A review by notinjersey
How to Find What You're Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani

5.0

Last year, I listened to The Night Diary by this author, but I was not aware that she is part Jewish until I heard about this book. This is the story of a Jewish family in 1967. Ariel is 12 years old and dealing with the fact that her older sister has eloped with an Indian man named Raj, and their parents are not accepting of her decision. I loved Ariel so much! Aside from her Judaism, which makes her feel different in school, she also struggles with writing skills. Her teacher suspects that she has dysgraphia – which both of my boys seem to have as well. Ariel’s teacher is so supportive and Ariel finds her voice in writing poetry. I also loved her friend who helps her look for her sister. The only thing I was not sure about in this book was the use of the 2nd person, an interesting choice by the author, and the description of people as “more” or “less Jewish.” (Another way to express this would be “more” or “less observant.”) A quote that I liked from the book was “It’s weird that a holiday you’ve celebrated your whole life is a mystery to so many people around you.”