A well written and thought provoking book Shabanu is the story of a young Cholistan desert girl whose family raises camels. Shabanu's story is that of a typical girl in this part of the world. She must endure a very difficult life in which she and her family struggle to survive in the harsh desert and struggle to overcome the corrupt wealthy land owners who control the region. The story is compelling because Shabanu's life is so different from that of 13 year old girls in the Western world. I would recommend this book to those seeking to learn more about life in Pakistan's desert regions and about the Muslim culture. The book examines the treatment of women in this part of the world and makes a subtle comment on the injustice of their situation.

Okay, I had to read this book for my Freshman English class, for our unit on the Middle East. I had already read the one by an Arabic author, and reading this, you could tell it was by an American. It was a total cliche: Shabanu is an oppressed girl in Pakistan. Shabanu does not like this. Shabanu complains about being oppressed. Shabanu "rebels" against oppression. Shabanu is beaten. Shabanu cries.
The end.
I've met Pakistani girls before, and they're nothing like Shabanu. They're proud to be Muslim- they are proud to follow the rules of their faith.
Shabanu, however, is not proud. She never stops whining about it.
And then the ending bothered me, too. It was just such an obvious set up for a sequel, it totally disgusted me. It wasn't even much of an ending, really. It's almost like she just chopped the chapter off short and stuck it in the next book.

I first read this book as a girl in junior high. As a woman grown, and approaching motherhood, I would like my daughter to read this book when she is old enough. It is a story about a strong-willed, independent young woman who must learn to reconcile her duties with her own impulses. It is a coming of age story, but an unusual one because it is set in the wilderness of the desert plains in Pakistan. Shabanu is not meek or powerless in the iconographic way of Arab women. She is a spirited and warm young woman. But the limitations of her culture force her to grow up, and she must find the ballast within herself to maintain her sense of identity while bowing to the outside demands of her culture.

i think that maybe kids and maybe adults can learn about how people used to live before they had computers and before we had enough water for people to have. I realized now that there are people in the world that will come back to get people just for no reason. People don't get the choice of how they want to live and who they want to marry so that is why they are so lonely.

I just finished reading this book and it was great.It was a sweet story but it had bitter and heartbreaking moments. This was an unforgetable book. I loved Shabanu but I also could relate to the difference in the two sisters. I have a sister who is 3 yrs younger than me and we are very different just like Shabanu and Phulan. Everything is described with such great detail that the cliffhanger ending will leave you desperate to read the second one.

I read this book in 7th grade. I think that this book is really good and captures the feelings of a young Pakistani girl very well. It also makes you think and ask 'how much have things really changed?', not only in Pakistan or India but here, in America. Yes, you can argue that now a man can only have 1 wife ot that there are laws against child marriages but its the choices that I'm talking about. Even now, there are young girls who sacrifice themselves, their happiness and their honor for their families. I think that this book should only be read by kids over 11. It is not exactly child friendly and is more of a preteen- teen book.

There are some sick people out there and the author of this book is one of them. Think of the most dirty thing possible and you will find it in this book. I had to read this in my 7th grade class and believe me, it was way over my head. I would be scared to visit the author's house for a minute... because I would probably be bombarded with perverted posters of camels (hint) Read this book and I promise you will have frightening images of camels and weird obsessed girls planted into your brain (hint hint) But if you enjoy mating camels... go ahead and buy it

Staples's first book is a beautiful portrayal of the life of a girl growing up among camel-dealing nomads in modern Pakistan. Shabanu knows the way her people, the Cholistanis, have always lived: a daughter abides by her father's decisions, a wife obeys her husband's wishes. Yet Shabanu is strong-willed and independent, and her mother warns, "Shabanu, you are wild as the wind. You must learn to obey. Otherwise . . . I am afraid for you." As the arranged marriage of Shabanu's sister Phulan approaches, and with her own wedding planned for the following year, Shabanu confronts her fear and apprehension. She scarcely knows the man she is expected to wed. What if she does not obey? Before the ceremonies take place, however, disaster strikes. Shabanu and Phulan, out alone and threatened with rape by a powerful local landowner, escape but humiliate him. In revenge, he kills Phulan's betrothed and threatens to cut off the family's water supply. As one condition for restoring peace, Shabanu must marry the landlord's older brother. With the help of a wise, loving aunt, Shabanu learns to curb and conceal her powerful will and channel it to bring her peace of mind. Staples's depiction of desert life is breathtaking. She employs vivid, lyrical metaphors to create the potency of the family's joys and struggles. Shabanu's thorny, poignant coming-of-age will capture the attention of readers young and old. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Shabanu is a good book. It's filled with adventure and lots of drama. I would recommend this book for kids 12 and up, because there is some scenes in the book that I don't think are appropriate for younger kids but might be interesting to the teenage mind. Some scenes that I think aren't appropriate for younger children are the scenes with violence. Older kids could handle that but not younger children. The teenage mind might like it for its adventure but might get a little bored after a while because even though the book is really a great book it's kind of slow paced, with A LOT of details.

My favorite scene is when Shabanu and her father go to the sibi fair. FYI Sibi is a city. It's my favorite scene because her father sells a lot of their camels and gets a lot of money for them. I thought it was filled with lots of emotion because one of the camels he sold was Shabanu's friend and she got really sad and started to use metaphors. I think the author used a great amount of detail. A lot of detail usually is good but all that detail was kind of confusing. Like I said in the beginning of this review, it's a good book but it's not a book I think I would read a second time because it was a little boring.

My favorite scene in this book is when Shabanu and her father are going to the Sibi Fair. I like this scene because it shows a lot of Shabanu `s personality and it shows how she feels toward her camel. The literary device that I like and appreciate in Shabanu is how realistic the book is. The book describes actions and things that happen in some teenage lives.

For this book I think that the age range should be from 12 years old up. This reason is because the book describes things that teenagers go through and I think that at about 12 years old, most people are mature enough to understand what Shabanu has to go through with the arranged marriages. I would also recommend this book to 12 years olds because most 12 year olds can be able to understand the content of this book. I would recommend this book for people who like to keep on guessing because for me the book starts to get boring after every interesting part. Other than that it's a great read for all!