47. Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

read the BOOK

2021
209 pgs.
MidGrade CRF  in Verse
Finished 5/6/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.59 - 1231 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: 1983 America

First line/s:  TWO

I have two lives.

One that is Indian,

one that is not.

I have two best friends.

One who is Indian,

one who is not.

My comments: Reha is in the eighth grade at a private school, where she has lots of friends.  She spends the weekends with her parents and all sorts of local Indian families that are not the people she knows during the week.  She has a best friend in each "camp."  And I guess the biggest theme of the book is:  where does she belong?  I very much enjoyed learning about the foods and culture of an Indian American family.  Another sad story, though.... There was a lot of talk about music, the music of 1983 to be precise, which is when the story is set.  Ah, such memories!

Goodreads synopsis:  An #ownvoices 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.