American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar - AVERAGE

 American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar, 311 pages. Aladdin (Simon), 2020. $18

Language: G (0 swears, 0‘f’); Mature Content: PG (bullying); Violence: PG (racist incident)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Being from India, Lekha divides herself into two – at home she is a good Hindu girl and is more herself. At school she is the school Lekha. She is afraid to show her real self. She is often teased and bullied but just deals with it. Then a new girl, Avantika, moves in across the street. Avantika doesn't put up with bullies and she is just Avantika no matter where she is. She speaks with a heavy accent and is new to this country. The two girls form a neat friendship and they both help each other.

Great book about self-worth and self-discovery. I think, though, that this is one that adults will love, but students will need to be coaxed to read. Too bad, because Lekha’s troubles are every middle school student’s troubles.

Ellen-Anita, LMS