Her cast gets moldy and smelly and she’s put on a strict diet so her body won’t get “squishes against the cast.” Day after day, for weeks that turn into months, Ruthie is immobile. A car accident leaves her confined to her bed and in a full body cast.
But Ruthie manages to play with the children in the neighborhood, becoming the “hopscotch queen” and making another friend, Danielle.īut just as Ruthie begins to adapt to life in America with resilience and fortitude, tragedy strikes.
Ruthie not only faces a difficult situation at school, she also deals with tension at home: her mother is often overcome with homesickness and her father is a demanding man who insists, among other things, that his wife and children, clean and smiling, greet him with a kiss the moment he returns home from work. Having seen several secondary charaters of South Asian Indian heritage who are poorly drawn or stereotyped, especially with regard to their religious beliefs, I was pleased to note that his character and situation ring true. One of my close friends in graduate school, a Latina woman, had been subjected to similar treatment in her childhood.ĭespite the situation at school, Ruthie strives to master the English language and makes friends with Ramu, an immigrant child from India, who is also in her class. The novel begins with a disturbing revelation – although Ruthie is clearly intelligent, she is “put in the dumb class in fifth grade” just because she can’t speak English. So I opened this book with the highest of expectations and I’m delighted to report that I was not disappointed.īehar’s novel is based on the author’s early life and her experiences “as an immigrant child and a wounded child.” Ruthie, the protagonist, is a strong, sensitive eleven-year old whose family has just moved from Cuba to the United States. Moreover, it’s edited by my very own editor, Nancy Paulsen, for whom I have the greatest respect. The ARC of Ruth Behar’s debut novel, LUCKY BROKEN GIRL, carries quotes from three remarkable writers whose work I deeply admire: Sandra Cisneros (author of the classic THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET), Margarita Engle (Newbery Honor-Winning Author of THE SURRENDER TREE) and Marjorie Agosin (Acclaimed poet and Pura Belpré winning author of I LIVED ON BUTTERFLY HILL).
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