—

The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is an extremely imaginative and captivating read. It has healthy doses of adventure, bravery, friendship, wilderness all thrown in. What attracted me to the book first was that the protagonist was a girl about my age. She was fearless, bold, loyal and always had her way…..kinda like me! She is a girl who feels strongly for her fellow villagers and goes over and beyond to help them. While this is a very admirable trait, quite often Chaya resorts to stealing and lying to fund her need for money which is unethical. She stands by her friends come what may. When her friend Neel was in dire trouble, she did not think twice about risking her own life to save him. She is quite a tomboy and an acrobat, jumping from one tree to another or one roof to another.