Mitali Perkins,
The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen.
Little, Brown, 2005.

South Asia has always lagged behind the Orient with regard to its coverage in contemporary English-language children's literature. It would be an easy task for any avid young reader to name award-winning East-Asian writers. Laurence Yep, Linda Sue Park, Amy Tan, Lensey Namioka, Adeline Yen Mah and Kyoko Mori are just a few of today's authors who have brought Korea, China and Japan to life -- and with perspectives from both sides of the Pacific. It would be much harder to do the same for writers that showcase the world from a South Asian point of view. We would have to harken back to the so-called classics of Kipling -- his book, Kim, has been called a "master work of Imperialism‰¥Ï a rich and absolutely fascinating, but nevertheless profoundly embarrassing novel" -- and Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden.

But South Asia has, in recent years, become more than a blip on the radar screens of young adults around the world, perhaps due to the increasing popularity of the Bollywood film industry (American pop icon Beyonce has recently voiced her desire to star in a Bollywood production). And it seems likely that young-adult literature will soon reflect this growing interest in, and awareness of, the region.

Little Brown has reissued a novel published a decade ago by Indian-American writer Mitali Perkins. Originally titled The Sunita Experiment, its old cover has not just been dusted off but totally, trendily redesigned with an image of a jean-clad/tank top-wearing American girl of Indian decent and her sari-clad alter ego on the other side. It has been renamed The-Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen and now comes with a readers' guide at the back of the book.

It is, as one would imagine, the story of a India-born American teen who must deal with feelings of cultural confusion, not to mention embarrassment, when her grandparents come to live with the family for an extended visit. Sunita's modern mother quits her high-profile teaching job and takes to wearing a sari and "the dot" on a daily basis. Poor Sunita must deal with all this, plus the boyfriend/best friend/evil classmate situations common to the young-adult and middle-grade genre.

Though predictable as some of these situations may be, there is plenty to offer in MitaIi Perkin's story-telling. The relationship between Sunita and Dadu (her grandfather) is especially sweet, and their dialogue delightfully juxtaposes their different upbringings: "Study well then. I would not sway you from the call to acquire wisdom. Perhaps later we may visit?" asks the grandfather. "Sure Dadu. Later," Sunita replies.

Sunita herself takes offense at The Secret Garden in the book, and indignantly reads a passage to her vegan/recycler/peace activitst older sister Geetie. But although Geetie would be the first to roll her eyes at The Secret Garden's outdated (read racist) notions, she tells her little sister that there is still a story to be appreciated within, adding, "Welcome to the real world."

THE NOT-SO-STAR-SPANGLED LIFE OF SUNITA SEN is proof that South Asian-based children's literature is beginning to join the real world as well.

Karmel Schreyer
April 23, 2005

Karmel Schreyer writes educational materials for Asian children and is the author of the young-adult novels, Naomi: The Strawberry Blonde of Pippu Town and A Singing Bird Will Come: Naomi in Hong Kong.