The Sky at Our Feet

Hashimi (One Half from the East) addresses the plight of undocumented immigrants while taking readers on a glorious, madcap race through Manhattan. Twelve-year-old Jason Riazi, the novel’s guileless narrator, has just learned that although he is an American citizen, his mother is not, having overstayed her student visa. When he sees her being taken away by two official-looking men, he assumes that she is being sent back to Afghanistan, and he boards a train from New Jersey to Penn Station, hoping to use a partial street address to locate his Auntie Seema. A concussion lands him in the hospital, where he meets the delightfully smart-mouthed Max, a self-proclaimed genius who is hooked up to a slew of wires. Both strangers to New York City, they escape the hospital together and are soon navigating the subways, the annual marathon, and the Central Park Zoo while being pursued by frantic adults. A winsome supporting cast, snappy dialogue, and nonstop adventures just shy of fantastic make this a thought-provoking, heartwarming page-turner. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sarah Heller, Helen Heller Agency. (Mar.)