Small Acts of Amazing Courage

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011
209 pages
MG; Historical
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free e-ARC via Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read this book after seeing that it was set in 1919 India and was somewhat concerned with the India independence movement because I'm taking a class about Indian history this semester. Personally I would have liked more about Gandhi but Rosalind is an engaging main character.

She and her mother have lived in India while her father served in WWI.  Upon his return, he is disappointed with the freedom Rosy has enjoyed while her mother battled various illnesses.  He wants Rosy to be a proper English girl who spends her time at the club instead of traveling through the bazaar or listening to treasonous statements.  To that end, he has her sent to England to be with her two aunts who will have her brought up properly.

Throughout the book, Rosalind performs "small acts of amazing courage" from saving a little boy from poverty to nursing during a cholera epidemic to empowering her aunt.  This is not a big, flashy story but instead a sweet coming-of-age story.  Rosalind learns more about herself and about the world and I think she might be destined for big things.

There's also a cute boy in the person of Max Nelson, who served under her father in WWI and has one more year at Cambridge.  While he does not play a large role, it is fun to speculate how his India independence sympathies will be used to help in the future.

Cover: Very pretty and the design is continued inside the book. 

This books is set to be released April 19; to buy, check out:
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