Today I am sharing with you a wonderful book, Red, White and Whole, by Rajani Larocca. Rajani Larocca is a medical doctor as well as an author. This is a middle-grade fiction novel based on the life experience of the author as an immigrant kid.
Everyone has a world to live in. But Reha has 2 lives, her Indian life, and her American life. She’s the only Indian girl at school but has her best friend Rachel and her supportive friend, Pete. It is 1983, and Reha is a 13 years old Indian American girl. Her life is well but she has internal conflicts about her two different lives. She has an American life on weekdays as she is at school with non-Indian kids and Indian life on the weekends with her parents and Indian family friends. Her mother works in a hospital lab whereas her father is an engineer. Her parents are very loving but overprotective. They want Reha to remember her Indian values and also wish that she gets more than average scores and excels at school. When Reha goes to the middle school dance performance, she receives news that her mother is not well. Doctors tell her that she has too many white blood cells and a couple of abnormal blood cells. Her mother knows what illness she has, as she works in the lab. It was the worst situation it could possibly have gotten. Her mom is diagnosed with leukemia (blood cancer) and is admitted to the hospital. Reha’s life is split between hospital and home. Reha is afraid of the sight of blood but ironically, wants to be a doctor. Reha tries to come up with plans to make her mother feel better. Her father is too busy to stay at home and look after Reha. So her friends, Sunny AKA Sunita (Indian friend), Pete, and Rachel’s families take her in on afternoons. When it’s time for her mother’s bone marrow transplant, her aunt Prema (mom’s sister) comes to help out from India. With the challenges of mom getting sick, what will happen next? Will Reha find a balance between the two worlds? Read this book to find out.
I can relate to the character of Reha, as I also have two lives as a Nepali American. During the weekdays, I live American life whereas, during the weekends, I have a Nepali life. I am surrounded by Nepalese, as I have Our Sunday Project meeting/class, a class for Nepali youth living in Brookfield, Wisconsin. We learn about Nepali culture and socialize with a group of kids from Nepalese families. There were many instances in the book where I felt, ”It happens in my family too!”” This is what I face every day.” This heartwarming book reflects on the lives of many immigrant children like Reha. I can identify myself with Reha.
There are many reasons for liking this book. It is written in verse and filled with different emotional moments. It will make you smile and cry. It covers important themes like family, friendship, culture, immigrants, finding your roots, and coming to terms with grief. The easy language makes the book fun to read and easy to understand. I read it with my mom and finished reading it in one sitting. On a side note, I enjoyed learning about the mythological story of Savitri and Satyavan.
You must be wondering about the title of the book. Why is it Red, White and Whole? The title is interesting and symbolic. I discussed it with my mother and came up with an explanation. Our whole blood is made out of red blood cells and white blood cells. Similarly, Reha’s life is made out of her American and Indian side, which adds up to make her whole life. Please read this book to find more about Reha and her life.
I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to all middle-grade readers. You can find it on Amazon and your public library. I will rate this book with five stars.
Here I end the book review with a few lines by Reha.
“I have a life, where I try to merge all the places I’m from, India and America, mother and father, past and present, and future.
“I have one life. That’s all any of us gets. And I know that I will make my way. For all rivers lead to the same ocean, we all look upon the same sky.”
“I will write my own story”
😊👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻keep it up Janavi