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Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
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Budhos,
Marina.
ASK ME NO QUESTIONS New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2006. IL YA ISBN 1416903518 |
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What is it like to be an illegal immigrant in New York City? The narrator of this story is Nadira, a high school student, who tells how her family left Bangladesh, came to America on tourist visas, and stayed long after the visas expired ("Everyone does it. You buy a fake social security number for a few hundred dollars and then you can work."). After 9-11 there’s a crack down on illegal immigrants, particularly those from Muslim countries. Nadira and her older sister Aisha are told to "Go to school. Never let anyone know. Never." Keeping the family secret isn’t easy. They can’t tell even their closest friends the truth. Aisha is a senior and an excellent student. Her chance for scholarship money is contingent on US citizenship. Everything starts to fall apart. This is a moving story about post 9-11 America. It’s the story of one family's struggle, but it gives a voice and tells about the universal experiences of many immigrant families in America. (Jean B. Bellavance for Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2007-2008) |
| SUBJECTS:
Illegal aliens -- Fiction.
Bangladeshi Americans -- Fiction. Family life -- Fiction. High schools -- Fiction. Schools -- Fiction. New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction. |
