Homeless Bird

· Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Zehra Jane Naqvi
1 review
Audiobook
3 hr 33 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

The National Book Award-winning novel about one remarkable young woman who dares to defy fate, perfect for listeners who enjoyed A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park or Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai.



Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly faces her arranged marriage with hope and courage. But Koly's story takes a terrible turn when in the wake of the ceremony, she discovers she's been horribly misled—her life has been sold for a dowry. Can she forge her own future, even in the face of time-worn tradition?



Perfect for schools and classrooms, this universally acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning novel by master of historical fiction Gloria Whelan is a gripping tale of hope that will transport listeners of all ages.
The National Book Award-winning novel about one remarkable young woman who dares to defy fate, perfect for listeners who enjoyed A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park or Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Like many girls her age in India, thirteen-year-old Koly faces her arranged marri...

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Ratings and reviews

1 review
Lucia Phillips
October 5, 2025
this is a good book I feel like it did end a little weird but every page turned was a new thing that awaits
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About the author

Gloria Whelan was born on November 23, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. She took a strong interest in reading early in life when she was bedridden for a year with rheumatic fever. She dictated stories to her sister who would then type them. She then went on to writing poetry and later editing her high school newspaper. She attended the University of Michigan and earned her B.S.degree and M.S.W. degree. She began working as a social worker in Minneapolis and Detroit. She soon became tired of Detroit's hectic pace and moved to a cabin in northern Michigan.This peace was disrupted by an oil company 's desire to drill on her property. Because she did not own the mineral rights, the drilling proceeded. This experience inspired Gloria Whelan to write her children's novel, A Clearing in the Forest in 1978, which was about a boy working on an oilrig. Gloria Whelan has written several works of fiction for children and adults, many set in rural Michigan. She has also written stories set in exotic places like China and India. She won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2000 for Homeless Bird - the story of a young woman in India abandoned by her mother-in-law.
Gloria Whelan was born on November 23, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. She took a strong interest in reading early in life when she was bedridden for a year with rheumatic fever. She dictated stories to her sister who would then type them. She then went on to writing poetry and later editing her high ...

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