During World War II and the last days of British occupation in India, fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of attending college. But when her forward-thinking father is beaten senseless by the British police, she is forced to live with her grandfathers large traditional family, where the women live apart from the men and are meant to be married off as soon as possible.Vidyas only refuge becomes her grandfathers upstairs library, which is forbidden to women. There she meets Raman, a young man also living in the house who relishes her intellectual curiosity. But when Vidyas brother makes a choice the family cannot condone, and when Raman seems to want more than friendship, Vidkya must question all she has believed in. Padma Venkatramans debut novel poignantly shows a girl struggling to find her place in a mixedup world. Climbing the Stairs is a powerful story about love and loss set against a fascinating historical backdrop.Read Padma Venkatraman's posts on the Penguin Blog.

 

There are 254 pages in this book. This book was published 2010 by Penguin Putnam Inc .

Padma Venkatraman lives in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. An oceanographer by training, she is the author of twenty books for young readers, published in India, on a variety of subjects. To learn more, about her book Climbing the Stairs, visit the web site, www. climbingthestairsbook. com. You can also read her blog, padmasbooks. blogspot. com.