Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Middle grade · ages 10–14 · 750L (~4th grade) · 240 pages · 2004
Why we'd hand it over
A Newbery-winning novel that treats a girl's resistance to arranged marriage with seriousness and cultural nuance—not preachy, deeply imagined, and radically honest about what agency costs in that context.