Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

After the attacks on 9/11, the immigration status of any citizen from a county that might be from the Middle East, might be Muslim, or might be Arab took a serious turn. In Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos, she paints a picture of two teenaged illegal aliens from Bangladesh. The family came to America on a visitor’s visa. Though they tried to seek legal American status with the help of several lawyers, things never went their way.

Nadira is 14. She is quite, shy, doesn’t reach out to many people at school, but she loves her family and tries to be the best daughter that she can.  Her older sister, Aisha, has embraced American culture. She strives to do the best at school getting the best grades, being on the award- winning debate team, looking at scholarships to as many universities, and in the running for valedictorian.

Things, however, take a disheartening turn when Abba, what they call their father, decides to uproot the family and seek asylum in Canada. They are turned away at the border because they have too many asylum refugees already and the expired passport gets Abba arrested. Their mother chooses to stay where Abba gets detained, and the girls head back the New York to  live with family.

Nadira and Aisha throw themselves into trying to help their father. They seek a lawyer who tries to help but is overworked and losing hope. They write to the INS, detailing how many times they tried to seek citizenship but faced hurdle after hurdle, like a lawyer who got arrested for bad dealings. When Aisha can’t make the problem go away, she gives up in hope, in her future, in being herself. Nadira keeps fighting and gathers information to take to her father’s hearing, something that might help set him free.

The culturally references and history of Bangladesh that fill the pages paint a beautiful portrait and gives a hint as to why so many people sought other countries. The cultural aspects that are woven with the younger generation embracing American culture reveal how dynamic the time was. The characters were vivid, well painted, and carried the book through some plot revelations that were a bit too Deus ex Machina for me, such as the way the book tied up into a neat bow. However, following the culture and getting a look at how America reacted to the 9/11 attacks is revealing and honest.

Kathleen Issacs from School Library Journal felt that “Nadira and Aisha are clearly drawn characters, but they don’t quite come alive, and their Bangladeshi-American background is more a backdrop than a way of life. Still, this is an important facet of the American immigrant experience, worthy of wider attention” (2006). I disagree and felt the characters were well written and offered glimpses of the changes their families were facing in their new country.  Horn Book Magazine had a view that felt more closely to my own. “Nadira and Aisha’s strategies for surviving and succeeding in high school offer sharp insight into the narrow margins between belonging and not belonging, and though the resolution of the story is perhaps more optimistic than realistic, it feels earned” (2006).

Anyone that might be interested to see how immigration, such a hot topic even today, this book is one they should read.

 

Awards:

Nutmeg Book Award | Nominee | Teen | 2009 – 2009 ; Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award | Nominee | Young Adult | 2008 – 2008 ;Charlotte Award | Nominee | Young Adult | 2008 – 2008 ; Isinglass Teen Read Award | Nominee | Grades 6-8 | 2006 – 2007 ; Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens | Recommended | Ten to Fourteen | 2007 – 2007

Budhos, Marina (2007). Ask Me No Questions. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Horn Book Magazine (2006). [Book Review – Horn Book Magazine – Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos]. Retrieved November 29, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKsQqDQBCE4Vc5prbQdksxlY3FBQJyBMENiBfXuCcSxXd37b5_mAPagz5dVM6gIqC0rMY5gVCKjDDrDiry3BRtfbx8hftsbp5l5e-YQW1bZDDX_N9k6d9-SJGtOx3dl90k7reypkEmRQjnBSOjBoJ6AAAA&R=11879181&dNo=13

Ingram (2007). [Awards – Image – Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos]. Retrieved November 29, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKsQqDQBCE4Vc5prbQdksxlY3FBQJyBMENiBfXuCcSxXd37b5_mAPagz5dVM6gIqC0rMY5gVCKjDDrDiry3BRtfbx8hftsbp5l5e-YQW1bZDDX_N9k6d9-SJGtOx3dl90k7reypkEmRQjnBSOjBoJ6AAAA&R=11879181&dNo=13

Ingram (2007). [Digital Image – Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos]. Retrieved November 29, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKsQqDQBCE4Vc5prbQdksxlY3FBQJyBMENiBfXuCcSxXd37b5_mAPagz5dVM6gIqC0rMY5gVCKjDDrDiry3BRtfbx8hftsbp5l5e-YQW1bZDDX_N9k6d9-SJGtOx3dl90k7reypkEmRQjnBSOjBoJ6AAAA&R=11879181&dNo=13

Issacs, Kathleen (2006). [Book Review – School Library Journal – Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos]. Retrieved November 29, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKsQqDQBCE4Vc5prbQdksxlY3FBQJyBMENiBfXuCcSxXd37b5_mAPagz5dVM6gIqC0rMY5gVCKjDDrDiry3BRtfbx8hftsbp5l5e-YQW1bZDDX_N9k6d9-SJGtOx3dl90k7reypkEmRQjnBSOjBoJ6AAAA&R=11879181&dNo=13

Cover: https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKsQqDQBCE4Vc5prbQdksxlY3FBQJyBMENiBfXuCcSxXd37b5_mAPagz5dVM6gIqC0rMY5gVCKjDDrDiry3BRtfbx8hftsbp5l5e-YQW1bZDDX_N9k6d9-SJGtOx3dl90k7reypkEmRQjnBSOjBoJ6AAAA&R=11879181&dNo=13

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

The lives of five very different children intersect due to a horrible accident, and some of them may leave their harrowing adventure as friends. Virgil seeks to be embraced by his family that are too focused on sports and the perfection of this older brothers, but Virgil is not perfect. A learning disability makes math difficult for him and his shy nature keeps him from embracing others around except for his grandmother and his hamster, Gulliver. Valencia is a deaf student that Virgil wants to become friends with, but he is too shy to approach him and she has cut off engagements with other students because none of them understand her disability. Instead, Valencia studies and sketches nature as much as can, even doing everything she can to take care of a stray dog that lives in the nearby forest. Kaori is a psychic. She embraces all things astrological and new age and orders on pagan. Her little sister, Gen, aids her in many ways, but the sisters are completely different from one another. Last of the group is Chet “Bull” Bullens who would never accept any of the other four kids because they are too odd and do not embrace his favorite sport, basketball.

Chet believes that Valencia is lying about her hearing impairment and he regularly bullies Virgil. When Virgil is walking to Kaori’s house through the woods to speak to his physic, Chet finds him and tosses Virgil’s backpack in a well. The backpack that is carrying Gulliver. Virgil can’t stand losing his best friend and he goes into the well, realizing too late the ladder cuts off short and he has no way to get out.

When Virgil does not show up to his appointment or answer his cellphone, Kaori beings to worry. It is not like Virgil to miss an appointment and not answer her texts. Valencia has arrived for her appointment, not sure if she believes that Kaori and Gen have any psychic powers at all, but as Kaori begins to worry more about Virgil, the three ladies’ band together to try and find him. They go to his home. They search the woods. The day gets later, and they have not found him yet. They find Chet who thinks he was bit by a snake. Valencia is able to help him and he talks about the well. Maybe they can find Virgil in time.

Erin Kelly offers a very realistic and well-plotted book that touches on many issues that kids should explore. A child with a learning disability, one with a physical handicap, a believe that others do not embrace or believe, and a bully that wants only to make his dad happy. Their characters are beautifully crafted and shine on the pages so the chapters in their different viewpoints are easy to follow. There is diversity in races – white, Hispanic, and Asian – and in socio-economic status, in mental, social, and physical abilities that are sure to intrigue young readers. Kirkus believed a similar view. “The short chapters, compelling characters, and age-appropriate suspense will hook young readers immediately. Neither Valencia nor Chet is cued racially. An original and resonant exploration of interconnectedness and friendship (2016).  Michele Shaw from School Library Journal offered a resounding verdict. (Unlikely friendships are formed and heroism abounds as the group of young people try to find their way in the world. Plucky protagonists and a deftly woven story will appeal to anyone who has ever felt a bit lost in the universe. VERDICT Readers across the board will flock to this book that has something for nearly everyone–humor, bullying, self-acceptance, cross-generational relationships, and a smartly fateful ending” (2017).

Awards: Newbery Medal | Winner | Children’s | 2018 – 2018

Texas Bluebonnets 2018-2019

Kelly, Erin Entrada (2017). Hello, Universe. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Ingram (2017). [Awards – Hello, Universe by Kelly, Erin Entrada]. Retrieved on December 1, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=46815759

Ingram (2017). [Digital Image – Hello, Universe by Kelly, Erin Entrada]. Retrieved on December 1, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=46815759

Kirkus Reviews (2016). [Book Review – Hello, Universe by Kelly, Erin Entrada]. Retrieved on December 1, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=46815759

Shaw, Michele (2017). [Book Review – School Library Journal – Hello, Universe by Kelly, Erin Entrada]. Retrieved on December 1, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=46815759