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

by Rajani LaRocca

I open the present and find a cassette tape. A mix tape. With a note: Merry Christmas. The case is labeled: For R from P He’s written the names of all the songs he’s put on the tape.

The most amazing present ever! It took hours and hours to make a mix tape — recording things off the radio, then onto another tape in the right order.