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OTHER WORDS FOR HOME

Page history last edited by RichiesPicks 4 years, 8 months ago

4 July 2019 OTHER WORDS FOR HOME by Jasmine Warga, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, May 2019, 352p., ISBN: 978-0-06-274780-8

 

“Sing a song of America

Once she was a young girl with her heart on fire

Born in the dust of the magic of history

It all goes on, yeah, the dream goes on”

-- KBC Band, “America” (1986)

 

“America in 2019 is a nation that locks up migrant children after separating them from their families. And yet it is also a nation that gives sanctuary and charity to tired, poor people as they seek to join the community built by immigrants.”

-- NY Times editorial, “America the Beautiful” July 4, 2019

 

OTHER WORDS FOR HOME is a contemporary coming-of-age story, written in prose poetry, about a Syrian girl who comes to America.

 

Seventh-grader Jude and her family live in a coastal town close to the fighting in Syria. Her father runs a convenience store primarily serving tourists. Her beloved big brother Issa is becoming an anti-government protester. Jude’s lifelong best friend Fatima lives within shouting distance.

 

But when things go from bad to worse, Jude’s pregnant mother takes her on a “visit” to Jude’s maternal uncle in the Cincinnati area. Uncle Mazin, who immigrated years earlier, is now a successful physician with a wife, a daughter, Sarah, and a big home.

 

Fortunately, Jude studied English at school in Syria so, while she’s not fully conversant, she has a good start on understanding what is said or written when she arrives in the U.S. Actually, Jude’s first English lessons came from singing along to Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Mariah Carey, back in the days when her brother Issa was fun and goofy, and when he would belt out chart-topping American pop songs. She also grew up watching American movies like Legally Blonde and Miss Congeniality. She can imagine being a movie actress when she grows up.

 

Jude’s newfound cousin Sarah is a bit stuck up and unfriendly. Fortunately, Jude is embraced by an American-born Muslim classmate whose family operates a nearby Middle Eastern restaurant. She also finds sanctuary alongside her immigrant peers in their close-knit ESL class.

 

When Jude was leaving her home in Syria, her brother Issa encouraged her to be brave. She takes his advice to heart. Despite being an ESL student, and just a seventh grader, she gets up the courage to try out for a speaking role in the school play. Through this activity, she will get to know Miles, a smart and empathic boy at school whom she admires.

 

In many ways, Jude’s story is the story of millions of American immigrants. Not that we know for sure that she, her mom, and her newborn sister will remain permanently in America. After all, at the end of the story, Baba and Issa are still in Syria with no plans for escaping the warring factions. 

 

I particularly enjoyed the observations about America that Jude and her mother make. For instance:

 

“Clifton is filled with old houses.

Aunt Michelle tells us that their house

is over one hundred years old and I can tell she is

proud of this, but I’m not sure why.

 

Everyone back home wants

a new house

not an old one.

 

When I ask Mama about it,

she says,

Americans don’t have much history

so they like things they think are old.

------

“America is 

full of new things.

Glittery

blinking

in-your-face

things.

 

Everything in America

moves fast

and is loud.

 

Cars honking

Traffic lights flashing

Big billboards advertising

hamburgers

drinks

an entirely new life.

 

It seems like everything

everyone

is trying to sell you something.

 

Sometimes I feel dizzy with want,

sometimes I just feel dizzy.”

------

“Every food has a label.

It is sorted and assigned.

 

Just like I am no longer

a girl.

I am a Middle Eastern girl.

A Syrian girl.

A Muslim girl.

 

Americans love labels,

they help them know what to expect.

Sometimes though,

I think labels stop them from

thinking.”

 

As is often the case with verse novels, which contain a lot of white space, OTHER WORDS FOR HOME is a quick read, but it’s compelling. Why isn’t Fatima answering Jude’s letters? Is Issa alive or dead? Will cousin Sarah eventually shed her ice princess facade? Will Jude get a role in the play? 

 

OTHER WORDS FOR HOME is the perfect blend of fun and important. As we read daily about kids in cages without blankets, toothbrushes, or soap; about caged adults being told to drink water from the toilet; and about the plight of Dreamers who have never known another country, it’s heartening to read this fictional success story featuring a young woman to whom all of us, whether boy or girl, young or old, can readily relate.

 

Richie Partington, MLIS

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/

richiepartington@gmail.com  

 

 

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