From Ash to Ashes by Krishna Tuli Arora is the story of an immigrant Sikh family in Long Island, New York during the 1990s. It moves through multiple POVs, but is centered on the life of protagonist Mira. I picked it up because I’m reading books from small presses and this one is from Apprentice House, a student-run publishing group out of Loyola University, Maryland.

Siblings Ritu, Mira, Jeet and Jazz all suffer discrimination after their parents move from India to the United States. They take on roles in the family: Mira is the well-behaved, spiritual kid; Jeet is the academic superstar; Ritu is obedient, but has fallen in love with a Muslim guy; and Jazz is the rebel who drinks, smokes weed and fails classes. Their parents try to hold the family together through strict rules and religious dogma. They worry a lot about what the Sikh community will think of their family’s behaviors–and that worry about what others think is the very thing that causes the family’s troubles.

The novel opens with Mira heading back to New York University after spending time at home. While commuting on the train, Mira’s mind wanders through her family’s troubles as she takes note of everything around her and how it now looks different. She’s in crisis, evaluating her life and her relationship to the family she loves, a family that isn’t serving her best interests. Her emotional state as a part of her coming-of-age is relatable and realistic. But we don’t know what events are causing her to feel the way she does. 

The novel moves back and forth in time before it settles into the present, making the first chapter something of a prologue. These unconnected scenes are meant to create suspense. Terrible things happened while Mira was at home, but the reader doesn’t know what they are (and won’t know for at least one third of the book). Rather than move into the heart of the story, the novel focuses on Mira’s anguish, her ruminations about her family’s background, and her strict, religious immigrant parents. When Mira arrives back at college, her relationship with Dev—an Indian guy, but also Hindu, so unapproved by Mira’s parents—is fleshed out. Like her older sister, Mira is dating on the sly and keeping Dev a secret. 

Each of the family members has a secret. How the family deals with its dysfunction will interest teen readers. I had some trouble with the novel as a whole because I felt the structure didn’t serve the story. The first chapter works mightily to be literary with numerous descriptive passages full of imagery. Most of these passages are unsuccessful at drawing the emotion that would justify their inclusion. Because—again—the reader doesn’t know why they’re there. If the first chapter had been cut entirely, the novel would have had better pacing. Since the reader doesn’t yet know Mira or her family, they can’t imagine what has taken place to cause Mira’s depression. 

Spoiler Alert

I’m reviewing From Ash to Ashes because it’s the first YA book about a Sikh immigrant I’ve read. I think school libraries might want to add it to the collection so that they have something available in this subject. Eventually, the novel takes a hard look at religion, hypocrisy, and bigotry/prejudice. So, it has very worthy subjects for the reader who hangs on. Knowing what topics are covered is important for the librarian who is considering buying the novel, so here comes some giant spoilers:

Mira’s sister Ritu is caught seeing a Muslim guy. Her parents arrange her marriage to an affluent Sikh without considering why he is available. He turns out to be abusive, the marriage a failure. In addition, Jeet (the family superstar) is outed as gay by Jazz. His parents, particularly his father, are furious, worrying about what their friends and community will think. Distraught, Jeet dies by suicide. These events cause further breaks in the family and its faith. 

While Mira’s parents (again, particularly her father) never accept responsibility for the family’s tragedies, blaming them on fate, Mira learns to accept responsibility for her own behaviors.