[Book] The Sunita Experiment

Another genre of books that has caught my fascination is the description of immigrant experiences, especially from India. Big surprise! There are a bunch of books that I have read in the last couple of months (which I shall write about subsequently). Today, though, I would like to focus on a book that is way to close to home. The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, by Mitali Perkins, (originally released as The Sunita Experiment) describes the coming of age of the thirteen year old protagonist. Growing up in a suburb of San Francisco; older siblings, Geetie and AJ, at Berkeley and Stanford, respectively; Liz, a friend to kill for; and a crush on Michael, the most handsome boy in school. Nary a cloud across her eight-grade horizon. Or so it seemed.

Teenage years are seldom easy. What with a fierce battle being waged between the frenetically firing neurons and the stubbornly coercive hormones, the last thing a teenager needs is the slightest indication that she may not conform to the "standards" of her peers. In Sunita's case, the other shoe drops when, post summer vacation, her grandparents from India come on a year-long visit. All of a sudden, a spanner is bunged in her carefree American lifestyle. Much to her consternation, her mother, on a year-long sabbatical from her teaching job (coincidence ?!), trades her western accoutrements for a saree and a bindi. Everyday is a ritual of cooking and cleaning and serving her Dadu and Didu. Boys are banned from the house, causing a misunderstanding between Michael and herself. And good ol' Sunni (of the sunny disposition) transforms into a terrible teenager. The "Indian-ness" of her family becomes a source of embarassment for her, and she starts distancing herself, from the world and from her own self. But, on her road of life, she discovers unexpected allies who enable her to realise the strength in her uniqueness, and to use that strength to overcome her insecurities.

The flow of this wonderful narrative sweeps the reader along for the topsy-turvy, twisty-turny ride, to vicariously (re)live the joys and pains of the teenage years. I can hardly wait for the time when I can place this book in the capable hands of my eight-year-old and hope she can take as much away from it as I did.

Rating: * * * * * * (out of 5) - No mistake here
Age: 12+