Same Sun Here: 2 kids, 2 lives, 1 story

New York City. Skyscrapers. Immigrants. People. LOTS OF THEM.
Eastern Kentucky. Mountains. Coal miners. Middle of nowhere.

Girl. Indian. Illegal immigrant.
Boy. VERY American. Different.

Meena is an Indian immigrant living in NYC. River is a poor boy living in the middle of Appalachia with his Grandmother as his best friend. You couldn't put two more different kids together. That's one of the reasons I love this book so much. It's just so different from most books I read. The story is made up of letters written by Meena and River. They are connected through different school projects and become best friends.

This book really makes you think about how relationships are formed. Because both Meena and River choose to communicate by "Snail-mail", they get to know each other through letters. And i think that's kinda what makes this story so great. Because if it was just about two friends in the same town, I don't think I would like it as well. You can just express so much more through writing. And even though Meena and River might not have ever been friends if they had met at school one day, getting to know someone through letters lets you learn to like them no matter if they are an illegal immigrant, or a different skin color, or a different race. Take this quote from Meena as an example:  

“My parents work so hard. I want to get a good job and get them a house in New Jersey. I said that to Kiku and he said, “We’ll work hard, too, and then we’ll take care of them.” We shook hands on it and I felt very grown-up. I was thirteen years old, sitting under the GW Bridge, in New York City, with my brother, who trusted me with his secrets. Sometimes Kiku can be mean, but mostly he is sweeter than a big bag of gummy bears.” 

I don't know about you, but i don't think this is something that you would actually say face to face. But since the book is a bunch of letters, its more focused on things that are out of the ordinary, or big emotional events. Like when River almost gets killed. Or when Meena gets kicked out of her house for being an illegal immigrant. None of the normal small talk in books is there. You just get to know the characters way better. And I love that.

So I definitely recommend this book to everyone. I really could not put it down. Since there's no set plot, you never know whats going to happen next, and you have to keep on reading or you'll die of suspense. And you probably will if you don't read this book RIGHT NOW. Bye!

-Laura