Shiva’s Fire

1. Shiva’s Fire By: Suzanne Fisher Staples MeharKanwarSidhu

2. She was born on August 27,1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • She has been a UPI foreign correspondent in Hong Kong, Pakistan, and India • She has received a Newbery Honor Medal for Shabanu: The Daughter of the Winds • Suzanne has written 7 novels, which are based on different religions About the Author

3. It is set in the present tense • There are multiple places in the setting: India, Nandipuram, and the village of Anandanagar • The main setting is Madras(now called Chennai, located in the southern region) Setting

4. Parvati- She was the main character. She was known to have magical powers. The first one was that she could dance like Lord Shiva in fire without getting burned. The second one was that she could talk to animals. She was told to go to Chennai to be a devadasi(the servant of the god; one devoted entirely to the art of classical dance. • Rama- He was the prince. He too was known to have magical powers. He had known to walk since he was an infant. He was overly protected by his father because he was really sensitive. • Guru- He taught Parvati how to dance. He also danced in front of the king. He also taught Parvati how to be a devadasi. Characters

5. As the monsoon season began, there was a cyclone in the village. • Parvati and her family rebuilt their house because of the floods the rain caused. • As Parvati grew up, she was told to go to Madras(now called Chennai) to be a devadasi. • After she was trained, she performed her arangetram(Dance student’s first performance in honor of the guru and the student’s parents.) • Then, after a month or so, she was told to perform for the king’s birthday at Nandipuram, where she came from. • When she reached there, she stayed with her family for a week because she was away for a year. • When she performed her dance on the king’s birthday, she was like Lord Shiva. Plot

6. Parvati vs. Village Parvati tries to fit in with other people in the village but is left out because they all believe that she makes bad things happen. • Parvati vs. Herself Parvati goes through many struggles throughout her life as she grows and wonders why everyone stares at her as if she is an evil person and why no one talks to her. • Resolution The resolution is when Parvati dances for the king on his birthday in Nandipuram. She is looked at like a normal person. Conflict\Resolution

7. The theme of the book is: no matter what difficulties you face, what decisions you have to make in your life, you should always keep moving ahead • This theme best represents this book because Parvati has to struggle throughout her life. When she was small, she made unusual things happen, and the villagers thought that she was magical. Her aunt blamed her that she had caused the storm. When she was at the gurukulam(School where students live and study with the guru), at first all the girls were her friends, but when she is praised because she dances very gracefully, the other girls were jealous and they stopped talking to her. That’s how this theme best represents this novel. Theme

8. I really liked the book Shiva’s Fire. It is filled with excitement and mystery. I also like this book because it is based on another religion. This novel is very difficult to understand because of some words from the specific religion. It has a lot of energy. Overall, this novel is very well written. I would recommend this book to girls because of some interesting parts in it. Personal Book Review