Thanks especially to my mom, who was there for every scary scan and test, my brother, for the FaceTime pep talks, and my sister, Aina, who, when I jokingly asked her where my “hospital gift” was, replied: “You got to live: there’s your gift.” That’s my family for you, always hitting the nail on the head. They’re very thankful this book is not at all based on our family. (For that story, my novel Fresh Off the Boat was published by Harper in 2005!)
Thank you to my genius agent and dear friends Richard Abate and Rachel Kim at 3Arts.
Thank you to everyone at Spilled Ink, especially Jane Hawley and Colleen Wilson.
Thank you to my siblings from other mothers Rafi and Margie for everything, including the balloon display bigger than my house and the new food program.
Thank you to my loyal NYC gang, for endless laughs and cocktails: Andy Goffe, Jeff Levin, Tristan Ashby, Jeff Chu, Peter Edmonston and Tyler Rollins. Thank you to my fashion sister Karen Robinovitz. Thanks to my CC’93 crew—my college sisters Jennie Harman and Alicia Carmona. So happy to catch up with Thad and Gabby in Atlanta.
Thank you to the fabulous LA-NY-London crew: Tom Dolby, Tina Hay and Lady (Katie) Hawkesbury.
Thank you to my amazing mama and papa pals, who are there to celebrate or sympathize whenever the occasion calls for it; I’m so blessed to be part of our CH community: Heidi and Andy McKenna, Jill Lorie and Steve Stewart, Dawn and Dan Limerick, Tiffany Moon and Cole Hartman, Celeste and Patrick Vos, Jenni and Adam Gerber, Nicole and Chris Jones, Ava and Ron McKay, Betty and Mike Balian, Lisa and Todd Orlando, Carolyn and Bob Holmes, Bronwyn Savasta and Sean Curley, Gloria Jolley and Scott Johnson, Saher and Bassil Hamideh, Carol Koh and Tony Evans, Heidi and Sasha Madzar, Heather and Eman Kiriakou, Tim and Kathleen Von Der Ahe, Jenny and Andy Van Tuyle, Fatima Gonclaves and Auggie Ruiz, Liz Craft and Adam Fierro, Lindsay and Jason Nesmith, Michelle and Scott Bergman, Amanda and Mark Ewing, Bridget and Mike Johnsen, Vicki and Mark Haller, Ange and Dave Reiner, Dana and Charles Boyd, Maria Cina and Blair Harrison, Jen and Larry Kuklin, Jenn and Paul Davidson, Rhoda Lawrence and Marcuis Harris, Molly and Chad Ludwig, and Maggie and Robert Silverberg.
Thank you to the loving community of authors whom I’m proud to call my friends, especially my Yallfamily: Marie Lu and Primo Gallanosa, Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs, Veronica Roth, Kami Garcia, Sandy London, Brendan Reichs, Leigh Bardugo, Jonathan and Lauren Sanchez, Patrick Dolan and Abbey Gardner.
Thank you to my dear author and publishing pals Jen Besser, Rachel Cohn, Ally Carter, Sarah Mlynowski and Eoin Colfer.
Thank you to my Disney Book Group and Disney Channel family for the good looking out. Thank you, Emily (Em!) Meehan, Naketha (“junior varsity”) Mattocks, Seale (Eddie, darling) Ballenger and MaryAnn (MAZ) Zissimoss.
Thank you to my dear angel pal Rachel Boston.
Thank you to American Heart Association CEO Roman Bowser, who made sure I had the best doctors in LA.
I am so lucky to be so loved.
Last but certainly not least, my oldest friend Gabriel Sandoval helped get my green card, and to thank him for his friendship I asked for more help and put him on my Yallwest board. (Heh.) I can probably never thank you enough for saving my application from the “dead” zone, Gabe.
My family is the reason I get up in the morning with a smile on my face. Every book I write has all my love to Mike, Mattie and Mimi, who make it all worthwhile.
Questions for Discussion
Most Americans are immigrants or have descended from immigrants. What are the benefits and challenges of living in a country founded on immigration?
How does Jasmine view her parents’ contributions to America before she learns the truth about their immigration status? Do her views change or develop? Point to examples from the book to illustrate your answer.
Jasmine’s family faces suspicion and outright hostility because they are immigrants. Why do you think this occurs? Do witnesses have a responsibility to respond to this kind of behavior? Point to examples from the book to support your answer.
Jasmine’s parents legally immigrated to the United States but were not able to renew their work visas. Why did they stay in the country? Could they have made any other choices?
Something in Between is a book about identity. How does Jasmine’s view of herself change and develop over the course of the book? Does she consider herself to be more American or Filipina at times? When? Why? Point to examples in the book to support your answer.
What does Jasmine ultimately come to believe about herself as a person? What values matter most to her? Do her values change when she starts dating Royce? What values matter most to you? How do you think they may develop over time? Why?
Royce’s view on immigration changes over the course of the book. How does starting a friendship and falling in love with Jasmine change his attitude and challenge his opinions? What does Jasmine show him about America that he didn’t recognize before?
At a crucial turning point in the story, Jasmine reveals her immigration status to her friends despite feeling fear that her family could be deported. Why does she lean on her community? What are your communities that you go to for support? How might being an undocumented immigrant limit your support groups? How could those limitations affect a person’s life in different ways?
Jasmine is proud to be a cheerleader and points out the constant false stereotyping of cheerleaders. Does Jasmine herself have personal prejudices? What prejudices do other characters display? How do the various characters develop and grow throughout the book? How do their experiences in the story shape their personal views?
Millie and Jasmine form a close bond during the story, but Jasmine and her family have to deal with racism on top of their immigrant status. How does Jasmine’s friendship with Millie give her the courage to face her fears and stand up for herself and her family?
Kayla and Jasmine are best friends, but dealing with their respective family and dating problems cause them to grow apart for some time. Has this happened to you and a close friend before? What did you learn from the experience?
Royce’s father, the House Speaker of the United States Congress, rallies against an important bill that would help Jasmine’s family to start on a path to citizenship. How does she deal with dating a boy whose family’s political values are different from her own? Is it possible for both sides to be able to listen to and get along with each other? Find examples from the book to support your points.
Are Jasmine and Royce responsible for bringing their families together? If not, why? If so, what can they do to continue to bring their families together?
Jasmine ultimately finds the power to believe in herself. Describe a time when you had to believe in yourself to succeed. What lessons did you learn about yourself?
If you liked SOMETHING IN BETWEEN, be sure to check out another great YA romance read—THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER by #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout!
A riveting story about friendship, survival and finding your voice.
Read it now!
THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER
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If you liked SOMETHING IN BETWEEN, be sure to check out another great YA romance read—WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND by critically acclaimed author Robin Talley!
From the author of LIES WE TELL OURSELVES comes an emotional, empowering story of what happens when love may not be enough to conquer all.
Read it now!
WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND
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> If you loved SOMETHING IN BETWEEN, be sure to check out some more great YA romance reads—the Thunder Road series by author Katie McGarry!
An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible.
NOWHERE BUT HERE (Book 1)
WALK THE EDGE (Book 2)
LONG WAY HOME (Book 3)
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ISBN-13: 9781460395103
Something in Between
Copyright © 2016 by Melissa de la Cruz
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to include the following previously published material:
Excerpt from Choke © 2001 by Chuck Palahniuk. Used by permission of Doubleday, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from The Alchemist © 1988 by Paulo Coelho. English translation © 1993 by Paulo Coelho and Alan R. Clarke. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Excerpt from “The Third and Final Continent” from Interpreter of Maladies © 1999 by Jhumpa Lahiri. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from Invisible Man © 1947, 1948, 1952 by Ralph Ellison. Copyright renewed 1975, 1976, 1980 by Ralph Ellison. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel © 2005 by Jonathan Safran Foer. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from Breath, Eyes, Memory © 1994 by Edwidge Danticat. Used by permission of Soho Press.
Excerpt from The Mango Bride © 2013 by Maria Victoria Soliven Blanco. Used by permission of New American Library, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone © 1999 by J.K. Rowling.
Excerpt from Wind, Sand and Stars © 1939 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. English translation © 1967 by Lewis Galantiere. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from “I, Too” from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes, edited by Arnold Rampersad with David Roessel, Associate Editor. © 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from “America” from Collected Poems 1947-1997 by Allen Ginsberg. © 2006 by the Allen Ginsberg Trust. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Excerpt from “Two Kinds” from The Joy Luck Club © 1989 by Amy Tan. Used by permission of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. © 2007 by ATSS Publications, LLC. Used by permission of Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Excerpt from Death Comes For The Archbishop by Willa Cather, copyright © 1927, 1929 by Willa Cather, copyright renewed 1955, 1957 by The Executors of the Estate of Willa Cather. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
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