Shabanu

by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Published 7 October 1989
The Newbery Honor winner about a heroic Pakistani girl that The Boston Globe called “Remarkable . . . a riveting tour de force.” 

Life is both sweet and cruel to strong-willed young Shabanu, whose home is the windswept Cholistan Desert of Pakistan. The second daughter in a family with no sons, she’s been allowed freedoms forbidden to most Muslim girls. But when a tragic encounter with a wealthy and powerful landowner ruins the marriage plans of her older sister, Shabanu is called upon to sacrifice everything she’s dreamed of. Should she do what is necessary to uphold her family’s honor—or listen to the stirrings of her own heart?

A New York Times Notable Book

“Staples has accomplished a small miracle in her touching and powerful story.” —The New York Times

Haveli

by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Published 10 August 1993
Having relented to the ways of her people in Pakistan and married the rich older man to whom she was pledged against her will, Shabanu is now the victim of his family's blood feud and the malice of his other wives. Sequel to "Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind."

Mumtaz, daughter of Shabanu, has lived with her father's traditional Muslim family for 10 years, enduring the scorn of her auntie Leyla day in and day out. Her only protectors are her uncle Omar and Baba, patriarch of the Amirzai tribe, but even they would disown her if they knew she had a crush on a Hindu boy. The only person Mumtaz can confide in is her cousin Jameel. Unfortunately, Jameel lives with his parents in California and he's been out of touch since he fell in love with a Jewish girl. 

When Baba dies unexpectedly, Mumtaz's world is thrown into chaos. Without Baba keeping order in the tribe, Mumtaz and Jameel find themselves thrust together in the middle of an ongoing power struggle—the same one that sent Shabanu into hiding a decade earlier.

A compelling conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Newbery Honor Book Shabanu and continued in Haveli,The House of Djinn explores the delicate balance between freedom and tradition in modern-day Pakistan.