You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

You Bring the Distant Near

by Mitali Perkins

Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture-for better or worse. Fans of Nicola Yoon's The Sun Is Also a Star will find a lot to love in this literary tour de force.

From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.

Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

5 of 5 stars

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Initial thoughts: This book is so beautifully written! And so close to my heart. The immigrant and third culture kid experiences don't feature often in YA fiction, so I'm extra happy You Bring the Distant Near does these justice. It's about the lives of five Bengali girls and women in New York, covering three generations within their family over the span of several decades. It was interesting to see how much changed and how much didn't.

The book was broken down into various sections focussed on the varying perspectives in different stages of the characters' lives. I think it's great that that included girls from young through to their adult years and even the perspective of a grandmother trying to come to terms with where is home. I loved reading about how they tried to fit in, make friends and yet not betray their identities and cultures. Props for including a biracial character as well!

Some parts reminded me of my own experiences, such as enrolling in new schools and having to fight for my place not just with peers but the administrations too. Then there's the disconnect with pop culture, and self-consciousness over my accent. Also, being perceived to be of particular races I didn't identify with. While my own parents never prized lighter skin colours over darker ones, I did experience that with parents of my friends, who ironically, didn't like me because even though my father was white and they weren't, they decided I was too dark/tanned, and so, didn't think I was good enough to be in the company of their children.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 28 October, 2017: Finished reading
  • 28 October, 2017: Reviewed