Same Sun Here (MP3 CD)
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“In this stunning epistolary novel, Meena, an Indian immigrant living in New York City's Chinatown, and River, a boy growing up in rural Kentucky, first become pen pals and then best friends. Through warm, rich imagery Vaswani and House create a story of unlikely resonant rhymes in human lives across seemingly divergent circumstances. The authors integrate the complex political issues of immigration and mountaintop removal, which Meena and River face, with so much dexterity and heart that the reader will feel called to activism. I fell completely in love with these voices and know that they'll stay with me for a while to come.”
— Hannah Manshel, 57th Street Books, Chicago, IL
Description
Meena and River have a lot in common: fathers forced to work away from home to make ends meet, grandmothers who mean the world to them, and faithful dogs. But Meena is an Indian immigrant girl living in New York City's Chinatown, while River is a Kentucky coal miner's son. As Meena's family studies for citizenship exams and River's town faces devastating mountaintop removal, this unlikely pair become pen pals, sharing thoughts and, as their camaraderie deepens, discovering common ground in their disparate experiences. With honesty and humor, Meena and River bridge the miles between them, creating a friendship that inspires bravery and defeats cultural misconceptions. Narrated in two voices, each voice distinctly articulated by a separate gifted author, this chronicle of two lives powerfully conveys the great value of being and having a friend and the joys of opening our lives to others who live beneath the same sun.
