Crick Crack, Monkey by Merle Hodge

Written substantially in the Pidgin English of the West Indies, this tale of Cynthia/Tee and her two lives with her father's sister, Tante, and her maternal Aunt Beatrice, is an interesting comparison of the different lives in Trinidad - one is more rural, rough and ready, the other more refined and anglicized. Tee faces an increasing challenge to understand her identity; and, interestingly, we are left wondering which side will ultimately win - or will they (do they need to be?) reconciled.

The Wheel of Surya by Jamila Gavin

I read most of this book on a beautiful train ride down through Switzerland into the Alps, and although the two settings could hardly have been more different - from the heat of India, to the griminess of England, to the snowy purity of the Swiss Alps - it was nonetheless a good read in between admiring the mountains.