75 pages 2 hours read

Patricia McCormick

Sold

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2006

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Pages 160-215Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Pages 160-215 Summary

Lakshmi gradually picks up a few words in the city language, including the word “whore,” which she understands to be an angry insult, although she is unaware of the word’s full meaning. When she witnesses Harish being bullied by other boys who call his mom a “whore,” she reflects that Harish does not really have a normal life, and she starts to resent him less. Harish checks Pushpa’s temperature often to see if she has a fever. Mumtaz says that if her fever comes back, both she and her children will be cast out on the street.

Lakshmi continues calculating her remaining debt in her notebook, as well as recording new words that she learns in the city language. Harish sees her doing this and asks if she would like him to teach her to read the city language, starting with the words in his storybook. She gladly accepts, and they start doing lessons each day after Harish’s school is over and before customers arrive. She learns that there are actually two city languages: English and Hindi, with Hindi being more similar to her native language. She learns many simple words in both languages quickly and can state her name, age, and place of origin, along with naming basic emotions and objects.

Related Titles

By Patricia McCormick

SuperSummary Logo
STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
Malala Yousafzai, Patricia McCormick
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Plot Summary
Patricia McCormick
Guide cover placeholder
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Patricia McCormick
Guide cover image
SuperSummary Logo
Study Guide
Patricia McCormick
Guide cover image