Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman shared by srsam

I read a terrific book today- called _Climbing the Stairs_. This book
was really close to home for me because it was set in Chennai, India,
the place of my birth. The book was about a girl named Vidya who is 15
years old and wants to go to college; an unusual dream for a girl in
British occupied India during World War 2. Vidya's father is beaten
and becomes brain dead. Vidya's contemporary family is then forced to
live in a traditional household with her father's family; including an
aunt who is thoughtless and cruel. Vidya's brother leaves to join the
army and the family is shocked. In the end Vidya is sent to medical
school; and manages to find a pleasant solution to the nagging problem
of marriage. I think it would be a little hard to understand the book
without much of a background, but I would still recommend it.