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Table of Contents
About The Book
A Muslim immigrant teen struggles to hold her family together in the wake of 9/11 in this poignant novel from acclaimed author Marina Budhos.
You forget. You forget you don’t really exist here, that this isn’t your home.
Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal US citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous, a suspected terrorist.
When Nadira’s father is arrested and detained at the US-Canada border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are told to carry on as if everything is the same. The teachers at Flushing High don’t ask any questions, but Aisha falls apart. Nothing matters to her anymore—not even college.
It’s up to Nadira to be the strong one and bring her family back together again.
You forget. You forget you don’t really exist here, that this isn’t your home.
Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal US citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous, a suspected terrorist.
When Nadira’s father is arrested and detained at the US-Canada border, Nadira and her older sister, Aisha, are told to carry on as if everything is the same. The teachers at Flushing High don’t ask any questions, but Aisha falls apart. Nothing matters to her anymore—not even college.
It’s up to Nadira to be the strong one and bring her family back together again.
About The Author
Photograph courtesy of the author
Marina Budhos is an author of award-winning fiction and nonfiction. Her novel Watched received an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature YA Honor and a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor. Her other novels include Tell Us We’re Home, a 2017 Essex County YA Pick; Ask Me No Questions, a recipient of the James Cook Teen Book Award; The Professor of Light; House of Waiting; and the nonfiction book Remix: Conversations with Immigrant Teenagers. With her husband Marc Aronson, she is the coauthor of Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism and Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science, a 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Award Finalist. Budhos has been a Fulbright Scholar to India, received two Fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and is a professor of English at William Paterson University. You can visit her online at MarinaBudhos.com.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2013)
- Length: 192 pages
- ISBN13: 9781416949206
- Ages: 12 - 99
Browse Related Books
Awards and Honors
- ALA Notable Children's Books
- Booklist Editors' Choice
- CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
- ALA Best Books For Young Adults
- Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
- Bank Street Best Books of the Year
- Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
- Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Master List
- Kirkus Editor's Choice
- Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee (NJ)
- Nutmeg Book Award Nominee (CT)
- NYPL Best Books for Teens
- Kirkus Best Children's Book
- ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Nominee
- James Cook Teen Book Award Inaugural Winner
- Nutmeg Book Award Finalist (CT)
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Ask Me No Questions Trade Paperback 9781416949206(1.7 MB)
- Author Photo (jpg): Marina Budhos Photograph courtesy of the author(0.7 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
