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Count Me In
Count Me In | Varsha Bajaj
5 posts | 8 read | 3 to read
An uplifting story, told through the alternating voices of two middle-schoolers, in which a community rallies to reject racism. Karina Chopra would have never imagined becoming friends with the boy next door--after all, they've avoided each other for years and she assumes Chris is just like the boys he hangs out with, who she labels a pack of hyenas. Then Karina's grandfather starts tutoring Chris, and she discovers he's actually a nice, funny kid. But one afternoon something unimaginable happens--the three of them are assaulted by a stranger who targets Indian-American Karina and her grandfather because of how they look. Her grandfather is gravely injured and Karina and Chris vow not to let hate win. When Karina posts a few photos related to the attack on social media, they quickly attract attention, and before long her #CountMeIn post--"What does an American look like? #immigrants #WeBelong #IamAmerican #HateHasNoHomeHere"--goes viral and a diverse population begin to add their own photos. Then, when Papa is finally on the road to recovery, Karina uses her newfound social media reach to help celebrate both his homecoming and a community coming together.
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Peaceful_Reader
Count Me In | Varsha Bajaj
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Pickpick

Told in two middle school voices from Karina and Chris as they experience a hate crime and the aftermath of healing. Touches on inter generation families, Indian culture, racism, and neighbors. I appreciated that Chris and his parents learned to open up to Mr. Chopra. #diversebook

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ness
Count Me In | Varsha Bajaj
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Another lovely middle grade book, this time about an anti-immigrant hate crime that pulls a community together. Some unexamined ableism kept me from fully enjoying this book, but it was otherwise so lovely and so necessary that I‘m still reccing it. #LitsyAtoZ #AbecedarianTBR

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ness
Count Me In | Varsha Bajaj
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Now that my BFYA work is over, I‘m boxing up the books I got sent during my time on the committee. I keep getting distracted by books I didn‘t have a chance to read, so first up is “Count Me In.”

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Nebklvr
Count Me In | Varsha Bajaj
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This was a great audiobook! When a man is attacked because the criminal believes him to be Muslim, his granddaughter and her friend find support and resistance in their community. This was a positive but not naive account of social media activism.

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ambam1987
Count Me In | Varsha Bajaj
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Hate has no home here ✌🏽

Essential read.

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