Salahudin and Noor are a part of a small Pakistani community in Juniper, CA. Both extremely bright, neither has the kind of life that means college after graduation but still they dream. Salahudin is busy being the adult to his often drunk father. He is trying to keep the Cloud Rest Inn Motel afloat - an immigrant dream of his late mother. Noor is living with an abusive uncle forever in his debt for saving her from the rubble of an earthquake in Pakistan. They have been friends forever and seem destined to be a couple but life history and secrets get in the way. When Salahudin makes a decision he believes necessary to save his mother's dream, their lives are forever altered. Although classified as a Young Adult novel because of the age of the main characters, it is a reminder both of the struggles of many immigrant families and our tendency to accept the "I'm fine" response to avoid the responsibility of addressing a real pain in those we meet.
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