The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen-- Mitali Perkins

I have been trying to slog through this book since the end of February, which is really saying something because it's only a little over 150 pages.

Sunita Sen is enjoying her little 7th grade life until her grandparents come for a visit from India. Her mother takes time off teaching to stay at home and play housewife to keep her parents happy, and she tells Sunita she can't invite boys over to the house. Apparently, this is the equivalent of torture and Sunita blames her grandparents for ruining her life. She keeps thinking the object of her affection, Michael, is so all-American that he would be weirded out by her family.

Here is a short list of my issues with this book:

1) Even though Sunita claims to be confused about her heritage, she doesn't seem have any connection to it. This is despite the fact that her parents are recent immigrants. I find this disconnect improbable, especially since it is not explored or otherwise explained.

2) When Sunita finally spills the beans about what's going on at home, Michael says that Sunita being "different" makes her "all the more fascinating" to him. Ugh. Orientalism for middle schoolers.

3) The writing is lackluster, the dialogue not believable, the characters completely flat. The author does a lot of telling instead of showing (including telling us that Sunita used to have a really happy personality, even though we never see her as anything other than an insufferable brat). Sunita always anticipates her grandparents acting entirely out of character, which is irritating, and her grandmother's attempts to "speak American" are just insulting.

I thought this book might resonate a little bit with me, but it only left me appalled. This book only got press marching under the banner of multiculturalism; good for the book, but not so good for everyone else.