How to Find What You're Not Looking For
Remarkable, intimate exploration of ethnic identity.
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Based on 1 review
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that How to Find What You're Not Looking For, by Newberry Honor winner Veera Hiranandani (The Night Diary), is a story about a 12-year-old girl whose sister elopes with a man whose ethnic background differs from her family's identity. She's White and Jewish American and he's Indian American. This story provides an in-depth exploration of what it means to be different from the norm, and how being true to your heritage, beliefs, and background can affect your life. In the story, it's 1967 and the Supreme Court has just ruled in the case of Loving v. Virginia, declaring the ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional, and an exploration of interracial marriage is a theme here. There are threats by classmates and people in the predominantly White community to harm or slander the the main character's Jewish family. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ensuing riots are discussed. Teens kiss. Parents have a drink at night, teens are seen smoking, and drug use during the 1960s is briefly a topic.
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What's the Story?
In HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FOR, it's 1967 and 12-year-old Ariel Goldman's got a problem. For one thing, her sister Leah is pretty much perfect -- smart, lovely, a promising ballet dancer. Ariel is "the lazy one," who isn't "that pretty," or "that smart." In fact, things don't come easily for Ariel, especially her handwriting, which is ridiculed by kids at school. The fact that her family is Jewish also makes her a target in her predominately White, Christian town in Connecticut. The problems get bigger when Leah tells her a secret that feels too important to keep. Ariel's Ma has pretty sharp lie-detection skills, and this secret feels very big. Can Ari stay true to her sister's wishes and play along with her scheme? Or will the secret explode, changing everything that Ari has even known?
Is It Any Good?
This is a richly layered and beautifully told story about bringing races and ethnicities together in a time when differences were the norm. How to Find What You're Not Looking For has introspection built into its very fabric. Written in the second person, the reader becomes a "you" living life as a Jewish girl in a world where interracial marriages have only just been legally allowed. This "you," is Ariel Goldberg, whose world is turned upsode down when her sister elopes with a man whose family immigrated from India. "You" stuggle with writing, with organizing things, with school in general. "Your" parents keep their heads down, managing to run a beloved bakery in a town where people paint swastikas on the bakery window.
Ari also begins an artistic journey, writing poetry that helps her express herself when life is overwhelming. Because of the successful use of the "you" voice, this act also feels intimate, and the expression that Ari engages in becomes the reader's expression as well. The topics that the book addresses consequently become intimate in a way that will become very relatable to kids. This is a memorable read that touches on a historically indelible time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about bullying in How to Find What You're Not Looking For. This story takes place in the 1960s, before the internet was around. How does the bullying in this book differ from the bullying kids experience now, especially online?
The book takes place during a time when teens and young people were smoking more and experimenting with drugs. How has this changed? How is it the same?
The main character in this story has a learning disability. How does she struggle before she gets help? How does she feel once her learning disability is recognized?
Book Details
- Author: Veera Hiranandani
- Genre: Literary Fiction
- Topics: Activism, Cooking and Baking, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, Middle School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Kokila
- Publication date: September 14, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 384
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: October 11, 2021
Our Editors Recommend
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Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case
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The Night Diary
India-Pakistan religious conflict drives moving family tale.
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I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World
Inspiring memoir of teen Nobel laureate shot by Taliban.
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The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Bold but flawed film about sexual awakening is very mature.
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