PLOT: 3/5 CHARACTERS: 3.5/5 WRITING STYLE: 3/5 CLIMAX: 3/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5
“I’ll suggest you observe animals. Then you’ll get to know them better. You can deduce what they want to say. Try to put yourself in their shoes and you’ll be able to figure out what they wish to say. It is as simple as that.”
While the above statement provides the crux of the plot of the book Isha and the Hedgerow-Folk, the statement also serves to sensitize young readers about being conscious of their surrounding environment and those who live in the lap of Nature.
The story is aimed at young readers and can be followed by those between the ages of 7 to mid-teens.
The plot revolves around the central character of Isha who is an 11-year-old girl who has many animal friends who reside in the hedges near her residence. These animal friends include free beings like mongooses, rats, hedgehogs, and little birds.
Isha is presented as an observer of the issues of the hedgerow folk and possesses revolutionary activism within her young self that exudes strength of character and makes her far more mature than her age.
In this sense, Isha is the central character while the others have an impact on her in different ways and she takes all of these impacts with a lot of sophistication and understanding, which helps her grow through all that she is shown to go through at such a young age.
Isha becomes a voice for the helpless animals whose habitat is about to be destroyed by the mowing down of the hedgerows. Parallel to this runs the problems and upheavals in her personal life. This mainly revolves around the series of mishaps that happen when Isha and her family take a road trip.
Their car meets with an accident on the way back from a vacation. Her mother Rajeshwari goes into a coma, her grandmother Indi slips into a deep sleep, her brother Neil is kidnapped and there is even an attempt to harm Isha by attacking her life.
The mystery of the plot remains in the suspenseful events that disclose the culprits behind all these problems. It is shown as not a mere coincidence that makes these series of ill-chanced events, falling one after the other, but a fully conscious and planned effort at harming Isha and her family. Such multiple climaxes make for an enticing reading experience.
The book falls in the genre of children’s fiction but has elements of the fantastical and mystery thriller as well. Additionally, the characters remain well drawn and there are not too many characters that crowd the scenes despite the episodic and multi-faceted plot. This makes Isha a highly inspiring character.
The focal point of her personality is her endurance. She is able to go through everything with a lot of resilience in her character. Though she feels frightened and broken during several instances, she never shows it or allows it to affect her take on the course of events. This makes her steady and allows her to keep focus even when the entire path is not easily visible and the series of events cannot be understood.
This makes the novel highly based on moral values and inculcates the right kind of value-based education in young children. For it is humane values, love for humanity, and an altruistic nature that will help humans to remain in sync with the environment and build the right balance in the ecosystem.
The idea is that when humans care for one another regardless of the fact that they are not blood relatives but do good based on the general love for humanity and the humane within all beings, then karma has a way of bringing the good done back to the individual.
Isha and the Hedgerow-Folk is full of black and white illustrations that depict the important scenes and add to the entertainment quotient of the book. The writing style is simple and easy to follow. The sentences are kept at a minimum length and at 140 pages the novel is rather crisp and interesting.
However, there are printing errors as pages from a separate book on the historical events in the development of Balochistan find mention along with pictures at several instances. This hampers the reading experience and creates confusion. It calls for proper editorial outlook and careful proofreading of the book’s copy before sending it for printing.
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