Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger

Title: Shine, Coconut Moon





Author: Neesha Meminger





Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Samar -- a.k.a. Sam -- has never known much about her Indian heritage. Her mom has deliberately kept Sam away from her old-fashioned family. It's never bothered Sam, who is busy with school, friends, and a really cute but demanding boyfriend.

But things change after 9/11. A guy in a turban shows up at Sam's house, and he turns out to be her uncle. He wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage. Sam isn't sure what to do, until a girl at school calls her a coconut -- brown on the outside, white on the inside. That decides it: Why shouldn't Sam get to know her family? What is her mom so afraid of? Then some boys attack her uncle, shouting, "Go back home, Osama!" and Sam realizes she could be in danger -- and also discovers how dangerous ignorance can be. Sam will need all her smarts and savvy to try to bridge two worlds and make them both her own.




Rating: 3/5





Review:


This book was sent to me to review by Pulse IT, and to be honest I wasn't extremely excited about it. I've never heard anything about it (which isn't surprising lately seeing as how I haven't been on the computer much) and by what little info I had, it didn't seem like a book that I would enjoy.





Now, I can't say that it was amazing because it wasn't. However, I can say that it wasn't hard at all to get through. The story is about a girl on a mission to get to know her family better, and in doing so she will learn more about herself. Interesting enough, although I can say one thing that bugged me. This book is set in 2001, right after the attacks on the Twin Towers. Shine, Coconut Moon is a book that probably should have been released about seven years ago, when the attacks were recent and fresh on everyone's mind. It could have been a much more powerful and moving story then.





As far as the writing, it was nothing special. During some parts, it was slightly amateur-ish, which bothered me, but not that much.





Other than that, the book was enjoyable enough. *shrug* Not much else to say.