The Door Is Open: Stories of Celebration and Community by 11 Desi Voices

by Hena Khan (Editor)

Overview

Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in this warm-hearted novel of interconnected stories that celebrates the diversity of South Asian American experiences in a local community center.

Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in the fictional town of Maple Grove, New Jersey, where the local kids gather at the community center to discover new crushes, fight against ignorance, and even save a life. Cheer for Chaya as she wins chess tournaments (unlike Andrew, she knows stupid sugary soda won't make you better at chess), and follow as Jeevan learns how to cook traditional food (it turns out he can cook sabji— he just can't eat it).

These stories, edited by bestselling and award-winning Pakistani-American author Hena Khan, are filled with humor, warmth, and possibility. They showcase a diverse array of talented authors with heritage from the Indian subcontinent, including beloved favorites and rising stars, who each highlight the beauty and necessity of a community center that everyone calls home.

• Edited by Hena Khan
• By Veera Hiranandani
• By Supriya Kelkar
• By Maulik Pancholy
• By Simran Jeet Singh
• By Aisha Saeed
• By Reem Faruqi
• By Rajani LaRocca
• By Naheed Hasnat
• By Sayantani DasGupta
• By Mitali Perkins

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316450836
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/23/2024
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	790,497
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Hena Khan is a Pakistani-American who was born and raised in Maryland, where she still lives. She enjoys writing about her culture as well as all sorts of other subjects, from spies to space travel. You can learn more about Hena by visiting her website: www.henakhan.com.

Editorial Reviews

2024-02-03
Eleven authors tell interconnected stories about identity and belonging in their South Asian American New Jersey community.

Each story revolves around an event at the bustling Maple Grove Community Center, a hive of cultural activities, celebrations, tournaments, and sporting events. In Mitali Perkins’ “Smile Number Seven,” Steven, an adopted boy with special needs, wants his mother to be his badminton partner. In “Out in the Open,” by Rajani LaRocca, student journalist Veda holds up a mirror to her family, forcing them to recognize the unfair burden they put on her mother. Duaa, in N.H. Senzai’s “Answered Prayers,” uses her technical savvy to save the day at a fundraiser. And, in “The Map of Home,” by Sayantani DasGupta, Munia and her band challenge racism. These middle schoolers with varied interests create a wonderful mosaic representing a diverse community. Readers learn that the community center is in danger of being shut down because some people oppose both its activities and “the people who use it.” The stories explore the idea of who belongs and examine thorny issues, including gender roles, domestic violence, and racism. Though the stories only feature characters of Indian or Pakistani heritage, there’s a richness of regional representation (including Gujarati, Maharashtrian, South Indian, and Bengali), as well as religious diversity (such as Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh). Families with single and divorced parents, multigenerational households, and blended families also appear. Final art not seen.

A multifaceted celebration of a vibrant American community. (author bios) (Anthology. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews

* "A monumental achievement and exquisite testament to the power of collaboration and community, this novel moves beyond the reality of diversity into the necessity of it."—SLJ

“These middle schoolers with varied interests create a wonderful mosaic representing a diverse community. Though the stories only feature characters of Indian or Pakistani heritage, there’s a richness of regional representation (e.g., Gujarati, Maharashtrian, South Indian, and Bengali), as well as religious diversity (such as Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh). A multifaceted celebration of a vibrant American community.”
 —Kirkus

“This powerful collection of short stories celebrates the broad diversity of middle schoolers from the South Asian community.” 
 
“Together at the Center” by Khan, “Out in the Open” by Rajani LaRocca, and “The Map of Home” by Sayantani DasGupta showcase the importance of open dialogue, community, and speaking out against anti-Asian/South Asian and Islamophobic incidents. Mitali Perkins’s “Smile Number Seven” and “Answered Prayers” by N. H. Senzai address in-group judgment, both real and perceived, ethnic and religious; resulting self-defense mechanisms are handled with nuance and care in relation to single-parent households, disability, and domestic violence."
 —Horn Book

"A delight for cultural insiders that will charm and educate outsiders, this middle-grade anthology has something for everyone."
 —Booklist

"The Door Is Open is a sharp, insightful celebration of how heritage can both make us distinct and bridge us together."—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2024

Gr 3–7—Maple Grove Community Center: it's rough around the edges, in desperate need of renovation, and is a hub of activity for the South Asian community of Maple Grove, NJ. It's where Chaya wins her first chess tournament, and where Maha finally apologizes to her cousins at her aunt's mehndi ceremony. It's where Chen flashes a smile at Steven for the seventh time, and Jeevan learns that even though he never wants to eat it, he loves to make sabji. For so many, Maple Grove Community Center has become home. Lately, it's also become the target for anti-Asian sentiments brewing in town—but the kids of Maple Grove aren't going to let racism win. They plan to let the town know, once and for all, that they belong here. What begins as a sweet constellation of stories orbiting around a shared community center quickly develops into a fiercely proud, unflinching look at anti-immigrant, anti-Asian vitriol through the lens of South Asian American kids growing up in New Jersey. Midway through the anthology, readers will begin recognizing characters as they appear in other stories, and by the end, they will have laughed, cried, cringed, and celebrated their way into adopting Maple Grove Community Center as a home to them, too, ready to fight for its continued existence. VERDICT A monumental achievement and exquisite testament to the power of collaboration and community, this novel moves beyond the reality of diversity into the necessity of it.—Amira Walker

School Library Journal

Narrators Anjali Kunapaneni and Vikas Adam create a vibrant and energetic atmosphere in this delightful collection of stories about Desi middle schoolers who gather at the Maple Grove Community Center. These preteens come from a wide variety of family structures, religions, and South Asian cultural backgrounds. Adam and Kunapaneni take care to give every character a distinct voice that fits their personality and circumstances. Both narrators excel as they portray kids on the cusp of growing up, alternately exuberant and irritable as they deal with crushes, bullies, and parental expectations. Alongside these common personal challenges, they also face prejudice and xenophobia without letting the ignorance of others dull their senses of self-worth and community pride. N.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2024 - AudioFile