When 11-year-old Houston native Mimi Scotts lands with her mother in Karachi, Pakistan, for summer vacation, she’s not sure what to expect—especially from her Pakistani grandparents, whom she is meeting for the first time.

Mimi’s mother grows increasingly distracted and distant as she navigates the fallout of her failed marriage to Mimi’s White father. Mimi grounds herself by writing to her estranged father in her journal. Although most servants in Mimi’s grandparents’ enormous house are excited about the American arrivals, Sakina Ejaz, a girl Mimi’s age who works as an assistant to her head cook father, couldn’t care less. Between her family’s poverty and her father’s diabetes, she has enough to worry about. But when Mimi agrees to help Sakina pass an English exam to achieve her dream of earning a scholarship and attending school for the first time, the two strike up a friendship greater than the differences in class and nationality that divide them. Together, they weather Mimi’s family secrets, Sakina’s pursuit of her dreams, and the sometimes-violent lead-up to an upcoming election. Faruqi’s descriptions of modern Karachi are rich with sensory detail, and her exploration of Mimi’s complicated feelings about her father make for a beautifully layered character arc. Sakina, however, feels defined almost entirely by her poverty, flattening her story and making her character’s development less satisfying.

A thoughtful portrait of friendship across class lines in modern Pakistan. (Fiction. 9-14)

-Kirkus Review

Retelling: Mimi is transplanted from her home in Houston Texas to her mother's Childhood home in Pakistan over her summer vacation to live with her grandmother Nana. She forms an instant connection to Sakina, a servant in her grandmother's class who is learning English and responds to Mimi's open communication and non-judgmental American Humor. When Mimi learns that her long lost father is reporting in the city they traveled to, she begins a quest to reunite with him, supported by her new friend Sakina. Sakina is on a quest to pass an English Exam so that she can be the first in her family to go to school. Her own father's own ailing health threatens to interfere with her plans. Together they struggle to understand one another through the gulf of culture and language and to help each other through their respective struggles.

Thoughts and feelings: One moment that stood out in my mind after reading this book was when Mimi offered Sakina the money she desperately needed to buy the medicine that would save her father's life. Sakina hesitated. I remember reading a psychology study (unfortunately I don't remember where-message me if you know) where the author examined attitudes towards the giving and receiving of gifts in a variety of cultures. What should feel like generosity is sometimes confirmation of the power the wealthy elite have over the poor, and accepting the gift can reify that structure. While Sakina did not read any elitism in Mimi's offer, she did consider how she could ever pay Mimi back. Mimi explained that she and her family had already paid in-kind, serving her family for many years, sacrificing her own time and advancement to keep the household running, and helping her find her father. I asked my 6-year old why the author might have chosen to make Sakina hesitate and he did not know. He said, the choice is obvious-take the money. Save your father. ( )

Mimi and her mother journey to Karachi, Pakistan to visit her grandparents for the summer. Mimi is missing her long-gone father and makes friends with Sakina, the daughter of the cook. Sakina wants desperately to go to school and needs a better grade on the English portion of an admissions test, and a friendship is born.

This book does a fabulous job with the two points of view -- Mimi's very American perspective, and Sakina's Pakistani one -- they are able to comment on, be puzzled by and work out the many cultural differences they encounter on their road to friendship, and that is a beautiful journey. As an American reader, there are many hard realities to accept in the book about the education of children and the scale of poverty worldwide -- we have plenty of our own, but it presents a different face here. Both of the girls are great characters and the story is well written and entertaining. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-8

Plot Summary: Before Mimi's mom starts her new job in Texas, Mimi and her mom finally visit the place Mom was born and raised. Upon arriving in Karachi, Pakistan for the first time, Mimi is shocked to discover the house is ginormous with many servants. Immediately, Mimi reaches out to the cooks' daughter, Sakina, who is about her age. Sakina isn't sure it's a good idea to mix with the rich, but when she realizes that Mimi might be able to help her with her English so she can pass a test to finally get into a school, she agrees. The girls spend a lot of time together--sightseeing, working in the kitchen, and hanging out. Mimi admits that she really wants to know her father, and she just found out where he is! Will she work up the nerve to seek him out and get that hug she's been hoping for? Meanwhile, where does her mom keep disappearing to?

Setting: Karachi, Pakistan

Characters:
Mimi - 11 yo,
Mom - seem very close with Mimi, disappears for hours
Tom Scotts - Mimi's dad, journalist, disappeared when Mimi was
Sakina - servant, in the lowest class
Abba - Sakina's dad, diabetic, works in the kitchen
Amma - AKA Aisha, Sakina's mom, sews and takes care of Jamshed, cooks and expects Sakina to do the same when she gets home
Jamshed - 4 y/o, Sakina's brother, loves his toy car
Sohail - Mom's friend from college, runs an orphanage
Raheem - bad guy in Sakina's neighborhood using force and power to try to get people to vote for a candidate, steals money
Zoe - Mimi's friend from school in Texas, in France when Mimi is in Pakistan

Recurring Themes: biracial, abandoned by father, family, friendship, class system, poor, poverty, diabetes, Pakistan

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: I love this author but this one was not my favorite from her. Sometimes it was clear which language the girls were speaking, and sometimes they seemed to communicate very well, even though supposedly, neither of them was that good at the other language. That part was a little hard for me to believe. Otherwise, I liked the story, the themes, and the characters despite it being a tad slower than her other books. I thought the author's note about it being a love letter to the city of Karachi made a lot of sense after having read the book.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: slow-medium, long book with very little action but well written
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

Mimi goes on a summer trip with her mom to visit Pakistan and stay with the grandparents she hardly knows. The trip is eye-opening. Her grandparents are rich while she and her mom struggle to get by in America. Sakina's dad is the cook in Mimi's grandparents house and she works there every day too. The book alternates in its telling between the two girls who become friends point of view. Through their eyes we see culture clash, family problems, and a budding friendship. Sakina dreams of school but she needs to pass the English portion of an entrance exam in order for her family to even possibly consider it. With her dad ill, she has the pressure of bringing income into the house. Mimi feels like she has a missing piece by not having a relationship with her dad.
In the audiobook, it was interesting that Mimi's voice changed depending if she was the narrator or if Sakina was the narrator related conversations.
The girls are full characters and the story compelling. ( )