Author: Misa Sugiura
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Sixteen-year-old Sana and her parents move to California, where for the first time, Sana is not the only Asian-American student in her school. Sana befriends the other Asian-American girls quickly, and begins dating Jamie, a Mexican-American girl. However, Sana's happy new life is interrupted by hostility between her groups of friends and her friend Caleb's feelings for her--plus, she's pretty sure her father is having an affair. Should she stay quiet or tell her mom?
What I think: Sana does not feel any anxiety about her sexuality, which was a refreshing change from some LGBTQ-themed books I've read. Her relationship with Jamie was a typical teenage one (in stories and reality): things seem to be going well, a misunderstanding occurs, jealousy happens, both parties make stupid mistakes, they eventually kiss and make-up. Sana ends up leading Caleb on, which she feels guilty about, and Jamie and Caleb find out about it in a way that makes my former high-school-self want to cringe and hide.
Sana's situation reminds me of an episode of Punky Brewster in which Punky somehow goes on a date to the movies with two boys at once and keeps running in between two movies, while Cheri is taking pictures of the whole thing (I don't remember why she would be taking pictures?). When the boys find out, they dump popcorn on Punky's head, and she's standing there humiliated while Cheri captures the whole thing on film. In It's Not Like It's a Secret, Sana is the one with metaphorical popcorn on her head when she is caught.
I just Googled to see if I had imagined that episode, and I didn't. One of the boys was played by Chad Allen, my TV boyfriend from My Two Dads. Sigh. 😍
I hope that those two boys in Punky Brewster-land ended dumping Punky, dating each other, and living happily-ever-after.
On a side note, what was up with sitcoms in the 1980s in which same-sex couples happened to live together but were not gay or lesbian? And what was this show, even? How did any of us ever survive the 1980s with any sanity left? Hmmmm.
I know, I know, Perfect Strangers doesn't count but were they *really* cousins? Why is The Odd Couple premise so appealing?
I really got off-topic, didn't I? Have fun down your rabbit hole of 1980s sitcoms. You're welcome.
Okay, back to It's Not Like It's a Secret.
As I said previously, the love story is pretty standard and predictable but still cute. What I especially enjoy about this book is its topic of stereotypes. Sana has always had white friends since she had grown up in Wisconsin, so when she moves to her new school, she meets other Asian girls for the first time in her life, and she realizes there's a certain comfort in being around girls who can share a part of her culture that her white friends couldn't relate to:
In Wisconsin, I was constantly trying to escape the fact that I was Asian, and hoping that people either didn't notice or didn't care. Now, I feel like it's springtime and my new friends have just peeled off a hot, heavy jacket. I can be openly Asian. For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong (pg. 56).
Which makes perfect sense to me, but I can hear some of my former (white) students crying, "It's racist for her to say that she only enjoys being around Asian people. If I said I only enjoyed being around white people you would call me a racist! This book is racist against white people!!!" So if any of you reading this want to scream about how oppressed you are--the next paragraph is for you.
Well, based on the history of race as a social and political distinction in the US, "racist against whites" isn't possible. A person can be hateful, biased, and/or prejudiced against white people, but racism as in "racist against whites" does not exist. Here are some other articles on the subject that might explain it better than I can.
Sana also acknowledges her privilege in being an Asian-American when she is out with Jamie's Mexican-American friends. They are all in the same parking lot, but the boy with the hoodie is the one who is targeted; in fact, the police leaves them alone when he sees them with Sana, because she is of Japanese descent, and, in the cop's own words:
I'm gonna let you and your friends go because you look like a good kid and I don't want you to get in trouble. But you need to find yourself a new . . . girlfriend, young lady. You keep hanging out with these kids, they'll drag you down, and I won't let you off so easy next time. But there's not gonna be a next time, right? . . . You gonna get yourself a new girlfriend? And a better crowd to hang out with?" (pg. 223).
The exchange with the police made my stomach hurt. But then, Sana says some very insensitive things to Jamie's friends, when she is trying to give them advice:
If you dress like a thug and act all hard, what are people going to think? No wonder teachers assume you won't work hard. No wonder my mom and my friends don't want me to hang out with you guys. You look like thugs, you act like thugs, so how can you blame people for thinking you are? (pg. 237).
Ouch. Definitely not Sana's place to say that. Jamie explains in another exchange:
"Why should she trust you? You don't trust her. You're . . . biased. Because you think she's too 'Mexican'--no, it's true. Admit it" . . .
"I'm not afraid of her." Okay, I might be, a little bit. But is it that because she's Mexican, or is it because she puts me down all the time? I'm not racist, am I? How do I untangle all these threads? "Anyway, how come it's okay for you and Arturo to say that JJ needs to work harder, but not okay for me to say it? That's messed up" (pg. 239).
Institutional racism and implicit biases are very important topics that should be discussed openly. We do not live in a postracial America--look through any YouTube comment thread or spend five minutes on Twitter for proof.
Family and secrets are another discussion topic that is addressed in It's Not Like It's a Secret. It's established pretty early on that Sana's father is definitely having an affair, but the situation is more complicated than Sana anticipates, and is another potential point of discussion for book clubs or literature circles. Does Sana's mother behave honorably or is she setting herself up for heartache?
I almost forgot to mention the beautiful poetry sprinkled throughout the book! I am not a huge Emily Dickinson fan, but the excerpts and the analysis in the story made me re-think some of the poems that I had previously read and found lacking. The English teacher in me is absolutely thrilled that a book made me appreciate poetry.
This book is on the 2018 Rainbow Book List.
My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): I was originally going to make this a short, standard review, but I found that I had a lot to say about the book! The potential for discussion makes it worth reading on its own, and the book would be excellent for a book club or a literature circle for this reason.
Memorable quotes/passages from the book:
- "You'd think as a Person of Color, I would feel some kinship here, some bond. But I don't, not exactly. Why is that? Is it really race or ethnicity or whatever, that's making me feel like I'm not in the club, or am I making it all up and it's just a personal thing? If I don't think it's about race does that make me a racist? If I do think it's about race does that make me a racist?" (pg. 215).
- "Remember the time that security guard questioned me, and all I was doing was buying diapers for Mateo? And I was wearing my nice button-down shirt 'cause it was after church, so we can't blame it on the hoodie, either. It's who I am, not what I'm wearing or what I'm doing" (pg. 225).
- "Can you imagine having no family at all?" (pg. 335).
- "In Japan, the gay can't be out of the cabinet. They can't get married. They can't have children . . . But different is okay in America, even though I forget sometimes. You are okay, even though you are different" (pg. 345).
Other reviews: How Useful It Is and The Bookcorps
This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.
No comments:
Post a Comment