Kalpana's Dream by Judith Clarke

I like several things about this book. I like the English essay assignment and the glimpses at how several students dealt with it ("Who Am I?"). I like the intergenerational conflict - the great grandmother who speaks only Hindi and the great granddaughter who speaks only English. There is really only one aspect of the book that just doesn't work for me and that is the Dracula / Bride of Dracula sub-theme. I got really tired of the descriptions of the English teacher as being very pale and getting paler. And her male friend with his Count Dracula allusions. It seems like all of that is just a hook to get kids to tolerate the real story. I would like to have had more of the part of the story about the Nirolimi, the great granddaughter, and the great grandmother.