The Whole Story of Half a Girl

by Veera Hiranandani

When Sonia's father loses his job and she must move from her small, supportive private school to a public middle school, the half-Jewish half-Indian sixth-grader experiences culture shock as she tries to navigate the school's unfamiliar social scene, and after her father is diagnosed with clinical depression, she finds herself becoming even more confused about herself and her family.

• ISBN10: 1299085989
• ISBN13: 9781299085985
• Publish Date: 1 January 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 February 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

The Whole Story of Half a Girl is a title that I was interested in when it first came out, but ultimately didn't read because I was afraid of disliking it for being too young. Well, that was completely unfounded! Sonia is leading a happy, normal life. She has a great family and great friends and she likes her school. So when her parents tell her and her younger sister that their father lost his job and they can't afford the private school anymore, Sonia is upset and confused. It's time for her to face a lot of new things outside of her comfort zone.

I related a lot to Sonia, which is why I enjoyed The Whole Story of Half a Girl so much and didn't mind that our narrator is just 11 years old. I totally remember these feelings very well. Just like Sonia, I switched from a tiny private school to a larger public school in middle school (although for different reasons). I went from knowing everybody to knowing nearly nobody, and having lots of kids question my race just like Sonia did since we're both biracial. I could totally identify with Sonia on not knowing how to respond to that because we look one way, but identify another and then have to explain or choose a side. I really liked how the author showed Sonia coming to terms with her race and religion in the face of all of this confusion.

The Whole Story of Half a Girl is a very short, but very good read. I think we can all relate to Sonia's journey on figuring out who she is, who she wants to be, and where she fits in. I think we've all altered ourselves or left parts out to fit in with others before deciding to just be who we are and finding people to accept us that way. This book has certainly changed my mind on reading Middle Grade. Just like with other age groups, it's just about finding the story and characters that speak to you.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.