Ok, pluses here (there are a lot): alternating viewpoint between Drita's Albanian refugee family and Maxie's New York African American family, who is about 3 years out from the loss of her mother in a car accident. Does a fabulous job on both viewpoints -- the shock and strangeness of a small New York apartment after the sudden exit from Kosova, the fear and despair that Drita's mom succumbs to, the difficulties of many people in a small space just trying to cope. And then Maxie -- who is having a lot of difficulty in her grief, acting out, getting in fights and mischief and seriously having a hard time with her dad's new girlfriend. Her new friendship (assigned to her by a caring teacher) with Drita ends up steadying her. I love that both families have a caring grandmother who lives with them and takes on a lot of the heavy emotional work that lets the families function. I love that the refugee family is white and Muslim and the welcoming American family is black -- and comes through when Drita's mom hits a crisis in a big way -- they are absolutely the heroes in this story, but it's not presented as a story about race, it's a school story about 4th graders. Also, I really like that Drita is talented at basketball.

Minuses -- I did find it a little slow to get into. It's 135 pages, but I feel like most of the action happens in the last 3rd of the book, so there's a little patience required to engage. ( )

This had potential but the characterization felt very forced. It improved as the story went on, but it was hard to overcome the roughness at the beginning of the story. ( )

Drita is a refugee from war-torn Kosovo, newly arrive in New York City. Maxie is a popular girl with a bit of an attitude. In this short book with chapters alternating from first-person Drita to first-person Maxie, these two unlikely girls become the closest of friends. We also spend time with each family. Maxie, who lives with her father and grandmother, her mother having been killed in a car accident a few years prior, and Drita, whose father struggles to support his family driving a cab, while his engineering degree seems useless in the US, her grandmother, and her mother, who is not handling the transition to a new country well at all.
It's a beautiful story of friendship and families. ( )

This book tackles a whole bunch of subjects: grieving, refugeeism, immigration, bullying, friendship, and more. I am pleased to find that while the book reviewer side of me acknowledges this, the reader in me didn't pay any attention to anything except for the delightful and touching and heartwarming story. ( )

Drita and her family are newly arrived refugees to New York City from Kosovo. Drita is happy to be in America but despite her efforts isn't fully welcomed by the other kids at school. Maxie is a black girl in her class who wants to be a comedian someday although right now her irresponsible humor mostly gets her in trouble. Despite the language and cultural differences the two become unlikely friends when a teacher assigns Maxie to do her social studies project on Kosovo and interview Drita. Concerns at home occupy them as well. Drita's mother has sunk into a deep depression and Maxie, still grieving her late mother, is unwilling to accept her father's new female friend. An upbeat, readable story with genuine dialog.