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33rd out of 59 books
—
414 voters
Shine, Coconut Moon
by
Neesha Meminger (Goodreads Author)
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 want...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
March 10th 2009
by Margaret K. McElderry
(first published February 20th 2009)
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Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
The cover of SHINE, COCONUT MOON should be enough to draw readers to the contents of Ms. Meminger's story. But if the cover doesn't pull you in, then the story should capture your attention.
Samar has always considered herself American. She had a few incidents when she was younger of being treated as an outsider, but when Molly befriended her, Sam was accepted without any problems.
It isn't until after September 11, 2001, that life changes for Sam. A strange...more
The cover of SHINE, COCONUT MOON should be enough to draw readers to the contents of Ms. Meminger's story. But if the cover doesn't pull you in, then the story should capture your attention.
Samar has always considered herself American. She had a few incidents when she was younger of being treated as an outsider, but when Molly befriended her, Sam was accepted without any problems.
It isn't until after September 11, 2001, that life changes for Sam. A strange...more
This book is about a seventeen-year-old girl, Samar a.k.a. Sam who has never known much about her Indian heritage neither has it ever bothered her until an unexpected visit from a guy in a turban after the 9/11 attacks who turns out to be her uncle. He wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage. several incidents take place where a girl at school calls her a coconut -- brown on the outside, white on the inside, which makes sam want to get to know her family but is talked...more
Reviewed by Inderjit Deogun
In her first young adult novel, Neesha Meminger tells the story of 17-year-old Samar Ahluwahlia, who has never bothered to learn about her Sikh heritage or her old-fashioned family. That is, until, only days after 9/11, a turbanwearing man rings her doorbell: it’s her estranged Uncle Sandeep.
His unexpected arrival brings to light not only the cruel reality of how the post-9/11 world perceives those of Indian heritage, but also Samar’s need to meet her grandparents. Aft...more
In her first young adult novel, Neesha Meminger tells the story of 17-year-old Samar Ahluwahlia, who has never bothered to learn about her Sikh heritage or her old-fashioned family. That is, until, only days after 9/11, a turbanwearing man rings her doorbell: it’s her estranged Uncle Sandeep.
His unexpected arrival brings to light not only the cruel reality of how the post-9/11 world perceives those of Indian heritage, but also Samar’s need to meet her grandparents. Aft...more
Shine, Coconut Moon is a thoughtful YA book about a teen struggling with her Sikh identity in post-9/11 New York City. Sam's mother rejected her Sikh culture, and as a result Sam grew up a "coconut"--brown on the outside, white on the inside. She believes there's no difference between herself and her best friend Molly, and she and her mother consider themselves perfectly assimilated in their suburban New Jersey society. But one day, Samar's Uncle Sandeep shows up on their doorstep, asking to be...more
Seventeen-year-old Samar (known as Sam to her friends) knows very little of her Indian culture or Sikh religion. Her single mother has raised her to fit in as an American teen; her mother has also kept her from getting to know her uncle and “old-fashioned” grandparents. That was all before 9/11.
Shortly after that, a stranger arrives at her front door in a turban, startling Sam at first glance. It turns out he is her Uncle Sandeep, and he is eager to reconnect with Samar and her mother. When Uncl...more
Shortly after that, a stranger arrives at her front door in a turban, startling Sam at first glance. It turns out he is her Uncle Sandeep, and he is eager to reconnect with Samar and her mother. When Uncl...more
I was interested in reading this book because it's the first YA I've come across where the main character is a Sikh American girl. I thought it'd be interesting to read from a perspective that is more similar to my own than most YA books. The premise was good, and I liked the character development that occurred. However, there was little emotional connection - it seemed like much of the book was just words on a page. The author didn't really pull you into what the characters were feeling as a wh...more
I think it's really easy, especially after 9/11, to lump a person into a group. Because of their race, their clothing, or their accent, we immediately might shove a person into a stereotype.
That is exactly what Neesha Meminger is able to shatter in her novel.
You might expect to hear Sam make some obvious allusions to her Sikh heritage (which I had to look up because I had NO CLUE what that meant). But no. If you didn't already know Sam was Indian, you would never be able to tell. Because of he...more
That is exactly what Neesha Meminger is able to shatter in her novel.
You might expect to hear Sam make some obvious allusions to her Sikh heritage (which I had to look up because I had NO CLUE what that meant). But no. If you didn't already know Sam was Indian, you would never be able to tell. Because of he...more
Shine, Coconut Moon really appealed to me because of the topics that it deals with. What does it mean to be an American? Can you be an American but still keep your old family traditions? I really liked how Neesha handles these topics. Samar knows nothing about her mother's family until her uncle steps back into her life. Along the way she learns that she can be an American while still following some of her family’s traditions. I really enjoyed how Samar grows and learns about her mother's side o...more
This is a thoughtful and well-structured book about family, culture, and identity in the aftermath of 9/11. Samar is a very believable teenager, and her family members are both flawed and human. The way in which Sammy's quest to learn more about her South Asian origins affected her perception of herself and her relationships with various schoolmates, family and friends kept me engaged until the end.
Samar, known as Sam to most everyone around her, is a seventeen-year-old Indian-American. Except that aside from her name and her complexion, Sam isn't really Indian--she's completely assimilated; and that's how her mother wants her to be. Sam has never known any members of her family other than her mom until soon after September 11th a turban-wearing man shows up at her doorstep. The man turns out to be her mother's younger brother--the uncle that she's never known. The recent events have led U...more
Set in New Jersey just days after 9/11, this engrossing novel tells the story of 17-year-old Samar (Sammy) who is completely out of touch with her Indian heritage until an estranged uncle in a turban shows up on her doorstep. Through her story, teens too young to remember 9/11 will gain an appreciation of the emotions, fears and prejudice against foreigners that prevailed in late 2001 -- issues that remain extremely relevant today. Sammy's difficult but ultimately satisfying re-connection with h...more
Samar(Sammy)lives alone with her mother. They are of Indian descent, but Sammy's mom has never spoken about her family and has kept Sammy far away from them, even though they live only 90 minutes away. Immediately after 9/11, she comes home to find a man with a turban on his head at their front door. It's her Uncle Sandeep, who wants to reconnect because after 9/11, family feels very important. Samar's uncle is the victim of abuse by people "defending" America. (He's called Osama) even though he...more
One of the best YA books I have read this year. The author takes a familiar tale, one of self exploration and family, and makes it incredibly gripping. The particulars of Punjabi Sikh culture keep the story from being genericized and the post 9/11 time period allows for some frank explorations of othering and violence. I also really enjoyed a particular passage where Samar, the main character, said that 'discovering her past was like finding a book all about her' (or something to that effect). A...more
The terrorists have just taken out the Twin Towers on 9/11, when a few days later, a man in a turban shows up on Samar's doorstep. She is astonished to realize that it is her uncle, her mother's brother. For her whole life, Sam has lived a very American life with only her mother. Suddenly she is struggling with a lot of questions concerning her self-identity, family, race, and religion.
It is a little disconcerting, because the book is set just a few days after 9/11. However, because of the actua...more
It is a little disconcerting, because the book is set just a few days after 9/11. However, because of the actua...more
Oct 28, 2010
Christina
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
realistic,
multicultural
Interesting story about an Indian-American high school senior, Samar ("Sammy"), who is reunited with her Sikh uncle and starts to inquire into the Indian part of her heritage. Her mother, long estranged from her own parents, raised Sammy entirely on her own and without any family or religious guidance, and that's always been okay for the two of them. But now that her mother's brother has reappeared in her life, and with the added tension of the recent Sept. 11 2001 attacks in the air, Sammy deci...more
Samar Ahluwahlia, whose family is from India and of Punjabi heritage, has no knowledge of her past because her single mother has kept her from her family. Through the Internet and friends, she learns about her family’s religion and background. She discovers that she’s a “coconut”—brown on the outside, white on the inside. Once she experiences this, she understands she can still shine like a coconut moon. This unusual book can be used with older groups or younger mother and daughter book clubs. T...more
It's interesting that a "9/11 novel" feels like historical fiction, but I guess today's fifteen year old was only 7 when it happened, so it will very soon be treated as history for young adults.
This is definitely for older YAs, or ones that are okay for drinking and frank discussions of sex (by normal teens)...but the main story of a girl raised by a mom who has rejected her Sikh heritage/family, who questions her identity and encounters violence directed toward her uncle and his temple in the...more
This is definitely for older YAs, or ones that are okay for drinking and frank discussions of sex (by normal teens)...but the main story of a girl raised by a mom who has rejected her Sikh heritage/family, who questions her identity and encounters violence directed toward her uncle and his temple in the...more
Coconut is a term for a person who is "brown on the outside, white on the inside." One of Sam's Indian classmates brings up the issue because Sam doesn't seem to identify with her heritage at all. She knows nothing about being Sikh and doesn't even know Punjabi. This idea is central to the book. Because of Uncle Sandeep and her Indian classmate Balvir, Sam starts to investigate her culture. She doesn't want to be a "coconut" anymore. Her uncle wisely says that a coconut is also a "symbol of resi...more
I'm always surprised at the stigma that exists against YA fiction. While some of the genre is indeed composed of dreadful, nauseating, poorly-written Twilight-esque prose, plenty of YA stories that are lucid, poignant, and meaningful.
One such example is "shine, coconut moon" by Neesha Meminger. While at first glance, the book seems simple in its depiction of a young American girl's journey through the ups and downs of high school, there is terrific social commentary glittering within the pages....more
One such example is "shine, coconut moon" by Neesha Meminger. While at first glance, the book seems simple in its depiction of a young American girl's journey through the ups and downs of high school, there is terrific social commentary glittering within the pages....more
Samar is an Indian-American teenager who fits in with her friends. Teased because of her ethnicity when she was younger, she thinks she has things straight in high school. She has a best friend and a boyfriend. Her mother tries to be everything to Sam, since her father is not in the picture. Also, Sam has never met her grandparents because her mother is estranged from them; according to her mom, they are strict and narrow-minded.
Life seems okay, but then Uncle Sandeep, whom Sam hasn't seen sinc...more
Life seems okay, but then Uncle Sandeep, whom Sam hasn't seen sinc...more
Before September 11, Samar Ahluwahlia (aka Sam) always considered herself to be an American. But after 9/11, a man in a turban shows up on her porch, claiming to be her uncle. Because Sam's mother has cut off all ties with her family, Samar has been cut off, too. But with Uncle Sandeep returning to their lives, Sam is more and more curious about the rest of the family she doesn't know.
This book was great! I had heard a ton of great things about it before I read it, so I was a little worried abou...more
This book was great! I had heard a ton of great things about it before I read it, so I was a little worried abou...more
Seventeen-year-old Samar's, aka Sammy, interest in her Indian and Sikh heritage rises when her estranged uncle comes back into her's and her mother's lives weeks after 9/11 (the story takes places very shortly the events). Due to her own strict upbringing, Samar's mother has made every effort to make her feel American not Indian, but with the emergance of new family and the sudden judgement brought on by the terrorist attacks, Samar is suddenly made to confront her heritage and culture and who s...more
Samar, or Sam as she calls herself, is a coconut. That is, someone who's brown on the outside but white on the inside. Her mother only helps contribute to Sam's disconnection to her heritage. She's abandoned her parents and their old-fashioned lifestyle and hasn't even allowed Sam to meet her grandparents.
But it's not like Sam cares. She has her own friends, a cute boyfriend and a modern life to keep up with. Then everything changes with the tragedy of 9/11.
Because of 9/11, atrocious acts of vio...more
But it's not like Sam cares. She has her own friends, a cute boyfriend and a modern life to keep up with. Then everything changes with the tragedy of 9/11.
Because of 9/11, atrocious acts of vio...more
The story takes place in the days and months following the 9/11 attacks. Samar Ahluwahlia, known as Sam to her friends, is a seventeen-year-old Sikh Indian teen living in suburban New Jersey with her single mom, a therapist who has all but renounced her own Indian family and culture. When Samar's long lost uncle Sandeep comes back into their lives looking to reconnect, he awakens Samar to a whole new world -- the world of her Sikh Indian cultural and ethnic heritage.
After an Indian girl at schoo...more
After an Indian girl at schoo...more
Following 9/11 Samar opens the door to find a turbaned man who happends to be her Uncle Sandeep. She doesn't know much about her Sikh culture as her mom has spearated herself and Samar from her parents and heritage. Now Samar yearns to have roots and a family like her best friend Molly. At the same time,Sikhs and Muslims are being attacked in the rage following 9/11. It's a great book about identity and multiple belongings, but it often turns preachy instead of letting the plot carry the theme.
I liked the book well enough. It accurately portrayed the friendships of teenage girls, and it gave me a window into a culture I'm unfamiliar with. However I thought it was a bit too "problem novel" for me. We never really learn anything about Samar's uncle or grandparents other than that they're Sikhs and were estranged from her mom for a long time. I found myself wanting more than that, though I could see why the author chose to focus on the ethnicity issue, as that was her principal message.
A touching, sometimes difficult to read story about life as a South Asian American teenager and how that sense of identity changed in the days and weeks after 9/11. Nicely written and sensitively portrayed. South Asian teens born in this country will find a lot to relate to here both in terms of identity issues and in terms of society's backlash towards people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent post-9/11. I know I did.
A book about understanding your heritage amidst hate crimes and persecution. An Indian American girl growing up in the US begins to embrace her sikh heritage in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. I think this is a VERY important book that every American teenager should read to learn the importance of hating the crime and the criminal, but not the culture, the country and the people.
I picked up this debut novel because 1.) the cover (yes, what they say about covers is true) and 2.) what I know about Sikhs could fit on the thin end of the reel-to-reel inside a VHS cassette labeled "Annie."
I've given the novel three stars only because my personal preference is for literature with a certain poetry to the language, and this book is fairly straight-forward. Really it deserves five stars for permitting me insight into a culture long-hidden from my experience, for the sharpness o...more
I've given the novel three stars only because my personal preference is for literature with a certain poetry to the language, and this book is fairly straight-forward. Really it deserves five stars for permitting me insight into a culture long-hidden from my experience, for the sharpness o...more
A great take on learning about your own, heretofore unknown, heritage in an appealing, non-didactic novel. My middle school girls will like this book. (And for any nervous adult readers, it never gets more racy than the scene where the girls talk about their VS lingerie.) Realistic portrayals of high school best-friendship and a close mother/daughter relationship, as well, and I learned about Sikhism along with Samar.
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Neesha Meminger was born in Punjab, India, grew up in Toronto, Canada, and currently lives with her family in New York City. Her debut novel, SHINE, COCONUT MOON, was listed as a Smithsonian Notable Book for Children and made the New York Public Library's Top 100 Books for Teens - Stuff For the Teen Age list. JAZZ IN LOVE, Neesha's second novel for young adults, released to rave reviews from onlin...more
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“But the coconut is also a symbol of resilience, Samar. Even in the conditions where there's very little nourishment and even less nurturance, it flourishes, growing taller than most of the plants around it.”
—
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Feb 28, 2009 11:54am