The controversial decision by a village elder to move Shida’s Tanzanian village to another village causes unexpected problems for its residents, leaving them caught between modernization and tradition. Shida, hopeful for the opportunity of an education, must reassure the villagers after numerous unfortunate events

A thirteen-year-old comes of age in a rural village in a newly independent Tanzania in the early 1960s. ( )

Growing up with traditional village values in 1967 just after the independence, Shida, has to reconcile the modern and the traditional. Her name means Problem in Swahili, and she does have problems. Her father is dead and her mother refuses to participate in life, spending most of her time in the hut sleeping and cursing Problem for not doing enough. She is surrounded by family and when her grandfather, the village leader decides to support the new government of Tanzania by moving to a new village to be close to schools and medicine as well as create a community garden where all will help. Shida is delighted to be able to go to school and to work with the nurse, for she has the ability to become a healer. When her opportunity to go to school and the village gardens are destroyed, she has to confront what people see as a curse by a witch. The death of her young cousin from malaria brings the conflict of old witchcraft and new medicine to a climax and shows her that she should not give up her goal of being a healer. Excellent view of Tanzanian history. Middle School book. ( )

I really liked A Girl called Problem. Though Shida’s culture was new to me, I found it all fascinating, mostly because of the stark difference between her life in 1967 and mine. I cannot image harvesting all the family’s food, living in a one room home—let alone a hut made of mud and cow dung—not being allowed to attend school, and being expected to learn chores in anticipation of a marriage where the man ruled. Litongo is a very patriarchal society and Shida does not fit in. That is the problem, not that Shida is the problem.

Shida sees all of this as normal but wants to change. She wants to learn, to become a great healer, and to have a career before she has a family. Luckily,
Shida has someone to look up to in Nurse Goldfilda. When things get bad, especially with two bullies, Shida hangs tough and helps her cousins do the same. I like her determination and spunk. When provoked, I think she has a fiery temper that can help change occur.
Shida is a good role model for young girls. She is living in a society where women are second-class citizens with limited opportunities, yet she goes after what she wants, unwilling to give up her dreams. A Girl Called Problem is about Shida’s life, her determination in odds that stack against her. It is a family story. Most of the people in Litongo are related to some degree. This extended family cares for each other in a way not often seen today. I think kids will be impressed with the way all these family members stay together.

A Girl Called Problem is a story both boys and girls will enjoy. I think adults will love this story, as did I. The author based her story on the real Tanzania, the Sukuma people, and her time in Africa. A Girl Called Problem is a middle grade novel kids will learn much from and enjoy. The villagers speak two languages, Swahili and Sukuma—glossary in back—live in an age of witches and curses, and are building a country from the ground up. Not yet born, middle grade kids may think the stark African conditions of 1967 were normal “for so long ago.” This is a perfect book for school libraries and the study of cultures.

A Girl Called Problem is an uplifting story of hope and possibility. It will keep you mesmerized until the very end. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. Mostly, it will make you think. A Girl called Problem is one of those stories that will stay with you long after you’ve read the last word.
(Received from publisher in exchange for a review)
Original review at Kid Lit Reviews: http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2013/06/05/review-a-girl-called-problem-by-katie-quir... ( )

A Girl Called Problem
By Katie Quirk
2013, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
(Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Review by Debra L Scott, 4/28/2013

Katie Quirk offers an intriguing look into the culture of girls and women in the Tanzania of 1967. It is a time of change in Africa, where the traditions held sacred by the ancestors, and defined by a world that exists only as far as the daily life of the village of Litongo, are challenged by the growing awareness of what may be just beyond that world.

Shida was born as a Problem, for that is what her name means in Swahili. The only child born to a widowed mother, Shida grows up with extra responsibilities that make life difficult. However the spunky young girl accepts what she must do without complaint. She longs to be a healer, and gathers what knowledge she can from the old women and medicine men, but the medicine men will not take her as an apprentice because she is a girl. Nevertheless, she wears her pouch of herbs at her waist and many call on her when sickness strikes.

The new president of Tanzania seeks to bring reforms to all the people. As part of this program, a nurse now comes once a month to the village from a neighboring town with modern medicines. Shida shadows her as well, wanting to learn this new way of healing. But today, the nurse brings a startling message: the people of Litongo are being asked to move to the bigger village nearby so that they can share the precious resources of healthcare and education with their neighbors. To most of the village, this is frightening, but to Shida it is a dream come true.

Quirk tells the compelling story of this struggle of a village gathering the courage to break with the traditions of their ancestors and risk losing their unique and comfortable life. Although a place is made for them in Nija Panda, they face resentment from the townspeople. Who will get the best farmland, and who only deserves the poorest soil?

When bad things begin to happen, it seems to be a sign they made the wrong decision. The challenges bring their suspicions and prejudices into sharp focus. Surely the Witch put a curse on them all, or the Ancestors are angry and have deserted them. Girls should not have been allowed to go to school. The old medicine man who stayed behind must have the answers, not the new young one. Shida feels there must be another answer and, with her cousin Grace, turns sleuth to find the real reasons for the troubles.

I quite liked this story. There is an acceptance of the village traditions and animist beliefs as important to their way of life, and one cannot but feel empathy for the different characters who feel threatened by the rapid changes they must endure. I spent my adolescent years in third world countries, as my father was in the Peace Corps. It is such a valuable thing to understand a completely different culture from their viewpoint, rather than our myopic American bias. Quirk worked in Tanzania for two years, and her love for the country and its people is more than evident. I hope many young readers will choose to explore this glimpse into a culture that is fast vanishing from our planet.

(This review is based on a Reader's Advance Copy) ( )