Saedi, Sara Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card, 280
pages. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2018. $18.00. Language: R (17 swears, 1
F); Mature Content: R; Violence: G.
Sara Saedi tells about her life growing up as an illegal Iranian-American
teenager in northern California during the 1990’s. Saedi discusses Iranian culture and history
and how it clashes with, as well as complements, American culture through her
family’s history as well as her own. Her
stories about love across cultures and age gaps, war, cosmetic surgery, food,
recreational drugs, sex, and everything in between compare and contrast both
sides of her identity. While her memoir
is completely factual, it is also funny, heartbreaking, entertaining, and
engaging.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Saedi is a master storyteller and her words
carry you through the vignettes easily.
Her struggles are so typical of the American teenager that high school
students will find her very relatable and easy to read. The battle she experienced in her journey to
get her green card will be a mind-opening experience for teenagers and is
written not to impress nor shock but merely to educate. Her candid discussion of illegal recreational
drug use and unsafe sex (although probably accurate across most teenage
cohorts) are the only parts of this book I did not savor.
HS – OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Jerusha Johnson.
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