A few days after 9/11, Samar (Sam) arrives home to find a strange man in a turban on her doorstep. It turns out to be her uncle, whom she hasn't seen since she was two years old, due to her mother severing ties with her family. Sam has grown up with her mother as her only family, and as the American media nurtures the hatred and fear of South Asians, she is challenged with a part of her identity that she'd ignored until now.
As she gets to know her Uncle Sandeep, her desire to know her family and cultural heritage grows, despite the racial slurs and looks she receives from being seen with him. She challenges her mother on the issue of remaining estranged from her parents and denying her the chance to have a relationship with them. Her mother reveals after a disastrous visit that she was trying to protect Sam from the racism that exists within Indian culture; as a darker skinned Punjabi, her mother was never fully accepted for who she was.
A scare occurs for the family when Uncle Sandeep is attacked trying to protect Sam from racist boys at a school dance. This event opens her mother up to the idea of giving Sam regular visits to her grandparents' house and tells her their history. Sam is able to embrace both aspects of her identity and seeks to further understanding of Indian-Americans by studying Sociology at Sarah Lawrence.
Negative coming of age elements:
*Sam and her friend Molly have been thinking about the night they will lose their virginity beginning at age 15 and start collecting sexy underwear in preparation for the event (The girls are 17 in the story). One of the characters talks about how it is the experience that makes you a 'real woman'. Sam thinks that having sex would be fine with her mom, she would only freak out if she ended up pregnant.
*Underage drinking - the girls do tequila shots, and Molly has a 'fun' drink that is alcoholic but looks like orange juice that she hands out to other teens at her great Aunt's birthday party.
*Sam's ex-boyfriend calls her a b*, Sam is almost sexually assaulted by two of his friends
If it were a movie: PG-13
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