Home has no borders

Ahmed and Charaipotra, editors of the short story collection Magic Has No Borders, team up for a new assemblage that considers the meaning of home and features South Asian diaspora authors, including Tashie Bhuiyan, Veera Hiranandani, and Rajani LaRocca. In some entries, characters navigate internal conflict about their identity: Kanwalroop Kaur Singh's melancholic offering, "we dine with our dead," follows a Sikh teenager contending with tragedy, while Anuradha D. Rajurkar's "Star Anise" depicts one teen's experience grappling with their immigrant parents' pressure to excel. Others read like episodic jaunts about life's quotidian pleasures: in Tanya Boteju's charming "One Island," a queer DJ partners with her crush to teach a children's dance class, and protagonists, following a breakup, wrestle with lingering feelings for each other in Ahmed's "You Can't Go Home Again." Themes of connection permeate this poignant and introspective anthology, which asks--and occasionally answers--thought-provoking questions about what it means to be a young South Asian person in contemporary Western society. Introductory letters from both editors contextualize the collection's beginnings. Ages 13--up. (May)

This anthology centering on South Asian diaspora teens in the West examines the issues that come with navigating vastly different cultures. This well-curated collection features contributions from well-known names, like Rajani LaRocca and Veera Hiranandani, as well as newer voices. Former Marine--turned--truck driver Jyoti and her brother, who's newly enlisted in the Navy, bond over cha and chicken boona in "The Big Rig Blues" by Navdeep Singh Dhillon, while unpacking the realities of misogyny both at home and in the U.S. military. For Jivi in "we dine with our dead," by Kanwalroop Kaur Singh, graffiti is an outlet for expressing her rage at the violence and erasure affecting Sikhs like herself in America. Dance helps Sri Lankan Canadian Iyla and Sithara ford the volatile Tamil-Sinhala divide in "One Island," by Tanya Boteju. In "Love the One You're With," by Sheba Karim, Ali, a Muslim boy living in the American South, is closeted at home, but a job in a house of horror gives him someplace where he can be himself. Nish, from Nikesh Shukla's "Kick Flips in My Stomach," finds belonging among a motley crew of mostly brown skaters in Bristol, England. In "Jahaji," by Rekha Kuver, Deepa, an Indo-Fijian Midwestern girl, begins to heal from the loss of her mother in the company of a fellow immigrant. The broad representation of life experiences is a strength of this appealing work. An engaging and inclusive exploration of identity and belonging. (letters from the editors, contributor bios)(Anthology. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.