing. All readers will find this gorgeous writing so rich and colorful that the story makes pictures in the minds of the readers. Read it and imagine India. This would make a great addition to public or school libraries or as a gift to a young teenager who loves imagination and adventure. Grades 5-high school. 2000, Frances Foster\Farrar Straus Giroux, 275p, $17.00. Ages 10 to 18.

Ruth Cox (VOYA, June 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 2))
Parvati believes her birth caused the cyclone that destroyed her small Indian village, killing her father in an elephant stampede brought on by the storm. Her family is now at the mercy of an aunt who resents their intrusion into her home. When Parvati is twelve, a guru arrives in town to observe the young woman who can enchant animals and dance upon the fire. Few are invited to study classical dance at his gurukulau, but those who are bring wealth to their families. Soon Pavarti's family lives in a fine new home where she visits before dancing for the Maharaja. Parvati meets the son of the Maharaja, Rama, who shares her birthdate. There is a very strong psychic connection between them, but Parvati and Rama both know a future together is not possible--her destiny is to dance. As she begins to dance before Rama and his father, she hears the voice of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, re-creation, and dance, softly instructing her, "This is it. You are the magic of possibilities." Parvati knows Shiva has chosen her as one of his own. Staples, the award winning author of Shabanu (Knopf, 1989/VOYA April 1990) and Haveli (Knopf, 1993/VOYA December 1993), has created another mystical, yet human, female character. This novel draws the reader into the exotic setting and spiritual world of sacred Hindu classical dance. The glossary with pronunciation guide helps readers understand Indian terminology. Young readers will relate to Parvati's dislike of being different and to her relief upon finding her place as a master dancer, a place where her unique abilities are honored, not feared. Glossary. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2000, Farrar Straus Giroux, 288p, $17. Ages 11 to 15.