I like books that deal with the intersection of cultures and this is
an example. It isn't a classic and I don't suppose the writing can be
called excellent, but it is a decent story. I am reminded of when my
younger daughter was in high school. She is from a family that could be
called average American - mixed Caucasian ancestry, nothing really
interesting ethnically, living in the mid-west. In her high school,
there were a rather large number of children with much more exotic
family origins and ancestry and she frequently lamented the fact that
our family was so "boring".
This is the other side of
the coin. Sunita is of Bengali ancestry and her grandparents have
recently come to the United States from India to live with their family
for a year. For Sunita, this heightens her feelings of difference, as
her mother reverts to a lot of Indian ways and the American part of her
feels betrayed and abandoned. This is the story of how she comes to
terms with both parts of her. It is somewhat predictable, but I think
kids would enjoy it.
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