Bibliographical information:

Perkins, Mitali. The Sunita Experiment. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1993.

Brief summary:

Eighth-grader Sunita Sen wants to fit into her suburban northern California world. But when her grandparents come for a year-long visit from India, life changes dramatically. Her mother trades jeans for saris, takes a leave of absence from her job, and begins cooking traditional Indian foods. Sunita is no longer allowed to invite boys to the house, including the all-American Michael Morrison, who might otherwise become her boyfriend. Sunita's relationships with Michael and her other friends are threatened by her embarrassment about the changes in her home. But things start to improve when she realizes that her mother's relationship with her own parents is complicated: while she is anxious to prove that she is a traditional Indian woman, they are delighted by pizza and are proud of her career.

Comments:

Sunita is a believable eighth-grader. Perkins makes the various misunderstandings within her family plausible, while also conveying the warmth and solidity of the underlying relationships.

Grade/Age level:

 Ages 10-14

Cautions:

If you like this book, you might also like . . .

--Lisa Gordis

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