Rajani LaRocca

Red, White, and Whole

Linara K.S

I loved this so much!!! i should probably rate this more than 5 stars but this damned app won't let le do it. So there you go 5 solid stars ✨. 
This book, despite being written in verse, was complex and story-like. I don't know how to describe the experience that this book gave me. It felt as though i was threaded into the narrative itself, as though the main character was taking my hand and guiding me through it one page at a time. I saw, i felt, I smelled, i touched everything. The chapters were too short and the book not long enough. I would definitely recommend, but more precisely to south Asian middle schoolers that feel alienated by their dual cultures, and odd features; as Rajani Larocca would say... "A dark face in a sea of white," idk if that quote is accurate or not, i apologise in advance it is. But i do remember a line along that line that marked me when i first started the book.

A heartbreakingly hopeful #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. From Indies Introduce author Rajani LaRocca comes a radiant story about the ties that bind and how to go on in the face of unthinkable loss. This is the perfect next read for fans of Jasmine Warga and Thanhhà Lại.

Raven K

Jordan Heustis

I honestly did find the first half of this book kind of boring but oh my gosh the second half was a roller coaster of emotions. I was crying and laughing and then full on sobbing. I can’t wait to see what other people think!

Red, White, and Whole

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