Tell Us We’re Home, a fresh new book from Marina Budhos, has an interesting plot line, making a book full of mystery, friendship, and hardship. This new novel kept me reading for hours.
Jaya, Maria, and Lola are just ordinary girls living in the town of Meadowbrook, New Jersey. Ordinary, that is, until you see that the girls have two things in common; they are all the daughters of maids and nannies, and they have all emigrated from a foreign country. Besides the obvious problem that they go to school with the people their mothers work for, all three also have many issues they must deal with.
The plot thickens when Jaya’s mother is accused of theft. The problem all started when Mrs. Harmon, Jaya’s mother’s employer, had a stroke and was put in the hospital. When Mrs. Harmon’s valuables were getting ready to be sold, a beautiful set of earrings was found to be missing. The blame immediately was put on Mrs. Lal, Jaya’s mother. This creates a new problem for Mrs. Lal, who needs to find another job to support Jaya. This isn’t easy, especially in a town where gossip easily spreads, and employers are not quick to hire a ‘thief’.
Jaya, Maria, and Lola now think it is their duty to save Mrs. Lal’s job and clear her name. Lola especially puts her heart and soul into finding the jewelry. Lola’s headstrong personality, Maria’s quiet nature, and Jaya’s hectic home- life are threatening the girl’s relationship as friends, and will even pull them apart for awhile. They soon find that it is easier to be friends than enemies when Rachel, a spoiled rotten bully, decides to create more problems for the girls.
When ‘The Three’ decide what’s important in life, they gradually grow together again; making life a whole lot more enjoyable for all of them. When Jaya, Maria, and Lola once again set out to find who the true thief is, the answer shocks both them and the whole town of Meadowbrook.
There is an interesting array of characters in the novel, from Maria’s trouble- making cousin Renaldo, to Mrs. Harmon’s sour nephew, to Lola’s ‘friend’ Anthony Vitale. The wide- range of personalities helps make a good read. Tell us We’re Home helped me to learn how tough being an immigrant in small- town America can really be.
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Posted by Maddie