“At thirteen, bright-eyed, straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: she was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn’t learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job, but couldn’t because she didn’t have a Social Security number.
Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn’t keep her from being a teenager. She desperately wanted a green card, along with clear skin, her own car, and a boyfriend.
Americanized follows Sara’s progress toward getting her green card, but that’s only a portion of her experiences as an Iranian-‘American’ teenager. From discovering that her parents secretly divorced to facilitate her mother’s green card application to learning how to tame her unibrow, Sara pivots from the terrifying prospect that she might be kicked out of the country at any time to the almost-as-terrifying possibility that she might be the only one of her friends without a date to the prom.” – Goodreads
| I initially struggled with the tone of this book – it seemed a little too glib/flippant/cutsey. Soon, however, I really identified with many of Sara’s teenage struggles/angst. This wasn’t initially as much about immigration as it had seemed, and I guess I expected more of it to be explicitly about that. She describes a humanizing portrait of being a normal, everyday person who wants to live in America and who describes all of the incredibly relatable concerns of being a teenage kid.
Toward the end, she gets more detailed about American rules and regulations that had frustrated her family’s chances at citizenship (or at least not illegal status – a nuance you’ll learn about in this book!). This is a good memoir for people of all ages to read, especially those who want to know more about US immigration policies. A few parts made me laugh out loud, and I really grew to appreciate her voice and authenticity. |
Call # 305.89155 Sa163sa
Review by Vicki
“A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.” – 
Content warning for explicit descriptions of gun violence 
Wildcard is a fantastic and thought-provoking book that sparked many emotions. The setting was portrayed vividly, as it was a huge aspect of the story’s plot. The setting, along with the unique and complex characters featured, arose questions involving the future: What will happen if technology evolves to be the way it is in Wildcard? The storyline was fast-paced and although there were some slower parts of the book, they were still interesting and helpful in the progression of the story. One important point to take note of is that Warcross, which is the first book in the duology, must be read before Wildcard. Wildcard picks right up after Warcross ends and there is no reintroduction of the characters or background of the story, so it would be best to read the two books back-to-back. The climax of the book featured many plot twists, keeping the reader on edge, and the structure of the book was helpful and easy to follow. Furthermore, the characters were highly diverse and the narration was effective, although it would have been nice if there were some reminders on the previous events of Warcross. All in all, Wildcard presents a well-balanced blend of action and stimulating questions, tying the whole duology together in a way that doesn’t disappoint.