Grace Qiu Qiu من عند Burcombe, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2، المملكة المتحدة من عند Burcombe, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2، المملكة المتحدة

Too monster-of-the-week for me and not enough fan service.

Seventeen-year-old Samar's, aka Sammy, interest in her Indian and Sikh heritage rises when her estranged uncle comes back into her's and her mother's lives weeks after 9/11 (the story takes places very shortly the events). Due to her own strict upbringing, Samar's mother has made every effort to make her feel American not Indian, but with the emergance of new family and the sudden judgement brought on by the terrorist attacks, Samar is suddenly made to confront her heritage and culture and who she is. Another instance where I wish there was a half star option because I liked it better than two and not quite enough for three. I'm a sucker for a story of coming to terms with one's culture, but this one just didn't do it for me. I mostly blame the lack of characterization for Sammy, which did improve in the second half of the book, but not quite enough. The supporting characters, especially Sammy's best friend Molly and Uncle Sandeep, feel lively and real, but Sammy seemed too much like a voice and not a character. I really did enjoy the themes brought up, especially about defining family, and judgement of others different than you, but there were a few too many crowded into the book, and a plot about Sammy making friends with other South Asian girls was not given enough attention. But I do hope the author writes more books, because there is a great need for books with characters of South Asian descent (definitely in my library!).