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Searching... Monmouth Public Library | YA Fic Khorana, A. 2016 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Another Earth meets Perks of Being a Wallflower in this thoughtful, mesemerizing debut and subject of a TedX talk about the discovery of a mirror planet to Earth and how it dramatically changes the course of one Indian-American girl's junior year.
" [O]ne of the most powerful reads of the year. A novel about family, race, and discovering who you are, Mirror in the Sky promises a unique read that blends YA contemporary struggles with imaginative science fiction."
-- Paste Magazine
For Tara Krishnan, navigating Brierly, the academically rigorous prep school she attends on scholarship, feels overwhelming and impossible. Her junior year begins in the wake of a startling discovery: A message from an alternate Earth, light years away, is intercepted by NASA. This means that on another planet, there is another version of Tara, a Tara who could be living better, burning brighter, because of tiny differences in her choices.
The world lights up with the knowledge of Terra Nova, the mirror planet, and Tara's life on Earth begins to change. At first, small shifts happen, like attention from Nick Osterman, the most popular guy at Brierly, and her mother playing hooky from work to watch the news all day. But eventually those small shifts swell, the discovery of Terra Nova like a black hole, bending all the light around it.
As a new era of scientific history dawns and Tara's life at Brierly continues its orbit, only one thing is clear: Nothing on Earth--or for Tara--will ever be the same again.
Author Notes
Aditi Khorana spent part of her childhood in India, Denmark, and New England. She has a BA in international relations from Brown University and an MA in global media and communications from the Annenberg School for Communication. She has worked as a journalist at ABC News, CNN, and PBS, and most recently as a marketing executive consulting for various Hollywood studios including Fox, Paramount, and Sony. Mirror in the Sky is her first novel. She lives in Los Angeles and spends her free time reading, hiking, and exploring LA's eclectic and wonderful architecture. For more information, visit aditikhorana.com.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10-As Tara prepares to start her junior year without her best friend, who will be studying abroad, a new, Earth-like planet is discovered, throwing the world into a mild chaos. Besides the temporary loss of her best friend, Tara must also deal with the departure of her mother, who has left for California to join a cultish organization that hopes to make contact with inhabitants of the new planet. After attention from a popular boy gets Tara invited to a big party, she spends her year infiltrating the popular circle of her posh Connecticut prep school. Khorana focuses on how social groups take shape and thrive as she compares the friendship circles that develop in high school with the various groups forming because of the potential existence of life beyond Earth. Readers won't necessarily learn hard science, but they will be encouraged to ponder the vast expansiveness of the universe. The writing style is eloquent, and the characters are well developed, particularly Tara, who is struggling as the only Indian girl in an all-white school. VERDICT Although this work is grounded in the premise of life beyond Earth, the main focus here on teen social interactions will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction with a splash of sci-fi.-Carrie Shaurette, Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The discovery of another planet that nearly mirrors Earth, right down to inhabitants who are close facsimiles of both well-known writers and average citizens, heralds a cosmic shift in Tara Krishnan's life just as she begins junior year. After her best friend and fellow outcast Meg moves away for the year, Tara is accepted into the cool clique, amid other personal shake-ups including her mother's sudden involvement with a cultlike group. Debut author Khorana keeps the science fiction elements of her story light, using Terra Nova more as a metaphor for the distortions of social image versus the true self, as well as "what if" questions that leave Tara pondering if another version of herself has made different choices with less disastrous results. Changes big and small get equal footing, with news developments that alter the history of mankind given similar attention to Tara's musings on her crush giving her a ride to a party. For the most part, the focus is on Tara's social struggles, which reveal that even the most outwardly perfect girls can be insecure, damaged, and flawed. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Middle-class, Indian American Tara feels like an outsider at her Connecticut private school. After scientists receive a radio transmission from an alternate Earth, the popular crew invites Tara into their ranks. While the "mirror planet" stirs up Tara's home life and provides her brief moments of contemplation about what her parallel-self might be up to, the otherworldly premise unfortunately takes a backseat to social drama. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
New friends and the discovery of a new planet cause one teen to question her life on Earthand beyond.With her best (and only) friend spending a year abroad, Tara faces her junior year of high school as a loner. Even though she's biracial Indian-American (with an Indian father and white mother) and stands out as the only person of color at her elite Greenwich, Connecticut, private school, the 16-year-old often feels invisible. But her world's about to change when NASA receives a response to their Arecibo message and confirms a mirror planet, dubbed Terra Nova, and she's invited to a party at popular Halle's estate home. This quiet, thoughtful debut novel doesn't bound with adventure, yet Tara's internalized angst and quest for identity make the story a quick read. Beautiful language and mature, realistic adolescent situations flourish as Tara considers quantum physics and philosophical theories and whether a different or even better version of herself exists on the parallel planet. And are there other versions of the important people in her life? A mother who stays at home rather than joining a planet-worshipping cult? Another Nick, who loves her and doesn't orbit around Halle? True friends?Like a space explorer, Tara is thrust into the uncharted territory of life and must decide how she will navigate this new part of herself. (Fiction. 14 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Junior Tara Krishnan is a star student at an exclusive Greenwich, Connecticut, prep school, but her social life is torture. She is the only person of color and one of the very few nonwealthy students. With her only friend heading for a year abroad, Tara is petrified about being alone. Then Halle Lightfoot, queen bee of the school, inexplicably pulls Tara into her exclusive circle. Tara is dumbfounded and delighted because that group includes her secret crush, who is also Halle's boyfriend. Meanwhile, an alternate Earth light years away has been discovered by NASA, and as knowledge of this mirror planet grows, people everywhere react in surprising and shocking ways. Tara's mother leaves the family for a cult in California, and Tara must navigate her puzzling new social order while hiding this secret. Khorana perfectly captures the excruciating pain of a high-school society divided by race and socioeconomic status, and presents a thought-provoking topic (alternate realities) within logical plot devices. Tara herself is a flawed, multidimensional character, and her empathy towards fellow students and her own mother's desertion is beautifully drawn.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2016 Booklist