A little girl named Shanti moves with her parents from India to the United States. At first, her parents’ presence and cooking make living in their new city apartment feel just like their village. But changes and challenges happening outside, from different holiday practices such as trick-or-treating to the use of a new language in school, cause Shanti to have an identity crisis.
Living in between cultures can be exhausting, but children have a unique resilience. Shanti recovers her optimistic attitude. She no longer feels out of place, because home can be “in between.”
The author notes how her own story as an immigrant child led to the creation of this book. She affirms that switching between two sets of cultural codes can be hard but also an enriching gift. (Macmillan)
About the Author
Mary Li Ma is a member of Plymouth Heights CRC church in Grand Rapids, Mich. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and now works as a research analyst for a national research center on education equity.