Comment

Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Daniel Boone Regional Library.
Dec 08, 2016NWPLindabear rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Especially given recent events, we need to read books like this one. Zomorod and her family move to Newport Beach, California when she is just a girl in the 1970s. Desperate to fit in American culture (and with her peers, like many preteens/teens/humans), she changes her name to Cindy and longs for a beanbag chair. Her father works for an Iranian oil company and her mother refuses to come out of the house until she learns English and insists on giving the neighbors embarrassing (to Cindy) Iranian dishes. Every day, Cindy faces some sort of racism--people ask her about her camel, tell her it's a shame she's forgotten her Spanish and her teachers constantly single her out to ask if she'll do special presentations on Iran. Times in Iran are fraught and the Iranian Revolution and Iran hostage crisis lead many Americans to openly hate Iranians. Cindy hides hate crimes that are committed against her family so as not to upset her parents. Her father loses his job and is unable to find another one given his only job titles contain the word "Iranian" in them. Her mother spends all her time worrying about their family back in Iran. They all can't stop watching the news and they all fall into a depression as they are left completely insecure about what their futures hold. This book gives readers an idea of what it would be like to come of age as a complete outsider. And more specifically, it gives readers an idea of what it would actually be like to be an Iranian in North America during such a tumultuous time that is completely out of their control and certainly not their fault. Readers will learn about important historical events and hopefully gain a healthy dose of empathy.