Quote: Chapter 18 (page 159)

'Then Abba looks at us all. "Ready to go home?" Together we shit our eyes, dip our heads, and start to leave the room. I can feel it, the water pressing all around us, pulsing form below. Abba's fingers reach for mine. And we do as he taught us. We hold our breaths, then let them out, bit by bit. We push forward, into the unknown. Go." I think that this was a cool illustration of what their family believes water is and how they use it. I also think that this was a neat way to tie in one of the main ideas from the book, water, and use it in the end which makes the book that much stronger. They didn't talk about it but I think that Abba said home in a different way now that they have one and they don't have to hide anymore. I think that Abba said it like something had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt released, like he could swim off with his family and they could do what they want now.

Quote: Chapter 16 (page 138)

"He pats me on the head and doesn't let me go into the kitchen with the women, but makes sure I sit right next to him. I'm embarrassed, but I like this, being the special one." I don't think that Nadira realized what Aisha felt like. At times she might have felt embarrassed, pressured, and then she liked being the special one. I think that Nadira wasn't used to being cared about like this. If she is going to help her family like this then she should get used to feeling this way. I think that when she was usually standing around, she wasn't held there by her father, Aisha was. Aisha had made some bad decisions and she sort of got pushed away. Her parents gave up on her and reached for Nadira to hold onto. I think that Nadira will get used to it but I hope that she won't get stuck on being the perfect child like what happened to Aisha. I think that Nadira should grasp onto her parents and her personality, so that she doesn't loose track of either of them as their family goes through their problems. She is going to find, like Aisha did, that it is hard to keep this position. People expect a lot from you and you have to, most of the time, fall into those expectations. It seems like a lot of pressure that I certainly wouldn't want to fall on top of my shoulders.

Quote: Chapter 15 (page 132)

"I want to say that sometimes you can't know who a person is. Sometimes they don't know who they are either. They can appear to be one thing---like me, fat and slow and lazy---but you can look at them another way too---and see something else." I think that Nadira is finally self-confident and she understands that she can be seen as fat and lazy or she can be seen as someone who is the complete opposite. Same with everyone else. She wanted to prove that everyone is not what you say they are until you understand what you are saying first. And with yourself, you have to be careful not to listen to rumors that float around and dismiss who you truly are. Nadira had originally been lost with what other people though of her and not what she thought of herself. At this point she had cleared everything after seeing everyone changed on the inside and out. She had finally gotten into a habit of seeing things one way which was how everyone else saw it; and then she learned to see things a different way which was how she saw it.

Quote: Chapter 13 (page 116)

"That's what I think of now as I get off the bus and walk by the store where Ali-Uncle works. Breathe. Get through this. Find your way to the other side." I think that it is sweet how she thinks of Abba even at a time when he is in jail. I think that it was at neat representation of what her father taught her. Instead of using it to swim, I like that she used it for calming down. She used it for deep-breathing and at a time like this that was useful.

Quote: Chapter 12 (page 113)

"This is the first time I've ever done this, but I put my arms around my sister. She feels as if she's all bones, and she's shaking. I don't know what to say. So we sit like that for a long, long time." I think that she was trying to be helpful but, at times like this, she doesn't know what to do. They are waiting for their parents to come back because, at times we want to be the parent (boss kids around and stay up late) but what we don't realize are the things that we don't know until they are gone. For instance, when they are in these kinds of situations, they want comfort that usually comes from the parents. While they don't have their parents, they learned to comfort each other but sometimes I find (with my sister) that it's hard to find what to say that is as comforting, if not more, that what our parents would say.

Quote: Chapter 11 (page 101)

"It's weird. Now it's me who feels older than Aisha and is worried about her. Now that I've helped Lily, it's like I want to protect everyone: Auntie from Uncle and the bad news about his possible deportation, Uncle from himself, and Aisha from taking everything so hard." I liked this quote in particular because I felt that Nadira was finally getting the chance to be in control and then that led to her judging herself. However, this time, she wasn't judging against someone like Aisha, she was just judging herself. I think that this was a time for her to reflect on herself and see what she has done in her life that was good and what she wanted never to do again.

Quote: Chapter 10 (page 82)

"The way he says the word home has a certain tinge; it's the way he would say it in Bangla, that means this place that is my family's, that only invited guests may enter." I thought this was an interesting quote. They try so hard to fit in and when they state it like that, it makes you wonder what they mean. I think that when she says that it has a certain 'twinge' then that means it doesn't feel quite right. Even though they have their house and they live peacefully in it, they still don't exist here. This isn't their property to call their own truly. It's like staying at another house or place for a while. You can call it your own for privacy reasons like 'get out of my room' or 'I'm going to my room' but it is never really yours.

Quote: Chapter 9 (page 79)

"And if I say something good, then it is like watching my own garden grow, and that is the greatest pleasure ever. That's what Aisha and I are doing. We're planting a garden with our words. Our future. Everything careful and chosen well so the shoots come up strong and straight." I liked this paragraph because of the imagery that the thought provides. I never thought about it that way. In their case, they choose they're words carefully in order to help their garden grow. They are planting their future as I think that they talk a lot about in chapter 9. It really makes you think about how you choose your words when you think about it. For instance, someone who talks a lot would have a big garden with lots of flowers. Someone who doesn't talk a lot would have a smaller garden. If you pick your words carefully, you will end up with a beautiful garden. However, if you don't say well thought out words (and swear) you will end up with more weeds than flowers in your garden.

Quote: Chapter 7 (page 58)

"We didn't know. The most important thing, Abba said, was not to stick out. Don't let them see you. But I think it hurt him, to hide so much." I think that Nadira is right, they always hid but never thought of the long term effects. They are so afraid now. Of going into the world with their status and to try to live like everyone else. They lost confidence over time so finally, they began to try but after living so long like this, it is hard to try to be themselves again.

Quote: Chapter 6 (pages 45-46)

"'There are two kinds of people in the world, Nadira.' Auntie tells me. 'Those that hear bad news and want to run away and those that dig their feet in and want to fight.' She laughs. 'Taslima, she was put on this earth to be a thorn in her father's side. Because she will always fight. Fight, fight, fight, even when it's time to run." This really stood out to me as a strong description of people in one characters point of view. As she said, there are two kinds of people in this world. I think that even though no one realizes it, Aisha seems like someone who would run away. She seems like the kind of person who sees the world as thinks it will happen just like that. Then when it often doesn't work out, she seems like the kind of person who would loose confidence of ever finding truth even though they would keep hoping; the kind of person who would run away. Nadira on the other hand seems like the person who would fight back. She said she would stay low but that isn't the kind of fight back that I was thinking of. Instead of fighting other people, she seems to be fighting herself in a battle to find who she is, how she can help with her family's troubles, and more. People aren't easily put into categories, you have to find a way to include them even though that isn't always how it is first put into perspective.

Quote: Chapter 5 (pages 40-41)

"I wish I could be like Aisha and just focus. Or Taslima, talking back. But that's not me. I like staying quiet and still, taking in the words of the grown-ups. Only sometimes it feels lonely being this way, as if their voices are turning me to heavy stone. Sometimes I wish I could lift out of myself and do something that really counts." I recognized in this quote that Nadira felt more comfortable being who she was and not who Aisha or anyone else around her was. Even though she knows it's not her personality to be like them, she says she feels lonely being in this position. She wants to be recognized. She still has a hint of jealousy that pushes her out of her comfort zone in order to explore new possibilities for who she is here in America. She wants to do something that makes herself stand out, something that 'really counts'. She just needs to realize there are people out in the world who thinks she's special, she just needs to discover who she is in order to find where and with who she belongs.

Quote: Chapter 4 (page 28)

"'So we have to stick together. Not fight.' She held out her hand as a peace offering. I look at her slender wrist, her single bangle glinting against the bone. No way am I sticking with Aisha. What that really means is I'm supposed to do whatever she says, and then she gets all the credit. "Forget it," I reply, and then I shove a spoonful of Jell-o in my mouth, get up, and head to the buffet for more." I chose this quote because it really stood out to me. The sisters have not had the chance they were given right now to forgive each other. It seems like an easy and steady process, but it's not. A broken relationship can be quick to heal or slow but often times when rushed, it never turns out right and you end up having an awkward relationship with someone, rather than the pleasant one that is always expected to occur. I think that they have had to much time that they have spent apart from one another that it is nice that they are trying to be friendly to one another but they need time to heal their relationship and learn to trust one another as well as let everyone around them help them and know they are trying.

Adrienne's Blog

I agree with Adrienne and what she says in her blog. The sisters have been through so much together and yet, they couldn't find a way to be civilized to each other. They have been rude to each other and have gone downhill with their relationships for a while now; long enough for them to not know how to repair it. I think that by offering a better relationship between themselves, Aisha was taking the first step. This may be so but, Nadira seems to have lost confidence of ever being Aisha's little sister. Just because Aisha wants to repair their relationship doesn't make that possible. Their has to be commitment between both of them, something that will last. I agree with Adrienne that too much time has passed and they won't be able to just give each other a peace offering, they must accept each other in a deeper sense.

Quote: Chapter 1 (page 8)

"You forget. You forget you don't exist here, that this isn't your home." I chose this quote from the book because of it's meaning. While I was reading this quote, I thought to myself, sometimes it's okay to forget, it makes life easier through hardships. For instance, when Nadira and her family were going through hard times, they tried hard to forget about them, to fit in even though their past waited right behind them. They want to have a home, even though it seems strange after not having one for the longest time. They want one, so they drown their thoughts out of not existing or belonging here and try to make a living while they can.