Author Marina Budhos has beforehand explored the experiences of immigrants, significantly Muslim teenagers after 9/11, in two acclaimed YA novels, Ask Me No Questions and Watched. We Are All We Have is about in 2019, after the U.S. Department of Justice applied a zero-tolerance coverage towards unlawful immigration. The novel follows 17-year-old Rania, whose late father was a political journalist in Pakistan. Rania lives in Brooklyn, New York, along with her mom and youthful brother, Kamal, who was born within the U.S. As the novel opens, Rania is wanting ahead to spending the summer time with mates earlier than attending Hunter College on a scholarship she obtained for “literary promise.”
But Rania’s world is shattered in a single night time when her mom is arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and despatched to a detention facility in Pennsylvania. Rania and Kamal’s authorized scenario turns into much more sophisticated when the neighbor who agreed to function their guardian modifications her thoughts, afraid of being deported herself. Before Rania can observe down an estranged uncle who could possibly assist, a neighbor reviews her and Kamal for dwelling with out a guardian and they’re taken to an understaffed shelter in Manhattan.
At the shelter, Rania meets Carlos, a younger artist from Mexico. Carlos hatches a plan that may enable him, Rania and Kamal to flee the shelter and attend Rania’s commencement—after which carry on operating. During her summer time on the highway, Rania uncovers secrets and techniques about her mom and the circumstances of her personal start. On Cape Cod, Carlos and Rania tackle non permanent jobs till they notice the one method to redeem their futures is to face the current.
We Are All We Have is compelling and vivid, full of drama, household secrets and techniques and romance. Budhos performed in depth analysis for the novel, which included visiting courtrooms and assembly with specialists on immigration regulation. Her conversations revealed that “though we consider ourselves an immigrant nation, our bedrock ideal rests on a capricious and ever-changing set of laws and policies.” Budhos’ totally realized characters and pressing prose deliver these legal guidelines into sharp focus for teen readers.
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