WINGS TO SOAR

Tina Athaide is an educator and children’s book author who writes stories to capture the texture and richness of a wide scope of cultural experiences, recent or distant, with the hope to open readers’ hearts. Her debut middle grade novel, Orange For The Sunsets was awarded the Geoffrey Bilson Award by the Canadian Children’s Book Council, and her picture book, Meena’s Mindful Moment, is a nominee in the Forest of Reading. Tina was born in Uganda and emigrated to London and then Canada. Nowadays, you can find Tina in Southern California where she lives with her family.

A displaced girl’s hope takes wing in this verse novel. The year is 1972: Ten-year-old Viva opens the story by asserting that her name is not “refugee.” Expelled from their Kampala, Uganda, home by President Idi Amin, Viva’s family, who are of Goan Indian origin, end up in a resettlement camp in England. As Viva, Mummy, and her sister, Anna, try to understand their new lives, they wait impatiently for news of Daddy, who’s the family’s “hope holder” and meant to be joining them soon. They also dream of their eventual departure for Canada. The family’s story is underscored by racism, alienation, and upheaval, even as Viva sometimes discovers “little cups of happiness.” The refugee crisis of the Ugandan Asians is a tragic episode from history that’s rarely explored in children’s fiction. Athaide’s book starts with a lot of promise and has an interesting format that includes photographs, correspondence, and definitions of vocabulary interspersed among the poems (Viva is a logophile; she also has a fondness for Diana Ross). The book is at its strongest when the text describes Viva’s yearning for her family to be reunited and the hatred the refugees faced in a Britain where anti-immigrant feelings were on the rise; these segments are searing and honest. Unfortunately, the execution falters as the book progresses, and the writing in the later portions is not as strong. Friendship, family, and identity form the core of this heartfelt but uneven story. —Kirkus Reviews

In 1972, 10-year-old Viva, her mom, and her sister (ethnically Indian and expelled from Uganda) arrive at a refugee camp in England, awaiting her father and emigration to Canada. But Dad is forcibly detained, so the family relocates to Southall in London, where anti-Asian sentiment prevails. Schoolyard taunts, bricks through their window, and racist flyers from the National Front (eerily, “Make Britain Great Again!”) make this placement intolerable. Throughout the family’s travails, Viva is kept afloat by her spunky attitude, her fascination with new words, and her love of Diana Ross’ music. Athaide’s semiautobiographical novel-in-verse is told with understanding and grace, and even readers unfamiliar with Idi Amin’s politics will come away with an appreciation for the difficulties faced by those he displaced. Lighter moments and a few good friends help to mitigate Viva’s trauma, but Britain’s rampant xenophobia comes through unmistakably. The mostly free-verse poems help to move the story along quickly, and sections arranged by month are illustrated with period photos. Heartfelt and deeply satisfying, this should open minds to our shared humanity. —Booklist

A novel in verse about a girl and her family trying to find their way after ­being forced to leave Uganda. In 1972, Viva, her mother, and her sister Ana are forced to go to a refugee camp in England while they anxiously await Viva’s father’s arrival from their home country. However, on the day he is supposed to arrive, he does not show. The family is upset, but Viva is determined to find out what happened. On one occasion, she and her sister sneak off to London in hopes of finding him. They get lost and experience firsthand the racism that Viva has only heard about. When they finally get in touch with Viva’s father, it seems like everything will be okay. But she soon realizes there are still sacrifices to be made before her family can be whole again. Viva is a wonderful role model in her resilience with everything she is up against, especially the racism against Ugandan people. A brick is thrown through her family’s apartment building window, newspapers declare “No More Asians,” and people tell Viva to “go back home.” Viva talks with adult characters about these events and questions why there is so much hatred. While the story is a bit slow, readers will be invested in Viva’s quest to find her father and start her life in a new country. Viva is Indian. An author’s note is included. ­VERDICT Purchase where novels in verse are popular. —School Library Journal

1. Wings to Soar is a novel in verse. Why does the author choose to write this story in poems instead of prose?

2. This book starts with a quote from the poem “Dreams” by Langston Hughes. How is it relevant to Viva’s story?

3. Why does Viva hate being called a refugee?

4. Viva is a big fan of Diana Ross and the Supremes. How does music help her get through hard times?

5. Why does Officer Graham opens up to Viva about his life in “Leroy’s Story”? How is his experience of race and racism different from Viva’s? How is it similar? Consider the setting (US vs. the UK), their specific backgrounds (biracial white and Black vs. Asian Ugandan), gender, age, etc.

6. What does Viva learn when she and Anna visit their mother’s new workplace in the UK? How is this job different from their mother’s job in Kampala? Why didn’t she find work in a similar profession in the UK?

7. Did Viva’s mother make the right choice when she hid the NF propaganda from her children? Why did she decide to hide it?

8. What do we learn about Viva’s mother in the poem “Mummy Is Disappearing”? What do we know about mental health—specifically depression and trauma—today that we might not have known fifty years ago?

9. Viva often prays and thinks about God. Why is her religion important to her?

10. What do you learn about Viva and Anna’s relationship in the poem “Helping Anna Pack”?

11. What is Viva’s brilliant idea expressed in the poem “Light”? Why do her parents agree to this plan?

12. Read the author’s note at the back of the book. What are some of the differences between Viva’s story and Tina Athaide’s experience of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda? Why did Tina Athaide choose to write a novel in verse about this experience rather than a nonfiction account of her family’s story?

13. Who is the character of Officer Graham inspired by? Why do authors sometimes take inspiration for fictional characters from real people?