Taiwanese immigrant Anna and her family make a shocking discovery that puts their American dreams at risk in this searing companion to In the Beautiful Country, which Gene Luen Yang called âvivid and hopeful.â
* A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices List Selection *
After a rocky first year, Annaâs family has settled into life in Californiaâtheir small restaurant is even turning a profit. Then her parents make a shattering discovery: Their visas have expired.
Annaâs world is quickly overwhelmed by unfamiliar words like âundocumentedâ and âinequality.â She longs to share with a friend the towering secret that looms over every aspect of her life, but her parents strictly forbid her from telling anyone.
As Anna grapples with the complexities of being undocumented, the strain that it places on her family, and the loneliness of keeping it all to herself, she has to wonderâif America is the promised land, why does everything sheâs hoped for feel like a lie?
Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang, Reem Faruqi, and Jasmine Warga, this middle grade novel in verse, inspired by the authorâs own experiences, focuses on themes of legal documentation, identity, and languageâs ability to divide and unite.