YA Books, Xenophobia, and Global Poverty

It was a typical suburban corner bake sale fundraiser on a sunny summer afternoon, so I stopped to do my part.

"We're heading to India in 2010 to work at an orphanage," a cheerful high-schooler said as she handed me a packet of brownies.

Just the kind of girl who might read my books, I thought. "I actually wrote a novel about that," I said, forking over the cash. "It's called Monsoon Summer."

She took a step back. "No way. No way."

"I did. It's set in Indian orphanage."

"I read that book four times,"