You can read a solid Christian review of this book here.
Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.
Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—but they are a universe apart.
Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick.
Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She’ll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma’s life.
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It's been a while since I've been in a reading groove, and I'm not sure if it will last, but this—Red, White, and Whole, by Rajani LaRocca—is my second book for 2025. What a beautiful gut punch!
Reha, daughter of Indian immigrant parents, finds herself struggling with living the life of a weekday American and weekend Indian. As a young teen in the 1980s, she goes to public school (a particular assignment about defining heroism is a poignant foreshadowing) and wants to spend time with friends, watch MTV music videos, dress like other kids, and attend the school dance. But at the same time, she loves her Amma and Daddy, her Prema Auntie and extended family, and the culture—full of colors and scents and flavors and customs—they share.
When her Amma becomes sick and has to go to the hospital, Reha finds her worlds converging, morphing, splitting like cancer cells. And she learns that the definition of hero is starkly applicable:
"A hero is brave, but not without fear.
Says what they believe is right.
Works to make the world better.
Acts out of love for others."
This novel-in-verse is full of everyday heroes, and movingly reminds me of the sort of person I want to be.
Review by Eli Evans
Formerly home educated and now father of five, Eli loves discovering amazing books, new and old, and is an artistic curator at heart. The owner and manager of Exodus since 1998, his focus is on offering thoughtful and well-written books that inspire the imagination and promote creativity and diligence while living for God. Read more of his reviews
here.
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