Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)

Starred Review Navigating eighth grade, Reha finds herself pulled between two worlds: 1983 America, where she is growing up, and India, where her parents did. As she struggles with the choice between being like her friends at school or being the way her parents pecially her Amma, or mother nt her to be, her world is shattered when Amma is diagnosed with leukemia. Classmates, friends, and family all come to the support of her and her father, bringing the two sides of her identity together. And as Amma battles her illness, Reha gains strength from her loved ones, discovering what it really means to be a hero. LaRocca's (Midsummer's Mayhem, 2019) historical novel in verse takes the reader through Reha's past and present, flowing as seamlessly as many of the songs often referred to within the poems. Reha's reaction to the devastation wrought by her mother's illness is realistic and heartbreaking. Readers who have experienced loss well as those who have not ll understand Reha's feelings and find comfort as she comes to see the beauty of her mother, which she understands will always be a part of her. Reha comes to view her life in terms of the "before and after" her mother's illness, and readers, too, will be changed by her story.

Horn Book (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

It's 1983, and thirteen-year-old Reha feels she has "two lives." In one, she's a serious student who tries to make her Indian immigrant parents proud but is seen as an outsider (who speaks "Indian") at her predominantly white school. In her other life, Reha, who doesn't actually speak her parents' native languages, feels that "no matter where I go, / America or India, / I don't quite fit." These feelings intensify when her Amma (mother) is diagnosed with leukemia, goes through several rounds of chemotherapy, and, ultimately, succumbs to her illness. Composed of short, metaphor-rich poems, this verse novel weaves together complex narrative strands with sophistication. It does the double duty of giving voice to the hyphenated American experience and navigation of dual identities, while also representing the illness and loss of a parent with tenderness and fidelity to the stages of grief. Blood is a predominant metaphor, but it's not off-putting. The "red, white, and whole" of the title refers to "whole blood...the precious river in our arteries, our veins, our hearts," and represents both Amma's illness and Reha's more abstract yearning to belong wholly to one place. Give this emotionally powerful novel to immigrant, third-culture kids or anyone experiencing grief and loss. Julie Hakim Azzam

Kirkus Reviews (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)

It's 1983, and 13-year-old Indian American Reha feels caught between two worlds.Monday through Friday, she goes to a school where she stands out for not being White but where she has a weekday best friend, Rachel, and does English projects with potential crush Pete. On the weekends, she's with her other best friend, Sunita (Sunny for short), at gatherings hosted by her Indian community. Reha feels frustrated that her parents refuse to acknowledge her Americanness and insist on raising her with Indian values and habits. Then, on the night of the middle school dance, her mother is admitted to the hospital, and Reha's world is split in two again: this time, between hospital and home. Suddenly she must learn not just how to be both Indian and American, but also how to live with her mother's leukemia diagnosis. The sections dealing with Reha's immigrant identity rely on oft-told themes about the overprotectiveness of immigrant parents and lack the nuance found in later pages. Reha's story of her evolving relationships with her parents, however, feels layered and real, and the scenes in which Reha must grapple with the possible loss of a parent are beautifully and sensitively rendered. The sophistication of the text makes it a valuable and thought-provoking read even for those older than the protagonist.An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss. (Verse novel. 11-15)

School Library Journal (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)

Gr 5 Up-Indian American middle schooler Reha navigates growth and loss in this 1980s coming-of-age novel in verse. Thirteen-year-old Reha deals with ordinary concerns; she tries to stay true to her Indian culture while growing up with in the United States, and she grapples with a crush on a classmate. When her mother suddenly gets sick with leukemia, Reha's ordinary everyday concerns fade away and are replaced with the belief that if she is as virtuous as possible, she will save her mother's life. As the story goes on, Reha deals with her grief and builds a strong support network of friends and family to help her face her mother's illness. References to musicians such as Pat Benatar, the Beach Boys, and Cyndi Lauper firmly set this story in the 1980s, but the story otherwise feels modern. Reha's story is slow to start but quickly ramps up. Readers will be invested in her relationships with her parents and friends and will enjoy the evocative verse and emotional stakes. VERDICT A recommended purchase, perfect for fans of Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga and Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton. Kelsey Socha, Westfield Athenaeum, Westfield, MA