Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After I checked out this book, I noticed it was by the same author who wrote Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution, so I wasn't thrilled. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one, mainly because I learned so much about Indian history.

Sita is a poor Indian girl from the village of Jhansi, but her father has big dreams. She is trained to become a female protector of the rani (the queen) of India. She eventually becomes one of her Durga Dal, but the British are already in India. I found the history fascinating--how Britain kept the Indian rulers as puppet leaders, and how the weak Indian king had more interest in playing a girl in plays than ruling a country. Qheen Lakshmi had the real power--she even practiced with her female warriors and was educated.

My only qualm? There were times when I felt like the author was shoving definitions of Indian words down my throat. I would rather have her write the words in context--let me figure out what they mean. Heck, there's a glossary in the book anyway! (Not that I ever check those).

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