Patricia
by Grace Livingston Hill

5 out of 5 stars

Patricia grows up admiring a boy at her school, John Worth. He is kind and patient and serious. She meets his family and realizes that he comes from a devoutly Christian home and that is the source of his goodness and strength. She begins to search for God as well, and studies the Bible.
Patricia’s mother only cares about social engagements with rich people, and tries to encourage Patricia into a courtship with their neighbor Thorny, a wealthy socialite with a drunken temper. Patricia prays that God will help her to find her path in life between what she truly values and what her mother pressures her to do.

Climbing the Stairs
by Padma Venkatraman (Goodreads Author)

2.5 out of 5 stars

Vidya is 15 years old during WWII, and she worries that her family will arrange a marriage for her before she can finish school or go to college like she dreams. All around her, the world is in turmoil as British-occupied India fights on all sides, not only against Germany and Japan, but against the racism and political unrest in their own country. Vidya learns that not all British are racist, but also that the Indian people can be racist against their own people in the caste system.