Yoon, Nicola. The Sun is Also a Star. Random House Children's Book, 2016. ISBN 9780553496680
Plot Summary
Protagonist Natasha meets a young boy on day she is scheduled to be deported. Natasha is Jamaican American and young boy, Daniel is Korean American. Story is about the ways she is trying to stop a deportation of her family, brought forward by a DUI her father was given from drinking on a night he performed. She is committed to figure out how they are able to stay and heads to Customs and Immigration Services, where she meets a host of individuals. Daniel has an interview with Yale that same day, feeling that he must mostly by the orders of his family. They meet that day, and a brief courtship begins. The person helping Natasha ultimately cannot rescind the deportation order, so they must leave. They reunite again ten years later on a plane, by happenstance.
Critical Evaluation
Natasha and Daniel are intriguing characters who are dealing with different family struggles. One intense pressure from his family to do well and overcompensate for an older brother who is on probation from a University, and Natasha being confronted with deportation. There are themes of being true to who you are and not giving up, juxtaposed with parent's that left dreams behind for raising kids or moving to another country. The fact that Natasha and her family are deported, depicts a reality that many face and therefore it is believable although heartbreaking as one often wishes for great endings. Natasha potentially reuniting with Daniel while their paths cross again in an airplane is a sweet peek at this happily ever after, but one may say this is also a stretch to seek the happy ending after all.
Reader's Annotation
Young teen Natasha is working to ensure that her family is not deported to Jamaica after father is given a DUI and confesses to not being in the States "legally" she meets a young Korean American boy struggling with his own family issues.
Author Information
Is a hopeless romantic, and hand writes her first drafts. She considers herself a late bloomer. There was a movie that was made from her book and was released in 2019.
Genre
Romance
Booktalking Ideas
Daniel talking about his parents, and why they came to this country from Korea and what that means for him and his brother, the expectations on them, as well as the baggage from his father's history.
Reading Level/Interest Age
12 +. + and Grade Level 7 +
Challenge Issues
Immigration, although they are deported, the lawyer Jeremy really wants to help them. I will defend the book with Library Bill of Rights and this review from Publisher's Weekly.
Why I Chose The Book
It is a very sweet romance, that does not follow a typical love story, mixed race couples, and immigration issues.
Nicola Yoon, Author of 'The Sun Is Also a Star,' on Her Writing and Publishing Journey
References:
Bio (n.d.) Nicola Yoon. Retrieved December 2, 20201, https://www.nicolayoon.com/bio-3
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