Our Secret, Siri Aang

by Cristina Kessler

Book Overview

Twelve-year-old Namelok is thrilled when she finds a mother black rhino and her new baby in the bush, while collecting firewood for her Maasai tribe. She vows to protect them, visit them and - most important - keep them a secret so poachers cannot hurt them. But when her initiation into womanhood threatens her secret visits, Namelok must say goodbye to her animal friends. Before she can do so, she makes a horrifying discovery, sending her on a harrowing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142408409
• ISBN13: 9780142408407
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent look at another culture

This beautifully written book follows a young Maasai girl as she reaches the age for her initiation into womanhood that includes the traditional circumcision and marriage. Times are changing for the Maasai and she would prefer to keep her freedom by delaying this ceremony and possibly even going to school. She has ulterior motives, as she has privately witnessed the birth of a baby rhino whom she names "Our Secret, Siri Aang", and claims the baby and mother as her other family. She secretly visits them daily but would lose track of them if the ceremony were to take place, since the recovery requires four months of isolation. Her father also struggles, trying to keep the traditional Maasai ways in his family, but seeing how changes are affecting it. He believes that school is a waste of time and is ashamed of his daughter for considering it and for questioning her responsibilities as a young woman. He has also witnessed his warrior son sell his soul by allowing passing tourists to photograph him for money. His inner turmoil leads him to actions that a Maasai, "the keepers and protectors of all wild animals", should never consider. The suspenseful journey allows the reader to consider the choices made and suffer along with the characters as their good intentions lead them farther and farther from their Maasai roots. This is an excellent book, well told and well characterized. My only complaint is the cover that, although I am confident is an authentic Maasai girl, is very unappealing to me. I did keep referring to it as I read the book because it matches the descriptions in the book perfectly of what a young Maasai girl would look like, but I rarely find that photographs make me want to pick up a book to read it.

Siri Aang a delight

Our Secret - Siri Aang is a well-written, thoughtful and evocative book for young people. The Maasai girl in this story is full of energy and courage, even though the traditions in her life are beginning to clash with her new awareness. The author, Cristina Kessler, writes with insight, love and a huge talent. Africa and the Maasai culture come alive in this story, woven into adventure and intrigue. No matter where Kessler might be, when she writes of her beloved Africa, she is there. And so are we. - Jacqueline Buie Santa Cruz, CA

If I bend that far, I shall surely break

A book that bears more similarities to "Fiddler On the Roof" than (as I originally assumed) "Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind". After reading a certain number of children's books, a person runs the danger of becoming ever-so-slightly jaded. You start ticking of the cultures and countries covered. Have I read a tale of a nomadic child in the Cholistan Desert of modern day Pakistan? Check. How about a child in nineteenth century Southern Libya? Check. So when I saw this book about the contemporary trials of a girl living as a Maasai, I was already checking the title off in my head. I was not particularly heartened by the fact that this book had sat, untouched, in the New Books section of my library for a month or two. For all its good writing (which I will get to) this book sports a cover that kids do not readily gravitate towards. And this is a pity. Author Cristina Kessler is a far better author than most of the two-bit hacks out there, and as a Peace Corps volunteer, she knows from whence she writes. In "Our Secret, Siri Aang", we find that all human beings are complex characters with both good and bad inside of them. It just takes one girl to learn the hard way that her heroes may not be as perfect as they first appear. A twelve-year-old girl in the Maasai culture will inevitably have a lot on her mind at all times. Namelok is no exception to this rule. Namelok carries with her the weight of a series of secrets, all exciting and all dangerous. First, she witnessed the birth of a baby black rhino in the bush, and has committed herself to the health and well-being of both the mama and the child. Second, her menstrual cycle has just begun, and she wants nothing to do with it. Menstruation can only mean an end to her childhood days and a fast circumcision (or "emuratare") before being married off to a man her father chooses. Third, she wants to learn from the village schoolteacher. This is expressly forbidden, not only because she is a girl but also because the Maasai do not believe such knowledge to have much use. All in all, the odds are stacked pretty squarely against Namelok. Then, one day, things get worse. Poachers are spotted in town. Her beloved older brother participates in a bit of foolishness that sets off a whole series of events. And when Namelok goes to visit her beloved rhinos, she sees vultures circling above. By the end, Namelok sets out on a quest to bring justice to the world and make her father see her as an equal and not just a young girl fighting to understand the world around her. The book runs the slight danger of falling into the category of girl-refuses-an-arranged-marriage books (ala "Catherine Called Birdy" or the aforementioned "Shabanu") or the female-circumcision-in-children's-books camp (as with "No Laughter Here"). Fortunately, author Kessler avoids such trite topics. Namelok will have to deal with these problems later on down the line, but this tale is far more concerned with the ideas

Our Secret

Our Secret is a powerful story of a Masai girl facing a web of dilemnas. Christina Kessler has the ability to mix intrique, cultural values, and strong yet not sentimental characters. This book relates an important tale of a culture that is rapildy changing. The details of daily life in a Masai village will appeal to readers as well as the indentification with an adolescent girl who must make difficult decisions. Adolescent readers will not feel pandered to by reading this book that makes the reader a better person.

Sharing a Secret

This touching tale is a coming-of-age book about a twelve-year old Maasai girl, Namelok. It is set in today's Africa, where the Maasai face unwelcome changes imposed upon them by the outside world. Namelok is a mature and aware young woman who is unafraid to question the traditional ways. She is lured by the sights and sounds of the bush where she goes to gather firewood. One day she witnesses a black rhino giving birth. She whispers to the mother, "...let's call your beautiful baby Siri Aang, for that's what she shall be - Our Secret." Christina intertwines the theme of Namelok's protective stance toward the rhinos with the girl's maturing in a way that weaves a captivating story.