The Vine Basket, Paperback

"A haunting tale of artistic vision triumphing over adversity." KirkusReviews

Things aren t looking good for fourteen-year-old Mehrigul. She yearns to be in school, but she s needed on the family farm. The longer she s out of school, the more likely it is that she ll be sent off to a Chinese factory . . . perhaps never to return. Her only hope is an American who buys one of her decorative baskets for a staggering sum and says she will return in three weeks for more. Mehrigul must brave storms, torn-up hands from working the fields, and her father s scorn to get the baskets done. The stakes are high, and time is passing . . . will Mehrigul's hard work be enough?