Red, White, and Whole

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Now in paperback, this Newbery Honor– and Walter Award–winning novel in verse is a heartbreakingly hopeful story about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.

Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family and their close-knit community. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels especially disconnected from her mother, or Amma.Then Reha finds out that Amma is sick. Really sick.Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She’ll be the perfect daughter, even if it means giving up her attempts to fit in at school, if it means saving her Amma’s life.From acclaimed author Rajani LaRocca comes a radiant novel in verse—which the author describes as “the book of her heart”—about the ties that bind and how to go on in the face of unthinkable loss.

About the Author

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in Massachusetts, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor–winning novel in verse Red, White, and Whole. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of novels and picture books, fiction and nonfiction, in prose and poetry. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, she lives outside Boston with her family. Visit her at rajanilarocca.com.