Honour Book, 2002 Jane Addams Children's Book Award A 2002 New York Public Library Selection for Books for the Teen Age Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year, 2002 Cooperative Children's Book Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Choices, 2002 Hey Tara, what's your mother tongue? Questions like this make fifteen-year-old Tara Mehta's blood boil, especially when asked by a teacher who ought to know better. Yes, her parents were raised in India, but Tara has lived in Ottawa her whole life - she's as Canadian as everybody else. There are much more important things than where her family came from. Jeff, for instance. He's the new guy with the blue eyes and a brain that actually works. But then she meets her grandmother for the first time. Dadiji fought with Gandhi in the Indian independence movement, and she's horrified to learn that her grandchildren know almost nothing about her heritage. Tara resents her grandmother's attitude until she learns how Dadiji came to join the fight for independence. Shocked and angered by the history that she's never been taught in school, Tara decides to tell Dadiji's story to her class. In the wake of the violently mixed reactions that follow, Tara comes to realize that most people need to expand their definition of what it means to be a "regular" Canadian - including herself.

Mina feels embarrassed by her grandfather's old-fashioned ideas and customs, but when she overhears the most popular girl in school making fun of him, Mina is hurt and seeks revenge.

Scully, a young hearing-impaired girl, wants to play outside in the rain, away from her brother Leo and her busy mother. She loves pto feel the sensation of the rain running over her face. After escaping briefly to the wet green trees outside, she is grounded and not allowed to leave the house for a day. As evening approaches, Scully and her mother are able to share a special moment together watching the stars.