My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul.”
----Drew Barrymore
Nadia Hashimi, an internationally bestselling author, pens a heart wrenching and extremely intriguing tale about two kids' fearless adventures around the city of Big Apple to get to an address in her new book, The Sky at Our Feet. The story revolves around a young Afghan-American boy, goes on a quest to find his beloved aunt in New York City along with a friend whom he met at a hospital, when his mother is taken away by the police on the pretext of illegal immigration issue. But on their way the two kids face a lot of challenges and dangers, and how they overcome that has been brilliantly portrayed by the author.
Synopsis:
A young boy fears that his mother, an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan, has been deported, and he runs away to New York City to find help. A timely and poignant story about contemporary Muslims by the acclaimed author of One Half from the East.
In the tradition of Rebecca Stead and Thanhha Lai, this adventurous and emotionally charged own voices novel by New York Times bestselling author Nadia Hashimi shows the fierce love of a family determined not to be torn apart.
Jason has just learned that his Afghan mother has been living illegally in the United States since his father was killed in Afghanistan. Although Jason was born in the US, it’s hard to feel American now when he’s terrified that his mother will be discovered—and that they will be separated.
When he sees his mother being escorted from her workplace by two officers, Jason feels completely alone. He boards a train with the hope of finding his aunt in New York City, but as soon as he arrives in Penn Station, the bustling city makes him wonder if he’s overestimated what he can do.
After an accident lands him in the hospital, Jason finds an unlikely ally in a fellow patient. Max, a whip-smart girl who wants nothing more than to explore the world on her own terms, joins Jason in planning a daring escape out of the hospital and into the skyscraper jungle—even though they both know that no matter how big New York City is, they won’t be able to run forever.
From the author of One Half from the East comes a timely and affecting story about one family in an impossible situation—pulled right from today’s headlines about immigration—who is willing to move mountains to stay together.
Jason, whose Afghan single mother has overstayed her visa in America and is fearing deportation, goes on a dauntless yet gripping adventure with his new friend, named, Max, who is suffering from epilepsy. Together they journey to the Big Apple, trying to figure out the confusing street numbers, stumbling upon the dark side of the Central Park to falling prey to police officers looking for thew runaway kids, to the nurses, their adventure is only filled with drama, danger and complex challenges that they manage to overcome despite of the constant fear of getting caught. Their quest to find Jason's aunt is really vividly portrayed by the author and so is the honestly behind the general human behavior around an epileptic child.
The author's writing style is coherent yet exquisite, rich with myriad emotions that will make the readers feel the pain, joy, happiness and the challenges of the protagonist till the very last page. The narrative is very simple and easy to comprehend with and the author has strikingly captured the voice and mindset of a young boy through honesty and in a quite thought provoking manner, that will force the readers to think about the protagonist's situation from their hearts. The pacing of the book is really swift as the journey itself will keep the readers anticipating with fear about the two kids' plight.
This is a very satisfying read, that not only narrates the adventure of Jason and Max but also depicts the brutal truth about the cracks in the immigration system and the hardships around it in the life of an immigrant in the US. Also the author has sensitively captured the honesty behind a child's suffering from epilepsy and the people around her.
The characters from this story are extremely well developed, laced with flaws and dynamism in their demeanor thereby making them look real and believable in the eyes of the readers. Jason is portrayed as someone dedicated to find his aunt who in turn who help him to find his mother, whereas Max is confident and funny, and would do anything for her friend, despite of her acute condition. Although this isn't much of a character-driven book, yet these two characters both enlighten the story with their unmatched charm.
In a nutshell, this poignant yet extremely well developed story is a must read for one and all, irrespective of their age. Trust me, its so beautiful that its going to touch the very core of your souls.
Verdict: A deeply moving, dauntless and exciting story about two diverse kids in the Big Apple.
Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Harper Collins India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Dr. Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician, novelist, and a Democratic congressional candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Maryland's 6th congressional district. Hashimi is the author of three international bestselling novels, The Pearl that Broke Its Shell, When the Moon Is Low, and A House Without Windows.
Visit her here
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