Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

154. The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani
Publication: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 10, 2012), ebook, 224pp / ISBN 0385741286
Genre: MG Fiction

Read: November 19, 2011
Source: NetGalley

Summary from Amazon:

After her father loses his job, Sonia Nadhamuni, half Indian and half Jewish American, finds herself yanked out of private school and thrown into the unfamiliar world of public education. For the first time, Sonia’s mixed heritage makes her classmates ask questions—questions Sonia doesn’t always know how to answer—as she navigates between a group of popular girls who want her to try out for the cheerleading squad and other students who aren’t part of the “in” crowd.

At the same time that Sonia is trying to make new friends, she’s dealing with what it means to have an out-of-work parent—it’s hard for her family to adjust to their changed circumstances. And then, one day, Sonia’s father goes missing. Now Sonia wonders if she ever really knew him. As she begins to look for answers, she must decide what really matters and who her true friends are—and whether her two halves, no matter how different, can make her a whole.

This book will be released on January 10, 2012! Pre-order your copy today.

Review

This is one of those books that’s more like a quiet splash than a tsunami. Not because it’s bad, and maybe not even because vampires and werewolves and whatever are still dominating the MG/YA bookshelves. But, like Bluefish, this is one of those books that’s so complex and relatively unexciting when compared to, say, a paranormal romance, that people will probably overlook it. And that’d be a mistake. That’d be like never reading a Judy Blume or E.L. Konigsburg book because they don’t have any action scenes or high profile murders!

The Whole Story of Half a Girl sort of reminds me of Judy Blume’s Blubber, though other people have said it’s more like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I haven’t actually read the latter, so I can’t say if that’s wrong or right– but I have read Blubber and I’m telling you, it’s like Blubber. It’s got the complex characters, the realistic interactions between characters both young and old, character development, and really subtle lessons about life and stuff. Add in some awesome stuff about being biracial, bicultural, and being a new kid in a new school, and you have a really good book!

The author

There’s less overt bullying in The Whole Story of Half a Girl, though that doesn’t mean that there aren’t hints of it. The thing about this book (and about life) is that oftentimes prejudice, bullying, and other wrong things sneak up on you, so that when you finally notice them, you…don’t really know what to so. That’s what happens to Sonia in this book. There’s really no obvious bullying, but there are people telling her she’s not good enough– whether it’s because of the color of her skin, because of her parents, because of where she lives or where she goes to school, or because of her personality, we don’t know. But either way, it’s pretty terrible, and if Sonia didn’t have such a supporting family (despite that family’s problems with money and depression and more) it could have gotten really bad.

Luckily, though, Sonia herself is a pretty strong person. She wobbles a bit, like any kid does when they move to a new school and want to make new friends¹, but she doesn’t wobble SO far that she’s in any permanent danger. I suppose if Veera Hiranandani had wanted to ramp up the drama she could have stuck in some peer-pressured drug situations or something, but I think that would have rang false with the rest of the book. It’s too obvious, too forceful. The dangers Sonia faces are much more complicated than that, and I appreciated the delicacy VH handled tricky situations.

So! Did I like this book? Hell yeah! It’s not going to bust down the doors and kick you in the face with its awesomeness, but does it really need to? Sometimes people (kids) need to read stuff that lures them into a new way of thinking, not stuff that shouts at them until they agree. And I think that this book, like Bluefish, is one of those books that, in the right hands, can make someone’s life a little bit brighter.

Rating

Almost makes me wish I were a teenage girl again. (Almost.)

Buy

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Other reviews

My Words Ate Me: “One aspect of this book that I especially appreciated was the different way of dealing with the popularity chain. This is a common trope in MG and YA, and I was worried the author’s approach would just be the same old typical one that I’m more than tired of. However, the situation instead felt very realistic without a straight-out dog-eat-dog hierarchy of kids but rather a more complex dilemma with dimensional characters.”

The Last Word: “This is no meek, mouse of a girl. Sonia knows what she will and won’t stand for. What she hasn’t quite figured out is who she is, something she’s never before had to explain to anyone, much less herself.”

MarjoleinBookBlog: “The story of Sonia was fun and highly entertaining, with a little sad side because of her depressed father who lost his job and suddenly goes missing. This book is also a great book about growing up between two cultures and defining what it means to you, and its about family and friends and making a new start at a very new and different school.”

Notes

Publishers Weekly and Kirkus both gave it stars! Congrats!

Credit
Author photo comes from author’s website. It’s not mine!

Footnotes