chapter 17-18 3/26

"We push forward, into the unknown. Go." -page 159

I liked this quote for many reasons :). One, i like how the family is now not scared or afraid of the future. Before they were scared every single minute of every single day of what was going to happen, and now they are (i guess) more ready for "the unknown". Two, i also like this quote because it is a very powerful and good sentence for the last one in the book. books with bad ending sentences feel like a waste to me. 

chapter 16 3/24

' "But Abba and Ma will never let us- (Aisha)"
"Sometimes we have to do the right thing. In our own way (Nadira)" -page 148

In this quote, it is talking about how Nadira and Aisha are going to go see Mr. Friedlander, the math teacher and tell him everything about their family situation (the whole truth). Abba and Ma do not want the girls to tell anyone anything, though. The parents don't want the risk of the math teacher telling the colleges that they are illegal, and spoiling Aisha chance to go to college. But Nadira thinks differently. She thinks that if they tell Mr. Friedlander what is happening, it will explain better why Aisha has been missing school, and it will give her a better chance at becoming valedictorian. I agree with Nadira. She knows the math teacher better than her parents do and trusts that he would not "tell" on the family. Nadira and Aisha are getting old enough and reponsible enough to make good dessions by them selves. Nadira wants Aisha do be the best that she can be in life and she is helping her because she cares a lot about her sister.

chapter 15 3/22/09

"When the hearing begins, I can't concentrate. Voices float towards me in snatches as if underwater." - page 131

I really like this quote. I totally understand how Nadira is feeling at this point. It's like she is so nervous she can't concentrate, even though she probably wishes she could. 

I thought that this quote was a great metaphor ("voices float towards me in snatches as if underwater"). When you are underwater you can't hear people very clearly and that's how Nadira is feeling now. 

chapters 13-14 3/19

" ' You don't know me, you don't know where I'm taking you. And no names. No shooting your mouth off to your little friends. Get it?' " - page 120

When i heard Tareq say this (quote), i thought that Nadira was making a bad chose. when someone tells you something like this, i think that the situation is going to be bad. it's like your not telling the truth to people, which is really horrible. nadira should have recognized that this was going to be dangerous before they drove off. when she got to the dangerous house i think it was too late to make the decision not to get a fake passport. she didn't know where she was and it was late at night. it would have been better to make the decision when she was talking to tareq in the car because she knew where she was and it was still day time. the night is more dangerous and nadira is only in 9th grade.

chapter 12 3/17

"Nadira, I've always been like these guys out here, running. You know me. I'll run in any weather. You give me a test, I'll do ten times better then you expect. I'll do anything" - page 112

I thought that this quote was a really good metaphor for the way that Aisha explained her efforts in life by using the words "running in any weather". It's like she will do anything to be the best and will not give up. But, it seems like now that she wants to start "walking" because of all the stress on her shoulders. It seems like now Aisha wants to just give up because she can't handle her life outside of school. Her efforts to change everything and make it right and perfect are not working. 

chapter 11 3/15

"Aisha stares down at her hands, her expression suddenly sad. Since we're illegal we never get to go back to Bangladesh." -page 90

This quote makes me feel so sad. Hearing Aisha's friend talk about going to India would be so hard for me to listen to if I were in their situation. I would feel bad enough knowing that I would never see part of my family ever again. Hearing that someone else gets to go where I desire most to be, would be the toughest thing ever. Hopefully in the end of the book the family will get legalization and be able to go to Bangladesh. That would be a great happy ending. 

chapter 10 3/12/09

' "Sir, if you please. Can you leave my home?" The way he says the word home has a certain tinge; it's the way he would say it in Bangla, that means this place that is my family's, that only invited guests may enter." - page 82

I thought that this part of the chapter was really scary for the family. They didn't know what the police were going to do or make them do next. I liked that they didn't just give up and let the police take them and leave right away. They tried to talk them out of taking them to the "big house"/police station first. Also in this quote I like how Nadira talks about how her uncle said the word "home". From the powerful description, I could hear the way Uncle said "home" in my head when I was reading. 

chapters 7/8 3/10/09

"I inch a little closer to Aisha. None of this is ours anymore, we realize, and for the rest of the ride we say nothing."

I think that this quote represents good and bad things. It is good that Nadira now WANTS to move closer to Aisha. It seems like they are better now friends and they want to around each other more often. It is bad because from this quote it seems like Nadira wants to give up fighting. "None of this is ours anymore" I think means something like we don't belong here anymore. She should have more faith in herself. Just because the lawyer couldn't/didn't help them, doesn't mean that they should give up all together. 

chapter 9 3/9

"If you're going to fight an enemy, you have to understand their argument. You can't just demand. That's not how you're going to win... You have to make a good case"- page 76

i agree with this quote. in any situation when you are fighting, you should fallow what this quote is saying. when i read this quote, i thought about in my life when i will be in debates. this is good advice for me. 

i thought that this was great advice to give nadira and aisha too. they shouldn't just ask for help, they should argue. if they want to help their family, they should explain in their letter why the government's argument is weaker then theirs. they should use hard and strong language, not just "please help my family. it would be so nice if you could help :)". maybe more like "if you don't help my family i would be devastated forever. my heart for be broken for the rest of my life".

comparison of wetback and AMNQ

"Wetback" is a movie about two men crossing the border to go work in Canada to make money for their families. They crossed the border illegally. This movie is like AMNQ. In AMNQ the family is trying to go live in Canada to make a better life for themselves and to make more money.  The two main characters in the movie "Wetback" were named Nayo and Milton. Nayo hides his true feelings, is kind of quiet, and thinks that everything is going to be OK in the end. Milton express' his feelings and is scared about the journey ahead. I think the Milton is like Nadira. Nadira always seems very nervous and says her true feelings out loud. I think that Aisha is like Nayo. Aisha and Nayo both never think of the negatives and always think that everything is going to be great all the time. 

chapter 6 - 3/5

"Ever since I woke up and Uncle said those bad things and then later at school I tried to cheat on my test and said even worse things to Aisha - it's like we brought it on ourselves, all this misfortune, like dark cold water pulling us down" - page 54

I think that this quote is really sad. I think Nadira is feeling like everything in her life is going wrong (well more like everything that day especially went wrong) The "dark cold water" part is a great metaphor for this situation. It's like Nadira wants to get on the safe, dry land but she can't. She's stuck in the black water, struggling for air. 

chapter 5

"Either they speak like I'm a little baby who can't understand the stupidest thing, or they gaze at me with the weight and sadness of the world behind their eyes, making me feel so confused I wish they'd just shut up." - page 36

I think that Nadira is trying to say from this quote that she dislikes the way adults talk to her. In conversations with adults, she wants people to comfort her (like a child) but she wants to know what is going on (like an adult). I think that the adults don't know how to talk to Nadira in the right way. Maybe Nadira doesn't want to be treated like the baby sister but she is too lacking in confidence to speak up for herself. 

julianna's blog

i totally agree with what julianna had to say about the word "home". i think that the family feels like they will never find a home where they feel happy and safe now because they didn't get asylum in Canada. i think that their "home" in the US wasn't a true home because they didn't fell safe there. i like the description in this quote of how the chances of the family getting a home is being crushed. 

chapters 3 and 4 quote

"My family lived in a part of the world where there was no difference between land and sea." - page 20

This quote makes me so sad. Nadira's  family in India lived so poorly. It is so heart breaking that some people live in mansions in America and others live like this in India. This is a similar situation to AAHM because in both situations there lived a family in poor, non-flood proof house, and they both wanted to live in the US instead of their home country.