Shakti

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a review copy via Netgalley.

Shakti and her family move around a lot. It takes a toll on her having to make new friends. It's never an easy task and to have to start over and over again, it's just a lot for her. Her moms promise her that this will be a place they will be at for a while and encourage her to just try. She becomes friends with Xi and a few others who bond over being bullied by a group of girls they name H.E.K.. H.E.K. aka the mean girls, seem to be pulling strings and the teachers are their puppets. Shakti and Xi find out that H.E.K. have been casting spells over the school and want to take over the town in the same way. Shakti, coming from a long line of folks able to invoke the goddess Durga Ma's powers, chooses to do just that to save the town.

The artwork is just beautiful. I was hoping to learn Indian culture and I did. Durga Ma and Kali Ma were knew to me and the lessons learned through their introduction was greatly appreciated. Durga Ma being the epitome of femininity, power, determination, strength and protection is depicted as the more reasonable of the two even though she is also the goddess of war and destruction. Kali Ma being the goddess of creation, destruction and preservation was depicted as the more volatile of the two. Kali Ma seen as the goddess willing to do what others are not to protect is also seen as the most compassionate.

Within Skakti, I see all of Kali Ma's attributes including the compassion. Shakti learns that although anger is not a negative emotion, holding on to it, not realizing that it is there or not acknowledging that it is there, can lead to a destructive path. She learns that through family she has ties to Durga Ma but that Kali Ma has chosen her and her sister and that she is not a bad goddess to have on your side.

Overall, I really liked this story and as a result I want to learn more about these and other Hindu goddesses. Fun fact–Durga Ma is also known as Shakti.