American fever A novel

The story of Hira, a 16-year-old Pakistani exchange student in rural Oregon, is a fascinating mix of immigrant tale, coming-of-age narrative, and cultural exposition. Aziz Amna achieves a fine balance in capturing both meaningful and mundane aspects of Hira's experiences as a newcomer to America. Imbued with humor and perceptiveness, Hira is a compelling, emotionally astute narrator as she shares her observations of Pakistani society, life in Oregon, and the relationship dynamics between her parents and among her host family members. Hira's freshness in the way she assesses the world and herself while skewering the inconsistencies of those around her makes for a layered read. Abbu, Ammi, Kelly, Amy, Hamid, and Ali are all interesting supporting characters who help center Hira's story while providing interesting glimpses of the uniqueness of her cultural situation and the universal tug-of-war between adolescents and adults. Aziz Amna's debut novel showcases her adeptness in tackling some of the big migration questions of home and identity within the context of her insightful young protagonist's complex experiences.

A Pakistani exchange student does her best to adjust to American life in this witty coming-of-age story. "There's a strain of story this could fall into," says Hira, the narrator of Amna's debut novel. "The foreigner trying to fit in, hindered by accent and Fahrenheit and the Imperial system….The entranced documenter of America. The truth--I was bloody bored." Hira, 16 when the novel begins, is a stranger in a not-so-strange land--she's come from Pakistan to rural Oregon on a student exchange program. She's heard plenty about the U.S. ("Lord, it was 2010, and everyone knew about America, the place that would upsell you on the thread count for your deathbed"), though she isn't quite prepared for life in the tiny town of Lakeview, where her host mother, Kelly, lives with her high school--aged daughter, Amy. Hira befriends a few people at her new school, including Hamid, an Omani exchange student who's fonder of the States than she is: "He was only mystified by the country, while I had also decided to be offended by it at every possible turn." While Hira starts to get used to the U.S., befriending members of her school's volleyball team, she finds herself both missing and resenting her parents, and things take a turn when tragedy strikes her family not long after she's diagnosed with tuberculosis, forcing her to quarantine in Kelly's house. In Hira, Amna has created a fascinating character, prickly but still vulnerable, in search of something but unsure what that might be: "I was tired of limits, aghast that life could be so small," she reflects. Amna's novel is a perceptive look at what home means--"It is the sole landscape of dreams, the only place that will ever convince you that its failings, its bounties, its excesses, and caresses are all your own. After all, where does it end and you begin?" This is a funny and affecting novel, understated but powerful, a wonderful new spin on the coming-of-age story. A smart, charming debut. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.