Count Me In

Content Warning: This section contains references to and descriptions of racism and anti-immigrant violence.

“Chris Daniels and I are like separate planets orbiting in the same galaxy. Like the planets, we have our own paths, and I like it that way. Mine is full of photos and stories, and his is full of basketball and hyenas. Like Venus and Earth, we are next-door neighbors. We’ve been in the same school since I moved to the neighborhood in third grade, but we’ve been in the same class only once—in fifth grade. Then, of all the crappy karma, there he is, on the first day of seventh grade, in five out of my seven classes at Spring Hill Middle School. How did this happen—and why?”

Karina and Chris are convinced that they have nothing in common and that they won’t be able to overcome their differences to be friends. Karina uses a metaphor to explain how separate their lives seem and how contrasting their personalities are: Although Venus and Earth are both planets in the same solar system, their orbits mean they two will never come into contact. At the same time, the passage foreshadows the ways that the characters will grow, change, and eventually make amends with each other.

“I was thankful that my father and grandfather did not wear turbans, and I worried for my friends whose fathers and grandfathers did. My parents calmed my fears; they believed in America and said we were still safe. I trusted them, because I wanted to. It could never happen to me, I told myself. And why would it happen to me? I was like my friends and peers. I reread the note: CURRY CHOPS STINKS. GO HOME. Was I different from my friends and peers?”

Karina faces bullying and teasing at school because of her Indian American cultural markers, such as food. Fearing that others won’t accept her because of her background, Karina at first responds by hiding—she wears long-sleeved shirts to conceal her arm hair and does her best to avoid being noticed. However, the novel will trace Karina’s learning to advocate for herself and embrace her identity.

“What could I have done? I had asked myself that question. I was sitting on the bus with the guys from the basketball team, and I had only waited forever to be able to sit with them—to be one of the guys. If I had said something at the time, what price would I have had to pay?”

Chris’s guilt over the bullying incident in sixth grade conveys his depth of character. He was unkind to Karina in the past, but he isn’t dismissive of his behavior. While he wants to balance his desire to be accepted with his desire to be a good person, he knows that he must make up for his bullying by performing acts of allyship.