Ask Me No Questions deals with so many of the things I care about: the aftermath of 9/11, the day-to-day lives of undocumented youth, and the realities of first-generation immigrants. I am a fan of Marina Budhos, who also cares about these things, particularly the experiences of young people. My close proximity to some of these subjects, as well as my high expectations for Budhos work, made it difficult for me to admit it, but here we are: I was very disappointed in this book.
The protagonist of Ask Me No Questions is 14 year-old Nadira Hossain, who came to the U.S. from Bangladesh when she was very young. Her family's visas have long since expired, and Nadira and her older sister Aisha grow up concealing the fact that they are undocumented. After the rollout of post-9/11 special registration and arrest policies, the family goes to the Canadian border to apply for asylum, but they are turned away and their father is placed in detention. Their mother decides to stay in the border town in a shelter, sending Nadira and Aisha back alone to live with family friends and await their uncertain future. Nadira has always felt inadequate compared to her older sister, but when Aisha succumbs to the pressure of keeping their secret, Nadira realizes it is up to her to see the family through this crisis.
The power of Ask Me No Questions comes from its basis in fact—there were Muslims who sought asylum in Canada after 9/11, immigrant detention remains a common law enforcement practice, and immigration enforcement practices are still haphazard as the court proceedings described in the book. Plenty of this story rings true to me, but without context I can see how the characters and their situation may not be believable. The family’s religious and cultural identities are not explored, and Nadira is the only well-developed character. Furthermore, young readers may not fully remember the radical nature of security policies enacted in the wake of 9/11; without that context, the story would seem like Kafkaesque fiction.
I was willing to overlook those shortcomings, but Ask Me No Questions was ruined for me by something else. To explain, I will have to tell you something about me: sometimes it’s possible to suspend my disbelief, but I am one of those people for whom illusions are easily shattered by technical error. (My own family can attest to this, having suffered through many a loud objection during critical movie scenes.)
It will therefore not surprise you that my belief instantly evaporated when the lawyer and judge talked seriously about the family’s adjustment of status application though, as a matter of law, the family was not eligible for legal permanent residence. Budhos ends the story on a hopeful note, but not one—frankly—that has any basis in reality.
Although a young reader wouldn’t necessarily know that, when combined with the lack of character development, the error gave the whole book a hastily-written and poorly-researched feel. There are people who live like Nadia and Aisha, and I wanted Ask Me No Questions to respect the inherent truth of their stories and do them justice. However, the political message is what drives this book, not the experience of people— bitterly disappointing.
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