Something in Between

August 15, 2016
The future is bright for high school senior and all-American girl Jasmine de los Santos: the daughter of Filipino immigrants, she has spent her high school years focused on being a well-rounded and academically successful student, as well as a model Filipino daughter. When Jasmine receives the National Scholar Award, a highly competitive scholarship that covers college tuition, her dream of attending Stanford is within reach. To her surprise, her parents don’t share her excitement and reveal a long-kept secret: the de los Santos family is in the United States illegally. After her family’s status is discovered and they face deportation, Jasmine’s perception of herself is thrown into question. De la Cruz (the Blue Bloods series) presents a timely and thought-
provoking look at the complex reality of being young and undocumented in the United States; Jasmine is painfully aware of the anti-immigrant forces she’s up against, especially after she starts a relationship with the son of a congressman working against an immigration reform bill. Readers will root for Jasmine as she fights for her future and finds the power of her own voice. Ages 14–up. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.

In clear tones brimming with heart, narrator Cassie Simone brings 17-year-old Jasmine de los Santos to life. After hearing she's won a National Honor Scholarship, this studious and hardworking teenager is devastated when she learns of her family's status as illegal immigrants, which means that college may be impossible and deportation is a serious threat. Her life becomes increasingly more complicated when she falls for Royce Blakely, the charming and kindhearted son of a high-ranking congressman who opposes an immigration-reform bill that would allow her to go to college. Although the plot focuses more on the romance itself--kept tame for younger teens--than on the more interesting struggle of the family to gain the American Dream, Simone skillfully portrays a diverse cast of characters. D.S. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine