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    The Vine Basket
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    The Vine Basket
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    The Vine Basket
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Vine Basket

    Written by Josanne La Valley

    Narrated by Zeynep Bilik

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Things aren't looking good for fourteen-year-old Mehrigul. She yearns to be in school, but she's needed on the family farm. The longer she's out of school, the more likely it is that she'll be sent off to a Chinese factory . . . perhaps never to return. Her only hope is an American woman who buys one of her decorative vine baskets for a staggering sum and says she will return in three weeks for more. Mehrigul must brave terrible storms, torn-up hands from working the fields, and her father's scorn to get the baskets done. The stakes are high, and time is passing.

    A powerful intergenerational story of a strong, creative young artist in a cruelly oppressive society.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 2, 2013
    ISBN9780385363877
    Author

    Josanne La Valley

    Josanne LaValley traveled across the Taklamakan Desert to the Hotan region of China, where she spent time among the Uyghur. The recipient of an MFA in writing children's books from Vermont College, Ms. LaValley lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for The Vine Basket

    4/5

    24 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Mehrigul is a 14-yr old in East Turkestan who lives on her family's farm near a small village between desert and mountain. Her brother's recent departure (to avoid capture by the ruling Chinese) has affected all her family, exacerbating the difficulty of life already made hard by land seizures of the Chinese. Her mother is depressed, her father is turning to drink and gambling, and Mehrigul becomes burdened by responsibilities which keep her from school. Mehrigul doesn't think much about politics, however, and the story focuses on following her thoughts and feelings as she goes about her daily work. We see the strength of her inner spirit as she struggles to let it bloom in a situation which expects more humility and unchallenged obedience. She is very perceptive about her father's moods, she fosters a love of learning in her younger sister and supports her innocent joy, she confides in her grandfather and lovingly assists him.An excellent book for middle to older children (or adults, especially those who are craft workers or interested in other cultures). Provides an insight into another culture without using too many unfamiliar terms, often simply by the choice of phrasing. E.g. in the evening Mehrigul notices "The sun had already joined the earth."What I loved: the unobtrusive depiction of learning to access her intuition to create new beauty. What bothered me: nothing--the entire book was worth the read. My review doesn't really reflect the storyline as much as my interpretation of the underlying issues.
    • 3/5
      An interesting story, set in an interesting part of the world -- Mehrigul is a Uygur girl under Chinese rule -- she has talent as a basketweaver, but her family life is very difficult, hampered by a father who drinks away their money and forces her to quit school. It's a pretty bleak story, though she wins through in the end.
    • 3/5
      Life has been hard for fourteen-year-old Mehrigul, a member of the Uyghur tribal group scorned by the Chinese communist regime, so when an American offers to buy all the baskets she can make in three weeks, Mehrigul strives for a better future for herself and her family despite her father's opposition.
    • 4/5
      Determined to get back to school Mehriul tries making baskets to provide income for her family to survive the winter so that she can attend school. Set in China a great story of how dreams can come true.
    • 3/5
      Since her brother left, Mehrigul's hopes are being dashed one after another. Her father has taken her out of school to work the family farm; she thinks he may be thinking of sending her to a factory in southern China so she can earn money to support the family, even though she is underage. Then a tourist is impressed by the basket Mehrigul has made, and asks her to make more to be sold at a store in the United States. She hopes this will enable her to return to school and remain with her family. Mehrigul's father doesn't believe that his daughter's handicrafts have monetary worth, and forbids her from wasting her time.
    • 4/5
      Very well written, interesting story about a little known ethnic group, not sure how much popular appeal this will have 
    • 5/5
      The Vine Basket by Josanne LaValley is definitely worthy of five stars. It is beautifully written and gives you an inside look into what it is like to be a Uyghur (pronounced as Wee ghur) girl. They are a Turkish ethnic group but live mostly in an area now considered as a part of China. My husband and I think he is descended from this group so I have a special interest in this culture.The star of this little book is Mehigul, a little girl who is forced to stop her education by her father. Her brother has run off to join a political movement. Her father who is a compulsive drinker and gambler thinks that she should do her older brother's work. Her mother is afraid to speak up against the father and lets her husband dictate what Mehigul has to do. The father's poor opinion of Mehigul makes her think that she is worthless.But Mehigul's grandfather, Chong Ata, the most respected member of the family notices that Mehigul is learning his talent and skills at basket weaving. She watches him weave and picks it up by herself. What is more is that she has a great spark of creativity. It is this creativity that changes her life. Even though the customs of this culture are very different, the lessons are the same. Parents must learn how to respect their children.I really enjoyed this little book. I learned about the foods that they ate, the way that the Uyghur decorate their mud houses with beautiful floral clothes, the hard lives demanded in order to keep their children fed and the sand out of their faces. But most important I learned about ways that children can find to escape forced child labor, get the education that they need and get the respect that they badly need from their parents.I highly recommend this book for middle grade children and above. I selected this book to review from the Amazon Vine program but that in no way influenced the thoughts in my review.