A graphic novel that includes a complicated relationship between mother and daughter? Yes please! This is a dynamic that crosses cultures, ages, and classes and offering it in a graphic novel format is a wonderful way to explore this dynamic. The delving into a family's history was also very insightful! The fantasy element was a delight!

This book is so so beautiful and emotional! I love that it's half in black and white and then transforms into color when Pri is in India. Pri is your average teenager who loves comics, fights with her mom, and struggles with her Indian-American identity. She has questions about who her father is since her mom never brings him up and always changes the subject. She finds a shawl in her mom's old suitcase and is transported to India to discover things about her past and herself. It's a charming and lovely story and Pri is likeable and real. I really enjoyed it!

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Pashmina is an interesting graphic novel telling the story of a young girl named Priyanka Das (Pri) and her inquisitiveness about India, why her mother abandoned her life in India and who is Pri’s father? Pri discovers a magical pashmina in a suitcase. Whenever she puts it on, Priyanka is transported to India – a very colorful and vibrant India. There is a mysterious shadow in this colorful land, which is a bit disconcerting. An interesting way of exploring India without actually going there. Wonder how the pashmina works?

I really liked how the contrast in portraying their current home life (in dull coloring) versus the India Pri sees while wearing the pashmina (very colorful). The graphics were a pleasure to view and read through – seemed to really make the story come alive.

It was interesting to see Pri’s reaction to her uncle announcing that he and his wife were having a baby. Given that they were family, Pri should have been overjoyed. With respect to timelines, one item that was a bit disconcerting was that the reader just read about the new baby (auntie is 4 months pregnant) and the next page, the baby has arrived, albeit a bit prematurely. So I was thrown by this quick passage of time.

One also has to ponder her reaction when her teacher was prodding her with respect to entering the contest. In the end, she does write a comic – after her real physical trip to India.

I enjoyed learning new words in Hindi as well as more about the Indian culture. It is a book that I think both younger and older children would enjoy – on different levels.

Wish we could all have a magical pashmina ☺ Thank you Nidhi Chanani for writing such a fun and engaging graphic novel.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

This kid's graphic novel is magical, touching, and sweet. It the story of an Indian-American girl who connects with her long gone mother through her mother's passing shawl. There's a glossary for people unfamiliar with Indian culture. The author's art is cute, colorful, and meaningful. A must read!

While I loved the diversity of this book, it personally just didn't suit my tastes. However, I am so happy a book with this type of background is available for kids and teens to read it. Even though it wasn't for me, I will definitely recommend it to others looking for a graphic novel!

This book follows an Indian American girl named Pashmina who discovers magical abilities. It's beautifully drawn and wonderfully whimsical.

A delicate but soulful fantasy-filled adventure that explores the relationships between mother and daughter, but also family and culture. The art style is simple but bright, helping it be really inviting for reluctant readers. It's a great slice of life with a hint of magic that different readers can each take away with a different lesson, so it's great for every library collection.

Very much enjoyed the illustrations in this one. The story was very enjoyable as well. Marked to purchase for our collection.

Haunting but not overwhelming, this graphic novel performs an amazing balancing act and I enjoyed every page.

Pashmina stands out for it's use of vibrant colors to convey the magical portions. It was visually stunning throughout. The peek into a different heritage will be great for readers as well.

I just didn't quite get this book. I'm of the opinion that graphic novels, regardless of their intended audience, should have something for everyone. Pashmina never quite gets off the launchpad. Its clearly intended as something of a call to arms for young Indian woman to remember their heritage and culture but not at the expense of their own independence and I admire that message. But, it never does more than scratch the surface of these deep and often horrific issues.

The books heroine Priyanka Das has grown up with only a very basic understanding of the country her mother left before she was born. She knows all the fun stuff, the food, the clothes, and the movies but nothing about her father or why her mother left. She's had a happy life and dreams of being an artist but when her favorite uncle reveals he and his wife are expecting their first child she worries she'll lose the only father she has.

Great, that's a terrific set up for a story. But, the book takes a very odd left turn when Priya finds a magic Pashmina that sends her to a fairy tale version of India and she inspired to beg her mother to send her there so she can finally learn about her own history.

Okay cool now this is a realistic fantasy about reconciling your fantastical ideas about where you come from with the realities. Except no because then it becomes about why Priya's mom left India and how Indian woman are super oppressed and India basically sucks.

There's just too much to unpack here and not enough time to do it. The book feels disjointed and the characters aren't fleshed out enough to make any kind of impact. The ending sort of implies that the story might continue but honestly I just wasn't invested.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC. This is a clever and well-illustrated graphic novel. Unfortunately, for me, I was never engaged. I tried several times to read it but it never caught my interest.

I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot. The art is amazing, just the kind of drawing I enjoy. The story was nicely done. I will read anything about immigration, adaptation to a new culture, honoring of heritage, etc. I specially loved the magic in this story.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.</i>

I love First Second books! They are always so good. Pashmina was one of my favorites. The art was fantastic. I especially loved the use of color. Chanani’s story had the perfect amount of magic and realism and I loved it. My only complaint was that it could have been a little bit longer and transitioned a little slower. Perhaps showing the passage of time better would have made some of the changes a bit less abrupt. But really, that wasn’t a big deal because I LOVED it. I can’t wait to read more books by this author!

I didn't like this as much as I had hoped I would. It's the story of a teen trying to learn more about her roots in India. Her mother isn't forthcoming, a pashmina starts transporting Priyanka away. Will India hold all the answers for her?

The art is fine. I really like the contrast between the real world and the pashmina world. The storyline just felt a little slight to me. It is good for a middle grade audience and I hope it finds its place. I just didn't love it the way I wanted to.

Priyanka “Pri” Das is a talented artist who loves to make comics. She is a bit of a loner and outsider. She wants to know both why her deeply religious mother left India for California so abruptly years ago and her father’s whereabouts, but Pri's mother is very cryptic about her past and refuses to speak of India. When Pri discovers a mysterious pashmina tucked away in her mother's forgotten suitcase and wraps it around her shoulders, she is transported to an imagined, romanticized India. These panels burst with vibrant colors in contrast to the banal black and white images of her everyday life. In the magical India Pri has a talking elephant and peacock who serve as Pri's and the reader's tour guides and introduce us to the country's festivals, foods, and fashion, but Pri knows this isn't the realistic version of India, which is hinted by a ghost shaped woman who appears in the background. In order to find the answers to Pri's questions and see the real India, she will have to travel to India, where she learns about women’s choices—especially her mother’s—and living without fear.

This is a well written debut graphic novel, but it left me wanting more. I appreciated how the portrayal of Indian culture was well balanced. The inclusion of Hindi words worked naturally in the text though it would have been a good idea on expanding the glossary on how to pronounce the words. Since I am familiar with Hindi already, I didn't not have a hard time understanding the words but for readers who are not familiar with the Hindi language might have some trouble. While the graphic novel touches upon classic themes of bicultural and immigrant conflicts, it also talks about women's roles and their constraints in the Indian culture. Although a lot can be inferred from the panels, I would really have liked if this topic was explored further and we got to see more ways on how the magical pashmina's influences a wide range of women in the graphic novel. I also wondered if Pri's mom was aware of the pashmina's magical abilities and if so, why did she hide it? A character like Pri is rarely featured in children and/or YA books because she is the daughter of a single mother, a family structure that is rarely represented and looked down upon in shame in the South Asian culture; another topic that could have been covered more thoroughly in the book. Though a bit lacking in some aspects, Pashmina is a welcoming addition to diverse graphic novels and I look forward to reading more from this creator.

A beautiful story of a girl who gets to know her family and cultural heritage better through her mother's magical pashmina.

This was a fun read, but my copy didn't include pictures so it was hard to know what was happening, and who was talking.

This was such a strong book, a great ownvoices book with some striking fantasy elements. I like the art style and the way color is used to represent the two worlds. The characters are amazingly detailed and the plot is well-paced and feels authentic. No one is stereotypical here and the message is fantastic, timely, and needed.

While I'm glad to see more stories featuring diverse characters and viewpoints, I feel like this isn't really a graphic novel for teenagers. The story at times felt a little simplistic in how it was told and it was hard at times to remember that Priyanka was 15 or 16 years old (at the least). I wanted a little more depth than what we got on the page. That said, I think middle schoolers would really enjoy reading this, and I'm glad it exists.