"My name is Aisha Hossain. And I am an illegal alien."

Throughout this entire book, there has been two themes that run nearly parallel,but not quite. In the end, they must inevitably clash. The traditionalists believe that the best way, and the only way to handle being an illegal immigrant in a country that is hostile, is to stay unseen, to stay silent behind polite smiles. And then, there is a another group, that wants to blow the top off of all the secrets- shout the news off the rooftops and loud blaring signs and billboard and long lines of joined-hand protesters. And those two attitudes can only co-exist for so long. Aisha really had a choice to make here- either make some blah-blah speech, or (le gasp) tell the truth. There was no middle ground. And the decision she made led to her family being legal. Personally, as far as the ending goes, i was disappointed- i had expected more of the author. However, i can note that her strengths seem to be more rooted in language then plot, which is understandable. But on that note, some of the similes and metaphors she used were very good. I can even see traces of her in my writing now-a-days, and i feel as though i owe much of how i grew as a writer this year to her.

"That money is burning a hole in my knapsack. I'm sure everyone can see it, their eyes scorching X-rays into the white envelope to the crisp bills inside."

Just imagining how nerve wracking it would be to carry around 3000 dollars in cash, that is your father's only hope to escape deportation, but that may or may not work anyway, if you actually make it to your destination without getting robbed on the way first. I actually read in one of my mom's nursing-books-with-the-really-long-names that most teenagers have that same...sensation? They think that everyone in the vicinity is watching them, witnessing their humiliation or infraction, when in reality, the most they get is a cursory glance in passing. Even when you are sure you are in the middle of the most extensive, life altering drama that has ever played on soil, air or sea, the rest of the world is unlikely to care. In fact, they are most likely in the midst of their own dramas. Then again, don't trust that too much, the instant you stop thinking that everyone is watching you is when everyone starts watching you.

"I didn't even know you could do something like that. I sure didn't know a girl could do something like that."

Am practically dying to say this over here- Nadira really has led a seriously sheltered life! As much as people always encouraged and praised Aisha, and ignored or condescend Nadira, neither of these girls seem to be even remotely informed about anything! They haven't been told about what it will be like in America, or how they'll have to change. And no one's even both to tell Nadira that smart is one of those words when if you look it up in the dictionary, you ought to find multiple definitions! MULTIPLE!
Also, despite the fact that she is living with a seriously feminine power sister- a seriosuly overbearing one at well, but that's beyond the point, she still doesn't seem to think that girls can do anything that boys can do. I'm not sure if she's questioning competance, or if she's just not sure if it's allowed. So well just... jeez.

""Wow." I always thought of college as a place for stars like Aisha, who does everything that her teachers expect from her, even down to hanging out in the right cliques. And all of us can see her there as clearly as if we had a TV screen of her life at school playing in our heads. But for the first time I actually start to imagine me sitting on steps like this, or in a classroom reading lots of fat books and saying what I think. It suddenly feels natural as sitting next to this girl, who is back to drawing with her colored pencils."

Finally, Nadira is starting to wonder if there is a real place for her, a place that is other from the shadows cast over her sister's shoulder. I think that if she can really go to college, and get away from Aisha's influence, she'll be able to find herself. I understand that Aisha isn't evil incarnate, but i do think that her presence does Nadira no favors, and that in order for Nadira to really step, there has to be room for her to step up to. Without people calling her fat and no one caring about her beyond her status of "Aisha's little sister" maybe, instead of being that, she can be Nadira.

“It scares me, what Taslima is doing. Taking her anger outside for all the world to see, like turning open our skins, raw and ugly.”

In this chapter I see a continuation of this ongoing trend throughout the book. Some people deal with their status as an illegal immigrant by keeping their heads down and hoping that they can just get by and not get caught as long as they don’t give anyone cause to look at them too closely. And others believe that regardless of the legalities, they have a right to be there. In their hearts, they are Americans, so it’s no surprise that they deal with it in the American way. Taslima, of course, is the latter. And with these people all doing this, letting others into their world, it’s only a matter of time until______. I don’t know what comes after until. But I do know that something does. They’re balancing on a needle’s tip, and one single breath of air will take them over the edge. But no one knows what’s at the bottom.

"It's just a routine check"

Well. That's reassuring. Some superficiality from the government is inevitable. I mean, they're a great huge group of adults who's job it is to tell people what to do,create rules, and devise suitable punishment for people who break the rules. There's a fair amount of potential for people walking around like they've got something stuck... someplace uncomfortable. But just...really? There's just so many intriguing little angles and POV's (Point Of View) to look at. This chapter is like a sponge left in the sink- just soaked. Soaked in drama. I'm going to take a look at some characters other then Aisha and Nadira, just for clicks and whistles. Let's start with Uncle. As far as i'm concerned, Uncle is a pessimistic tradionalist, ergo, he's screwed. When the immigration officers showed up, rather then recognizing that since he can bearly speak English and Taslima is close to fluent, he ought to let her talk, he just can't get past the fact that his child, worse, his daughter, a female, is speaking in his stead. This line of thought then leads us to Taslima, and by association, Tim. I think their intentions are good- i see no evil plots on his part. (le gasp) Honestly, i think they're no more then a couple of hotheads. They've got good intentions, methods of questionable effectiveness, but are essentially harmless.

"If i say a word that is angry, he explained, then i should never be surprised by the harm. And if i say something good, then it is like watching my own garden grow, and that is the greatest pleasure ever. That's what Aisha and I are doing. We're planting a garden with our words. Our future. Everything careful and chosen well so the shoots come up strong and straight." -Ali Uncle

There was a rather.... overabundance of blogs centered around this quote, but simply couldn't help myself. I like Ali Uncle as a character. He works hard at the job he has, and he seems to really have time and genuine affection for Nadira which is something that we have not seen enough of so far in this book. It's always Aisha, all the time. He also manages to give real advice in a strong way without sounding preachy. He phrases what he wants to say in a way that's less osrt of demanding, but more just sort of trickles through the levels of your mind. You think about it. It's also just got some really rather nice imagery for a metaphor. As stated earlier- i like him.