Books like Americanized by Sara Saedi

At thirteen, bright‑eyed, straight‑A student Sara Saedi learns that her family secretly resides in the United States without legal status. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, Sara was unaware of her undocumented situation until her older sister could not apply for an after‑school job without a Social Security number. Fear of deportation keeps Sara up at night, but her teenage dreams—obtaining a green card, getting clear skin, owning a car, and finding a boyfriend—remain vivid. As she discovers her parents’ hidden divorce to secure her mother’s green card and learns to tame an unibrow, Sara gracefully confronts the terror of being forced out of the country and the possibility of remaining the sole student without a prom date. This moving, often humorous story speaks to anyone who has shared fear or hope in the face of uncertainty.

First publish date: 2018