Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

It’s rare that a “message” novel packs the kind of punch of this short contemporary novel, but then, we live in interesting times, yes? Nadira is a painfully average ninth grade girl in a Brooklyn high school. There’s only one problem. Her family is living in the county illegally. As Muslims on expired visas, in NY, after 9/11, the choices are not pleasant. On advice of counsel, the family tries to enter Canada but things go badly. After that, they are caught up in the web of bureaucracy and federal policy that so many have begun to question of late. This story may be fiction, but the tale it tells rings very very true. What helps this succinct novel along is the reality of Nadira and her sister Aisha – and the members of their families and community. As sisters, Nadira and Aisha fight, are envious, but love one another. As an important secondary note to the political themes, this story is also a personal journey for Nadira. Through these experiences she learns to accept herself and how to live in a world that is not always kind. Some decide to return to their country, some become a true part of the American melting pot, and some, the strongest perhaps, demand that we see them for who they are. I cannot think of a novel I have read of late that is more timely and carries this kind of emotional hit. Brava to Ms. Budhos.