Three generations of women in a Bengali American family are given voice in this expansive work. Sisters Tara and Sonia came to the United States with their parents as teens in the 1970s after living first in Ghana, then in London. The two couldn’t be more different from each other, and from their traditional mother, Ranee. Beautiful Tara loves acting and expects to be a screen star, while bookish Sonia just wants some peace and quiet to pursue her reading and writing. Both girls have their own ways of assimilating into American life in the early 1970s—Sonia takes an interest in racial politics and the women’s movement, even though neither makes her particularly popular, including at home, while Tara tries to fit in by acting like Marcia Brady, with a fair degree of success. Flash forward a generation, and both girls are now grown women with teenage daughters of their own. Anna and biracial (Indian/Black) Chantal are each taking on the world in her own way in high school, and each is beloved by her grandmother, Ranee. Over the span of her daughters’ and then her granddaughters’ lives, Ranee transforms as she figures out what matters most to her from tradition, while also moving beyond longheld prejudices in this deep, eloquent exploration of race, gender, culture, generational divides, and the connections that can bridge all manner of distances. (Age 14 and older)

A 2017 National Book Award Longlist Title with six starred reviews
A School Library Journal's Best Books of 2017
A New York City Public Library's Notable 50 Best Books for Teens
2018 South Asia Book Award Winner
2018 White Ravens Award Winner
A Louisiana Readers' Choice Award Nominee

This elegant young adult novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse.

From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.

Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.