Imagine you’re a young girl living in Pakistan, with your entire future planned out by your family. Your marriage, where you’ll live, how you’ll live, nearly everything. Shabanu, by Suzanne Fisher Staples, is a realistic fiction story, set in the late 1980s, of a young girl whose life is just that. Shabanu, the protagonist, lives with her parents and her older sister. The story is written in first person perspective, letting the reader know all of Shabanu’s feelings and thoughts. At the start of the story she’s only eleven. Watching her sister, Phulan, enter a pre-arranged marriage, Shabanu must quickly grow up because she knows she will soon have to do the same. But, when the land owner threatens her family and their futures, Shabanu, being sensitive and kind, yet independent, has to decide if she wants to sacrifice her own happiness for her family’s well-being, following her culture’s way of doing things, or follow her heart.

Shabanu is an amazing book that brings awareness to people of the challenges girls in places such as Pakistan have to face. It shows young women that no matter what, you deserve to have a voice, happiness, and a good future. This story pulls you in and makes you want to know more. As I read, Staples made me feel empathy for Shabanu and her family, and learn her opinion on life as she faces conflicts with herself and society. Shabanu is a great read for teens, especially if you’re looking for a character to love and learn from at the same time.