Sheba Karim's SKUNK GIRL sold to Penguin India
November 24, 2009
Sudeshna Shome Ghosh at Penguin India has bought rights to Sheba Karim's Young Adult novel SKUNK GIRL, in a deal done by Isobel Dixon on behalf of Ayesha Pande at Collins Literary. SKUNK GIRL, a warm funny novel about a Muslim Pakistani-American girl, was launched in the US by Farrar, Straus & Giroux earlier this year.Sheba Karim practised as an attorney representing survivors of domestic violence, then left the law to pursue writing. She received a MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, where she was a Dean's Graduate Fellow. She's had stories published in DesiLit magazine, an anthology titled Growing up Girl, and was a finalist in the Glimmer Train "Family Matters" short story competition. She is the fiction editor of EGO magazine, and is the recipient of a 2009-2010 Fulbright-Nehru research grant to work on her next novel in India.
Click here to see Sheba Karim's website
To read more about SKUNK GIRL on the Collins Literary website please click here
Praise for SKUNK GIRL
'In this debut, episodic novel, rife with smart, self-deprecating humor and set in the 1990s just as a phenomenon known as e-mail is gaining interest, Nina searches for identity and emerging independence while accepting the reality of her home life.'
-- Kirkus
'There are many elements of SKUNK GIRL that are vibrant and one-of-a-kind. Karim's descriptions of Pakistani dishes are especially mouth-watering, and her depictions of Nina's tittering relatives and family get-togethers are hilarious and endearing…Readers will get a kick out of a story featuring a character whose background may be nothing like theirs, but who is someone they can relate to all the same.'
-- Alexis Burling, Teen Reads
'Karim's first novel provides a rare exploration of Muslim culture and will be a welcome addition to teen collections.'
-- Lynn Rutan, Booklist
'A fast-paced, entertaining read…[Karim's] whole cast of characters is complex and engaging…Karim maintains the pace with short chapters, an engaging plot, and an entertaining and likable narrator. Nina's story is compelling, touching on issues many young people face, whether or not they are Pakistani Muslim girls. But even when she takes on serious issues, Karim keeps the novel optimistic and funny.'
-- Muslimah Media Watch
'Debut novelist Karim manages to find a happy ending for Asher and Nina, but it's one that is surprising and realistic, worthy of this intelligent work. Narrator Nina has a wry, witty take on her life's circumstances, yet her humor is subtly delivered, deftly intermixed with the novel's undercurrent of seriousness. Whether they share Nina's circumstances or not, readers will readily identify with her struggle, and they'll find her an endearing and admirable literary companion.'
-- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
'This heartfelt debut has one of the most touching first-kiss scenes ever'
-- BookDragon
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