 Sheba Karim was born and raised in Catskill, NY. She is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and the Iowa Writers Workshop. Her fiction has appeared in 580 Split, Asia Literary Review, Barn Owl Review, DesiLit, EGO, Kartika Review, Shenandoah, and the anthology Electric Feather. Two of her short stories were recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her young adult novel, Skunk Girl, was published in 2009. She is a 2009-2010 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar based in New Delhi India, where she is working on a novel set in 13th century Delhi.
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Skunk Girl
As if navigating high school isn’t hard enough, 16 year old Nina Khan also has to deal with being the only Pakistani-American at Deer Hook High, the impossibility of living up to her brainiac older sister Sonia, the social restrictions placed on by her parents, her genetic disposition toward body hair, and falling hard for the new boy in school. In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it’s possible to embrace two very different cultures – even if things can get a little bit, well, hairy.
Skunk Girl Reviews
“[T]here are only two types of people who spend their Friday nights in high school at home—Pakistani Muslim girls and future serial killers.” Although Nina Khan was born and raised in small-town Deer Hook, N.Y., and has never visited her parents’ homeland, she must adhere to their rigid cultural and religious beliefs, including no sleepovers, alcohol or dating. With dark skin, a wide bottom and an overabundance of body hair that makes her a “skunk girl,” what are her chances of dating in the predominantly fair-skinned, closed-minded town anyway? But when Italian Asher transfers to her high school, she dreams of romance for the first time. In this debut, episodic novel, rife with smart, self-deprecating humor and set in the 1990s just as a phenomenon known as e-mail is gaining interest, Nina searches for identity and emerging independence while accepting the reality of her home life.”
– Kirkus Reviews
“Karim’s first novel provides a rare exploration of Muslim culture and will be a welcome addition to teen collections.”
– Booklist
“Narrator Nina has a wry, witty take on her life’s circumstances, yet her humor is subtly delivered, deftly intermixed with the novel’s undercurrent of seriousness. Whether they share Nina’s circumstances or not, readers will readily identify with her struggle, and they’ll find her an endearing and admirable literary companion.”
– Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Readers will get a kick out of a story featuring a character whose background may be nothing like theirs, but who is someone they can relate to all the same. They’ll appreciate — and maybe admire — Nina’s sense of humor about her predicament, and they’ll root for her in her quest to win Asher’s heart. The jury is still out on what the future will hold for Nina (and for those like her). But if what Karim has written thus far is any example, she’ll probably be fine.”
– Teenreads.com
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