American as Paneer Pie
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-20 06:52:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Supriya Kelkar
- ISBN：1534439390
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
“[A] charming novel [that] explores the complexity of immigration and identity。” —Teen Vogue
An Indian American girl navigates prejudice in her small town and learns the power of her own voice in this brilliant gem of a middle grade novel full of humor and heart， perfect for fans of Front Desk and Amina’s Voice。
As the only Indian American kid in her small town， Lekha Divekar feels like she has two versions of herself: Home Lekha， who loves watching Bollywood movies and eating Indian food， and School Lekha， who pins her hair over her bindi birthmark and avoids confrontation at all costs， especially when someone teases her for being Indian。
When a girl Lekha’s age moves in across the street， Lekha is excited to hear that her name is Avantika and she’s Desi， too！ Finally， there will be someone else around who gets it。 But as soon as Avantika speaks， Lekha realizes she has an accent。 She’s new to this country， and not at all like Lekha。
To Lekha’s surprise， Avantika does not feel the same way as Lekha about having two separate lives or about the bullying at school。 Avantika doesn’t take the bullying quietly。 And she proudly displays her culture no matter where she is: at home or at school。
When a racist incident rocks Lekha’s community， Lekha realizes she must make a choice: continue to remain silent or find her voice before it’s too late。
An Indian American girl navigates prejudice in her small town and learns the power of her own voice in this brilliant gem of a middle grade novel full of humor and heart， perfect for fans of Front Desk and Amina’s Voice。
As the only Indian American kid in her small town， Lekha Divekar feels like she has two versions of herself: Home Lekha， who loves watching Bollywood movies and eating Indian food， and School Lekha， who pins her hair over her bindi birthmark and avoids confrontation at all costs， especially when someone teases her for being Indian。
When a girl Lekha’s age moves in across the street， Lekha is excited to hear that her name is Avantika and she’s Desi， too！ Finally， there will be someone else around who gets it。 But as soon as Avantika speaks， Lekha realizes she has an accent。 She’s new to this country， and not at all like Lekha。
To Lekha’s surprise， Avantika does not feel the same way as Lekha about having two separate lives or about the bullying at school。 Avantika doesn’t take the bullying quietly。 And she proudly displays her culture no matter where she is: at home or at school。
When a racist incident rocks Lekha’s community， Lekha realizes she must make a choice: continue to remain silent or find her voice before it’s too late。
Reviews
Amisha shah
，
This was another great relatable read I got to experience with my daughter。
Karina Shah
，
American as Paneer Pie was a really good book！ The story follows Lekha an India American who feels self conscious about who she is。 She hides the things that make her unique to avoid being questioned or teased。 When a new girl from India moves across the Lekha is happy and relieved that she will finally be close to someone that gets her。 By surprise she learns that the new girl， Avantika has an accent but isn’t afraid to show her culture to others and stand up for it。 When a racist event happens American as Paneer Pie was a really good book！ The story follows Lekha an India American who feels self conscious about who she is。 She hides the things that make her unique to avoid being questioned or teased。 When a new girl from India moves across the Lekha is happy and relieved that she will finally be close to someone that gets her。 By surprise she learns that the new girl， Avantika has an accent but isn’t afraid to show her culture to others and stand up for it。 When a racist event happens to her home Lekha must learn how to use her voice and stand up for herself。 I loved this book and would give it a 5/5 stars！ I’d recommend it for 6th-8th graders who are looking for a good book about identifying who you are。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Has a great message about acceptance and bullying， but it gets muddled by too much unnecessary detail and fluff。
Sukhi
，
Where was this book when I was a kid？ Growing up， I faced many of the same challenges as Lekha， but with a Punjabi twist。 Fabulous characters， fabulous story line， fabulous book。
Brooklin S
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I loved this book so much！
Christina
，
3。5
Indrani
，
Beautiful and timely story。 People need to realise the effect of their words。
Megan
，
Indian-American Lekha lives in small-town Michigan and is so tired of not blending in with all the kids around her。 Many of her classmates and even some teachers are insensitive， while others are downright cruel towards her。 Lekha mostly is silent and unable to stand up for herself in response to the comments and cruelty。 When a new girl arrives in town， Lekha begins to take baby steps towards standing up for herself。 The descriptions of the meals made me very， very hungry。
Amy Bermudez
，
Absolutely loved！ This book has maybe made me fall in love with middle grade novels。 I learned a lot but it was preach。 Great themes of identity and finding your voice。 Not overly sweet but I felt hopeful reading it。 So beautiful。 Devoured in two days！
Hazel （and Nutsy）
，
I loved this book！I think it did an awesome job of explaining the political views against immigration， and how that ties in to everyday life for everyone， even the people who are not the targets for this hate。 I am always amazed how authors can write stories like this about just everyday things in life， and no one clear event， and still make it sound so natural and nice。 I think this book brought me a lot of joy， and I was interested the whole time。
Keerthi Reads
，
I could relate so much。 10/10。
Trisha
，
4。5 ⭐️Fantastic
Andrea
，
The last two chapters 😭😭😭😭
Erin *BookDragon_Library*
，
Chapter 3 contains some interesting reflections on immigration and the way first generation immigrants look at new immigrants。 Another reflection is how people mispronounced her name constantly and teachers even confused her with the other née Indian girl。 Notes: an hour outside of Detroit， Michigan， Hindi， Desi， immigration reflections， wonderful food descriptions of Indian food， mention of Hindi/Indian holidays
Krishna
，
Cute YA book about learning to balance two cultures （Indian and American） in a suburban town。 Lekha is a typical preteen that loves her Indian culture but is embarrassed by the jokes her non-Indian classmates make and tries to hide her identity at times。 In the background， there is a senate race that talks about the bigger picture of immigration， race， nationality， etc。 I liked this book and would definitely recommend it to those in middle or high school。
Aqeelah Ally
，
This book is an absolute delight to read。 It's the first book with a Hindu main character that I have read and I loved learning about the different Indian cultures and religions。This book tackles with heavy topics like racism， xenophobia， insecurities and self-esteem; but it also covers many light and heart-warming topics like family， friends and good food！As someone whose both grandfathers were "FOBs" from India， I loved learning more about my ancestral heritage。 Google was my best friend， as e This book is an absolute delight to read。 It's the first book with a Hindu main character that I have read and I loved learning about the different Indian cultures and religions。This book tackles with heavy topics like racism， xenophobia， insecurities and self-esteem; but it also covers many light and heart-warming topics like family， friends and good food！As someone whose both grandfathers were "FOBs" from India， I loved learning more about my ancestral heritage。 Google was my best friend， as even though the author had excellent descriptions of all the amazing food， cultural clothing and Marathi words， I wanted to see all these fascinating bits of culture and religion for myself！ I know so much more about Indian history and lifestyles now！ I already knew about the wide variety of cultures， religions， languages and belief systems in India， but through reading this book I learnt just how diverse and beautiful this variety really is。This book teaches kindness to everyone you meet; regardless of who they are， where they come from， what they look like or any preconceived prejudices you may have against them。This book is a fight against racism and xenophobia。 A fight that I will ALWAYS be a part of。And I love that this book is middle-grade， because that's where we should start with this fight: by teaching our youth about love and compassion for all beings in this world <3 。。。more
Darla
，
3。5
Lisa
，
This book is WONDERFUL。 I can’t wait to read it with my kids or give it to them when they reach middle grade age。 It has so many complex facets of life told through its characters—an Indian-American girl struggling with bullying and lack of acceptance at school， her white neighbor and best friend who is trying to figure out how to be an ally in ways that help rather than hurt， a new friend who’s a recent immigrant from India， and white neighbors and friends who react to them or interact with the This book is WONDERFUL。 I can’t wait to read it with my kids or give it to them when they reach middle grade age。 It has so many complex facets of life told through its characters—an Indian-American girl struggling with bullying and lack of acceptance at school， her white neighbor and best friend who is trying to figure out how to be an ally in ways that help rather than hurt， a new friend who’s a recent immigrant from India， and white neighbors and friends who react to them or interact with them in a variety of ways。 It deals quite a bit with the racism and bullying that Lekha faces， which is really meaningful， but that’s not the only thing it does; it also shows the joy and beautiful traditions in her family and community， some of the unique things about being multicultural （like being able to make puns and jokes that rely on knowing two languages）， the colorism and internalized prejudices inside her community （like those who grew up in the States vs those freshly arrived）， the struggle for identity， the way that learning to speak up for yourself can come in fits and starts。 Really， really loved this book。 。。。more
Cheryl Meibos
，
I enjoyed the references to Indian movies and food。 A glossary would help。
Shae
，
There is so much to love about this book。 There are strong messages of standing up for yourself， what is right， and not changing who you are to fit it。 Also， there’s a reminder to never let hate win！ Speak up and out！
Katelijn
，
Just a really great book。 Learned a lot， beautifully written， vivid， authentic and true。
Tracey
，
diverse children's middlegrade e-audiobook Great narration; I enjoyed watching Lehka's confidence grow as she begins to speak up for herself and others when dealing with microaggressions as well as more serious hate crimes。 Very relatable and （unfortunately） still timely。A lot of the story serves as an introduction to Lehka's Hindu culture （not to be confused with Hindi， the language！） which is great for those of us who are less familiar （and by extension， also great for those who ARE familiar a diverse children's middlegrade e-audiobook Great narration; I enjoyed watching Lehka's confidence grow as she begins to speak up for herself and others when dealing with microaggressions as well as more serious hate crimes。 Very relatable and （unfortunately） still timely。A lot of the story serves as an introduction to Lehka's Hindu culture （not to be confused with Hindi， the language！） which is great for those of us who are less familiar （and by extension， also great for those who ARE familiar and are tired of answering/explaining basic differences）。 And there is a bonus recipe for paneer pie at the end。 。。。more
Saara
，
3。5 🌟It was very interesting to see into Lekha's mind through this book。 While at times I felt as though this story was repeating itself with it's redundant storyline， I tried really hard to look beyond that。Lekha had a lot of shame and self doubt towards her identity。 She tried way too hard to be "American" and would very rarely identify as Indian because in her mind， she was American having been born there。 Sorry sister。 That's not how it works。Thankfully， a new family moved in next door to Le 3。5 🌟It was very interesting to see into Lekha's mind through this book。 While at times I felt as though this story was repeating itself with it's redundant storyline， I tried really hard to look beyond that。Lekha had a lot of shame and self doubt towards her identity。 She tried way too hard to be "American" and would very rarely identify as Indian because in her mind， she was American having been born there。 Sorry sister。 That's not how it works。Thankfully， a new family moved in next door to Lekha's and they have a daughter the same age as her。 The wit and pride of the next door neighbor elicited a feeling of joy that finally someone was standing up for what she was。 Naturally， her boldness trickled down to Lekha somewhat and they loved happily ever after 🤣。 。。。more
Debi
，
I really enjoyed the story and characters in this book， but I wish the author would have added some pronunciation guides and glossary information for all of the culturally diverse words。 I think many kids will struggle with them。
Tanya
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Hat a great representation of the challenges of fitting in for an Indian American girl in a small town。 I liked everything about the protagonist， most especially how she learned to find her voice。 I loved that there were realistic consequences to her actions - friends make mistakes and can grow apart as a result or take specific actions to make amends。 The adults were reasonable in the story too and I loved that they interacted with one another with resulting reactions from the protagonist; they Hat a great representation of the challenges of fitting in for an Indian American girl in a small town。 I liked everything about the protagonist， most especially how she learned to find her voice。 I loved that there were realistic consequences to her actions - friends make mistakes and can grow apart as a result or take specific actions to make amends。 The adults were reasonable in the story too and I loved that they interacted with one another with resulting reactions from the protagonist; they also had appropriate advice， which she didn’t outright accept or reject， but consciously considered and I think that was one of the real strengths of this young adult novel。 I really do love seeing intergenerational interactions played out in books because the loves intersect and are influenced in powerful ways that show the benefit of these dialogs。 I do recommend this for others that are not Indian American， such as for my own daughters of mixed ethnicity。 Anyone who straddles two or more cultures can perhaps feel they reveal different sides of themselves in different environments， but peace comes from finding what you deeply care about within and being able to authentically express that and feeling love and acceptance from those around who understand and accept differences that make one unique。 。。。more
Kristen
，
I know what it's like to grow up the "only one，" as I was the only Bay Area Chinese American student in my entire elementary school besides my sisters。 The Indian American protagonist has to straddle two different worlds- the one at home and one at school; the arrival of a "FOB" throws things off b/c it draws unwelcome attention to her now that the population of "her kind" at her school has doubled。 I thought the middle school angst came through loud and clear in so many different ways， and I am I know what it's like to grow up the "only one，" as I was the only Bay Area Chinese American student in my entire elementary school besides my sisters。 The Indian American protagonist has to straddle two different worlds- the one at home and one at school; the arrival of a "FOB" throws things off b/c it draws unwelcome attention to her now that the population of "her kind" at her school has doubled。 I thought the middle school angst came through loud and clear in so many different ways， and I am adding this title to my Stop AAPI Hate LibGuide。 There's a racist incident in the book that is very timely， unfortunately to what is happening in our own country today and during the COVID-19 pandemic。 。。。more
Neera
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Cute young adult book written by a Marathi author。 Relatable as a Indian American growing up in a small town and fun to read the Marathi references。 Will read with my kiddos soon！
Zoe
，
This book has been on my TBR for so long， so I’m glad I finally read it。 But， while I liked the plot， I couldn’t really understand the main character’s motives and decisions。 Everything felt so fast paced， like something would be happening in one paragraph and completely change in the next。 3。5⭐️
Kirsty Mcdougall
，
Sometimes I think middle grade books manage to say all that needs to be said in the best way！ I don’t know if it is because they are often written from a child’s perspective and that adds to the impact on the reader。 This book provoked a strong emotional response in me。 I cried on a few occasions whilst reading。 The audiobook narration is wonderful。 The story centres around Lekha’s journey to find her voice and in her way learn to stand up for herself。 As an Indian American Lekha feels like she Sometimes I think middle grade books manage to say all that needs to be said in the best way！ I don’t know if it is because they are often written from a child’s perspective and that adds to the impact on the reader。 This book provoked a strong emotional response in me。 I cried on a few occasions whilst reading。 The audiobook narration is wonderful。 The story centres around Lekha’s journey to find her voice and in her way learn to stand up for herself。 As an Indian American Lekha feels like she doesn’t fit in at school and not many people get to see all sides of her - ‘there’s school Lekha and home Lekha’。 The story covers bullying， racism， hate crime and highlights how harmful politicians are when they build their platforms based on hate。 However， all of this is told from the emotional perspective of a young girl trying to navigate school， friendships and her culture。 There are parts of this book where you can feel Lekha’s pain as the author so expertly describes how it is for a child to be made to feel ashamed， to be ostracised and how it can make them internalise who they are。 There is a lot to unpack in this book and it gives the reader all the feels whilst also being an excellent book to give to middle grade aged children。 ‘You’re right it’s not always safe to speak up， maybe sometimes you need someone to speak up who wouldn’t be in danger’ - in the right way with the consent of the person they are speaking up for。 。。。more
Ami
，
This book was fantastic。 I can't express just how much I enjoyed it。 I don't think I've ever seen myself completely in a story the way I did here。 It was literally like my life on the page。 It was AMAZING！All the racial digs the main character， Lekha encounters in this book， I've heard them all first hand as have so many other Indian kids。 To this day， I worry if I smell like curry and not even realize it。。。I used to put coconut oil in my hair too and quickly stopped。 All because of childhood te This book was fantastic。 I can't express just how much I enjoyed it。 I don't think I've ever seen myself completely in a story the way I did here。 It was literally like my life on the page。 It was AMAZING！All the racial digs the main character， Lekha encounters in this book， I've heard them all first hand as have so many other Indian kids。 To this day， I worry if I smell like curry and not even realize it。。。I used to put coconut oil in my hair too and quickly stopped。 All because of childhood teasing。 I'm glad Supriya Kelkar wrote this story。 It'll definitely help the new generation of Indian kids be comfortable with themselves and be proud of who they are。 The hate crimes in this book also resonate harder too after the Atlanta shooting recently as well as seeing the spike in attacks on Asian Americans over this past year。 It reminds me of the attacks on Indians after 9/11。 Just awful。 Something else I admired about this story was how Kelkar makes Lekha judge another Indian the way her classmates judged her where she thought she was "better" because she was an American-born Indian and her new neighbor was an immigrant with an accent。 Then， she realizes how wrong she was and that her thinking like that makes her no better than her classmates。 It's a small part of the overall story but important。 Highly recommend this book。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=American as Paneer Pie
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=American as Paneer Pie&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft