Red, White, and Whole: A Newbery Honor Novel in Verse about an Indian American Girl Navigating Identity and Grief

by Rajani LaRocca

Do not stand there, Reha, says Amma. Come in or stay out. It’s the old superstition, from the myth of the demon who could only be vanquished neither inside nor outside, during the day or night, on earth or in the air. A metaphor, as Amma says, for not doing anything halfway.

I still think of this anytime I'm standing on a threshold!