The Whole Story of Half a Girl

Starred review from November 14, 2011
Just before fifth grade ends, life is sweet for Sonia. She loves the alternative private school that she attends with her best friend Sam, where her half-Jewish, half-Indian background is simply accepted. But when her father loses his job and Sonia must attend public school in the fall, life gets complicated. Sonia’s new school is more racially divided than her old one, and when her racial identity is questioned, she realizes she has never considered what the answers might be. She’s taken in by a group of girls who try out for the cheerleading team, something Sonia comes to love but that doesn’t fit with her self-image. Hardest of all is the depression her father falls into, despite finding a new job. In Hiranandani’s debut novel, Sonia’s struggles are painfully realistic, as she wrestles with how to identify herself, how to cope with her family’s problems, and how to fit in without losing herself. True to life, her problems do not wrap up neatly, but Sonia’s growth is deeply rewarding in this thoughtful and beautifully wrought novel. Agent: Sara Crowe. Ages 9–12.

Starred review from November 15, 2011
Four decades separate Sonia Nadhamuni and Judy Blume's Margaret Simon, but these feisty, funny offspring of Jewish interfaith marriages are sisters under the skin. Perched on the uncertain cusp of adulthood, each grapples with perplexing cultural identity issues, but in very different worlds. While Margaret's grandparents pressure her to label herself as they wish, it's Sonia's peers who expect her to define herself racially and culturally. Having a nominally Hindu, Indian-immigrant dad and Jewish-American mom wasn't a big deal until her father lost his job. Now Sonia must leave her comfortably small private school behind and--with Dad sinking into clinical depression and Mom taking on more work--chart her own course at Maplewood Middle School. Where does she fit? With the cheerleaders like pretty, blonde Kate or the bussed-in, city kids like Alisha, who's writing a novel? Sonia's the only cheerleader not invited to Peter Hanson's birthday party. Is racism the cause? As in real life, her challenges don't come neatly compartmentalized; Sonia will have to work out her mixed-heritage identity while contending with stressed-out parents, financial woes and vexing social uncertainties. Multifaceted characters, especially Sonia--astute, observant and original--provide depth. Like Blume, Hiranandani resists simplistic, tidy solutions. Each excels in charting the fluctuating discomfort zones of adolescent identity with affectionate humor. (Fiction. 9-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2012

Gr 4-7-Sonia Nadhamuni's world is turned upside down the summer before sixth grade, when her father loses his job and falls into clinical depression. Due to financial strain, Sonia is taken out of her progressive private school and enrolled in the larger, less intimate Maplewood Middle School. There, her Jewish American and East Indian heritage raises questions among her classmates, and she feels like an outsider. For the first time in her life, she feels unsure of how to articulate her racial and cultural identity. Additionally, she deals with angst over friendships, trying to decide if she should join the in crowd by becoming a cheerleader with popular Kate or remain on the social fringe with budding novelist Alisha. At home, Sonia feels alienated from her parents: her father's depression casts a pall over the entire family, and her mother's increased workload and stress adversely affect her relationship with her daughter. Things come to a head when Mr. Nadhamuni disappears; while her mother looks for him, Sonia reevaluates her friendships and accepts the fact that her dual heritage makes her a unique and whole girl. Hiranandani's thoughtful debut eloquently balances humor with sophisticated issues related to cultural identity, economic hardship, and mental health. An excellent addition with timeless appeal.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
Grades 4-6 After Dad loses his job, Sonia Nadhamuni has to move from private to public middle school, and it is not easy for her to fit in, especially because Dad is Hindi and Mom is Jewish American. Sonia sometimes feels too dark to be white, too light to be black. Why is Kate, the star of the cool white crowd, so nice to Sonia, even taking her shopping and getting her on the cheerleading team? Should Sonia sit with Alisha and the black crowd in the lunchroom? There is also conflict at home: Mom hates cheerleading, shopping, reality TV, and junk food; Sonia hates Mom's tofu-heavy cooking. To her shame, Sonia denies her Jewish roots. Then Dad gets depressed and things become much worse. Told in Sonia's wry present-tense voice, the mixed-race-family identity conflicts, as well as the universal contemporary drama of trying to act cooland decentwill easily pull readers through this debut novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)