West Regional Reads: Palace of Illusions

*This blog post got Ankita a ticket in the prize drawing for our Teen Summer Contest.*

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni

This book is basically on the Mahabharata. One may ask, what is the ‘Mahabharata’? Well, the Mahabharata is a ancient tale about the great fight that happened in Kurukshetra, a place in India, now called New Delhi. This Mahabharata is known to lots of people from the country India, and many people, such as myself, have grown up listening to the great mystery of this 18 day war. So naturally, when I picked up Chitra Barejee Divakurni’s The Palace of Illusions, I couldn’t put the book down!

Chitra’s “Palace of Illusions’ is quite different than any interpretation of the Mahabharata that I have read. It is told from Panchali’s or Draupadi as I like to call her, point of view. It shows her emotions in depth, from the part when she was discriminated, or when she was stereotyped, or when she had to marry 5 men, it is all show in great depth.

In my opinion, I believe that this was probably the best book I have ever read. The fact that my roots are in India may add to this, but I still believe that no matter what race or origin you are, you will absolutely ADORE Panchali, and of course, this book!

Teen Reviewer: Ankita Mishra, 13, Morrisville