  | Sky at our feet Author: Hashimi, Nadia | |
| Price: $22.38 | ||
Summary:
A young boy fears that his mother, an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan, has been deported and he runs away to New York City to get help from his aunt only to end up in the hospital where he meets a new friend, Max, a daring girl who helps him escape the hospital to continue his city adventures.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.80 Points: 9.0 Quiz: 195513 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 5.40 Points: 16.0 Quiz: 76622 | |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (01/15/18)
School Library Journal (02/01/18)
Booklist (12/01/17)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 02/01/2018 Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Jason D. Riazi is on the run from his New Jersey home after his mother, an undocumented Afghani immigrant, is apprehended by police. Hoping to find his Auntie Seema in New York City, he takes the train to Penn Station, but, fainting from hunger on the platform and suffering a concussion, he lands in the hospital where he fakes amnesia to keep his identity secret. Befriended by a young female patient, Max, who claims her superior brain is being studied, the two escape into the city streets only to be caught up in the throng of the New York Marathon. When Max collapses in an epileptic seizure, Jason must continue alone on his quest for safety. The familiar trope of two adolescents escaping from a hospital to pursue an adventure is enhanced by the timely theme of American identity amid the immigrant experience and is nicely textured with details of the New York cityscape. The narrative is peppered with riddles Jason has learned from his mother, and his questioning of his "Americanness" and Max's rebellion against her parents' overprotectiveness will resonate with readers. The story is fast-paced and engaging with sympathetic protagonists who raise thought-provoking contemporary issues. VERDICT An absorbing read and a good choice for discussion.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
