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“Rai intimately explores personal questions around body image, mental health, and toxic internet culture while interweaving thought-provoking interrogations of U.S. immigration and healthcare policies.”
Publishers Weekly

While You Were Dreaming

Written by Alisa Rai
Published by HarperCollins Publishers

It’s a classic story: girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, boy finally notices girl when he sees her in a homemade costume. At least, that’s what Sonia Patil is hoping for when she plans to meet her crush at the local comic-con in cosplay.

But instead of winning her crush over, Sonia rescues him after he faints into a canal and, suddenly, everything changes. Since she was in disguise, no one knows who the masked do-gooder was . . .but everyone is trying to find out. Sonia can’t let that happen—her sister is undocumented, and the girls have been flying under the radar since their mother was deported back to Mumbai.

Sonia finds herself hiding from social media detectives and trying to connect with her crush and his family. But juggling crushes and a secret identity might just take superpowers. Can Sonia hide in plain sight forever?

Primary ISBN: 9780063083967
Publication Date: March 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult , Age 13 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States

Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: 1st Generation

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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