I’m from Here Too

In this moving verse novel by Sheth (Nina Soni, Perfect Hostess), a 13-year-old boy navigates loss and threats of violence. Anoop is aware that his brown skin and patka headwrap make him stand out (“I am a first-generation Indian American Sikh,/ surrounded by mostly white students./ A brown crystal of sugar,/ in a bowl of white sugar”). The protection afforded by Jacob, “my friend from first grade,” ends as they enter eighth grade; they don’t have any classes together, which makes Anoop anxious. “Without him standing by me, for me, I feel vulnerable,” especially when he remembers how a recent attack on Sikhs in nearby Oak Creek, Wis., resulted in “more than a half dozen dead.” After he learns his beloved Baba is sick in India, Anoop and his father travel there for a visit. In his grandfather’s serene presence, Anoop ponders how Baba, orphaned by the violent partition of India at the end of British colonial rule, holds fast to his Sikh faith. Sheth evocatively explains Sikhism in this compassionate story in which characters combat hate with reason. An author’s note concludes. Ages 8–12. (July)