What I Meant

Sang is fifteen. Her father is from India, but her mother is an American. She has been brought up to respect both cultures. Doodles is her younger sister, and their family gets along very well.

Until Chachi, a grandmother, comes to live with them. Chachi has extremely serious issues but, since she's an adult, she gets believed and Sang disbelieved when a series of things happen. More and more trouble comes Sang's way, most of it due to Chachi, but some school problems arise as her best friend loses interest in her.

Sang is also interested in a particular boy but, as the reader can guess, the boy turns out to be a total jerk.

Sang is constantly trying to do what is right, but it seems that almost everything she does ends up being misinterpreted, leading to only more and more trouble for her. Sang's own life is in danger when she tries to help her ex-best friend, and there's a major showdown with Chachi at a restaurant.

It's an engaging book. No major world-shaking issues involved. Rather, it's an examination of growing up multi-cultural; even more, it's an examination of how difficult it can be for teenagers to be taken seriously and believed by their own parents. The book leaves the reader with a lot to ponder.

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