I’m from Here Too

Gr 4-7–Indian American eighth grader Anoop is the only Sikh boy in his grade. Unfortunately, his schedule for the new school year shares zero classes with his best friend, Jonas, so he feels alone. In Sikhism, hair is not cut for religious reasons, and Anoop is harassed relentlessly by the class bully and his new sidekick for wearing a patka (head covering). Because his Baba (grandfather) in India has fallen ill, Anoop hides the bullying from his parents so as not to worry them with another issue. When the opportunity emerges to visit India with his father, many cultural, familial, and historical anecdotes are shared that facilitate Anoop connecting more with his heritage before his upcoming Amrit coming-of-age ceremony. With so few books for youth featuring Sikhism, this is crucial representation of one Sikh boy’s experience. The novel-in-verse format includes couplets, free verse, and contrapuntal styles of poetry. While the form provides insight into Anoop’s narrative, the poems have line breaks that feel more like broken prose. However, the poetry is chock-full of powerful metaphors, many of which are sensory, and the food descriptions are tantalizing. The intergenerational relationships are introspective and detail historical events from the Partition and the Sikh tenets of honesty, justice, equality, and service, giving Anoop compelling strategies for dealing with bullies at school. Content advisory for racism, xenophobia, bullying, and slurs. Middle grade readers ready for young adult books can find more Sikh representation in Navdeep Singh Dhillon’s romcom Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions.