A Great Country by Shipi Somaya Gowda ~ Book Review

Priya and Ashok Shah were young newlyweds when they moved to America to follow their dreams.  Ashok has worked hard to provide for his family while Priya raised their young family.  Now they have the opportunity to reach a new plateau on the life they've been working so hard for when they move to the upper class gated community of Pacific Hills, California.  Their three children have mixed feelings about the move.  Deepa, their oldest daughter is angry and resentful about the move and having to leave her friends, school and community and she's not afraid to let her parents know it.  Maya, the middle child, is thrilled about the new school and joining the elite field hockey team.  Her skills have already given her an in with some of the girls who attend the school and she's looking forward to the new lifestyle this move provides.  Ajay, the youngest and a son, is mostly a loner who loves to work on robotics.  All his time is being taken up in the school's robotics lab working on a drone whom he calls Drummond.  But when 12 year old Ajay gets arrested, Priya and Ashok are confused as to how a 12 year old boy can be racially profiled, especially when they have worked so hard to be American.   The nightmare that they find themselves in also brings to the light some risky things the girls are involved in.  Ajay's arrest draws the family together to protect him, but causes a division in their new neighborhood.  Now everything Ashok and Priya have worked so hard to attain is on the line forcing them to look deep inside as to what success really is and who they are as Americans and how refusing to acknowledge some signs about Ajay may have led them to this point.  

I have read all this Canadian author's books and have loved them all including this one.  I couldn't put it down.  There are so many things she explores within what happens to the Shah family.  The hopes and dreams of the immigrant experience, trying to fit into the American dream while still holding onto one's heritage, stereotyping, police brutality, prejudice, neurodivergence, loyalty, and family.  And she weaves it together with good character development and well written plot.  It's thought provoking and I wished I had a book club to read it with as it would instigate great conversation around very timely topics.  

I gave it a 10/10