Family Story with Deeper Issues

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At it's very core, this is a story about a Jewish family and the problems they eventually learn to face together. I haven't read middle grade novels in a while, but I really enjoyed this one. It's told in the second person from the perspective of a sixth grade girl named Ariel Goldberg, who is coping with her sister's sudden departure as she has gone to elope an Indian man shortly after the Loving vs. Virginia decision. Ariel has to deal with a lot of change in a short period of time, which takes a toll on her but ultimately teaches her to be a stronger person. I really liked this book because of how deep everything was. The issues that occurred in this book were very adult, and to see these kinds of problems from the view of a twelve-year-old was interesting because of the way the information was filtered. Ariel doesn't know much about racism, law, religion, or families, but she is still able to solve the problems that her family faces, along with a few problems of her own. I really liked watching Ariel grow as a character throughout the book, and I was cheering for her the whole time. Yet another amazing story from Veera Hiranandani!