ASK ME NO QUESTIONS

Budhos, Marina. Ask Me No Questions. New York: Ginee Seo Books, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4169-0351-2.

PLOT SUMMARY:
In post 9/11, Muslim sisters Nadira and Aisha suddenly face deportation with their family back to their native Bangladesh. After having grown up in New York City, but living on expired Visas, the family flees to Canada to seek asylum. Their father is detained, their mother stays in Canada and the girls return alone to New York to try to resume life as normal as possible. Older sister, Aisha, is graduating from high school with dreams of being valedictorian and attending college, while younger Nadira is less secure and confident. When the family crumbles including Aisha, Nadira must rise above her years and maturity to try to assist the family.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

Marina Budhos has woven a story that is believable and most of all makes us all think about the issue of illegal immigrants. This hot topic in today's society is looked at in post 9/11 when Muslims were suddenly singled out and feared. A quiet and proud family, Aisha and her Nadira simply want to be like other American teenagers. Aisha is a star student, popular, and looking at colleges and a bright future until the expired Visas threaten to send them back to a country they no longer know.

In a male dominated culture, when Aisha and Nadira's father is detained and their uncle is also detained, the women in the family have to step up to help the family. Each woman in the family handles the situation differently; Aisha and Nadira's mother initially is uncertain and timid, but eventually finds strength to help her husband and her family. Aisha falls apart, jeopardizing her schooling and possible college acceptances. Younger sister Nadira becomes the strong one, helping her sister and mother, while researching what she can do to help their situation.

The fear and shame the girls feel at school is palpable. They are fearful of telling anyone about their situation so they withdraw from their friends, teachers and social situations. Their extended family (Aunt and cousin) also handle the stress and situation differently.

The story leaves readers thinking about families, illegal immigrants, and what it means to be American. As each character grows and changes, readers will identify with each one.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:


School Library Journal:
Nadira and Aisha are clearly drawn characters, but they don't quite come alive, and their Bangladeshi-American background is more a backdrop than a way of life. Still, this is an important facet of the American immigrant experience, worthy of wider attention.

Horn Book Magazine:
Nadira and Aisha's strategies for surviving and succeeding in high school offer sharp insight into the narrow margins between belonging and not belonging, and though the resolution of the story is perhaps more optimistic than realistic, it feels earned.

Publisher's Weekly:
The message drives the story here; the motivations of the characters are not always clear, and the ending may strike some as a bit tidy. But the events of the novel are powerful enough to engage readers' attention and will make them pause to consider the effects of a legal practice that preys on prejudice and fear.

Booklist:
The teen voice is wonderfully immediate, revealing Nadira's mixed-up feelings as well as the diversity in her family and in the Muslim community. Readers will feel the heartbreak, prejudice, kindness, and fear.


CONNECTIONS:

* This book makes the perfect discussion starter to talk about illegal immigrants in America. This is a hot topic today and students may not know much about it. Talk to students about what they did to try to stay in the country from hiring lawyers, using their money, and staying under the radar. Ask students what they would have done? Should the family have given up and returned to Bangladesh? Why or why not?

* The family was targeted primarily because they were Muslim. Ask students if this is fair? Can they compare this to any other groups that have been unfairly targeted in history?

* Have students talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each character. How did they change? Which character(s) do students identify the most with.

* What do students think we should do about illegal immigrants? Should they all be deported? Or all allowed to stay? What about the children that have grown up in America? What if they were born in America?

* Ask students why so many people want to live in America. What is better about America? Do they think people from other countries may have unrealistic expectations about America that they don't find out until they immigrate?