Mina Vs. the Monsoon

I love having the chance to read a book about an Indian girl playing soccer, as it is an important and too rarely depicted topic in picture books. I was pleased that the book focuses on expressing your feelings, finding a way to entertain yourself when you are bored, and building positive family relationships.

But then, in the middle of the book, something disappointed me: How come her mom chose not to tell her before that she played soccer when she was younger. I don't really understand why it had to be secret and an information found by mistake by Mina. I wish it could have been a moment of complicity between the mom and the daughter when Mina first showed interest in playing soccer. This plot twist made me feel perplexed.

In the end, the monsoon stops, and mother and daughter are able to play together, but this initial secret stayed in my mind and prevented me from fully enjoying this book.

Special note: I really enjoyed that the book includes Urdu and Hindi words, with their correct pronunciations at the end of the book. I also appreciated the historical context of this book: “In the northern states of Bihar and Jharkhand in India, local organizations are trying to combat the common practice of child marriage by organizing soccer games for girls.”

Thank you NetGalley and Yali Publishing LLC for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read and reviewed: 2018-11-02