How to Find What You're Not Looking For

Veera Hiranandani

Sept 2021 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Priya Ayyar

About this audiobook

New historical fiction from a Newbery Honor–winning author about how middle schooler Ariel Goldberg's life changes when her big sister elopes following the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, and she's forced to grapple with both her family's prejudice and the antisemitism she experiences, as she defines her own beliefs.

Twelve-year-old Ariel Goldberg's life feels like the moment after the final guest leaves the party. Her family's Jewish bakery runs into financial trouble, and her older sister has eloped with a young man from India following the Supreme Court decision that strikes down laws banning interracial marriage. As change becomes Ariel's only constant, she's left to hone something that will be with her always--her own voice.

Ratings and reviews

This historical fiction set in the 1960s is told in 2nd person through Ariel’s eyes, which was such a great change of pace and I think many middle-grade readers would feel the same! It added an immediacy to the story and instantly drew me into Ariel's world view. Set right after Loving vs Virginia, which overturned the law banning interracial marriages, Ariel’s older sister Leah elopes with Raj, an Inidan man who is not Jewish like Ariel's family. Leah's parents disown her and Leah leaves Ariel to grapple with the sudden absence of her sister and her parents' refusal to accept Raj. To make matters worse, Ariel struggles in school with an undiagnosed learning disorder and a bully. This is undoubtedly a lot for a middle-grade protagonist (and reader) to process, but the author handled it beautifully! Ariel discovers her voice in free verse poetry and finds inner strength through expressing herself through this medium. This is such a lovely story and would be a fantastic addition to classrooms/libraries everywhere!

About the author

Veera Hiranandani, author of the Newbery Honor–winning The Night Diary, earned her MFA in creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of The Whole Story of Half a Girl, a Sydney Taylor Notable Book and a South Asia Book Award finalist, and How to Find What You're Not Looking For, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the New York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize. A former editor at Simon & Schuster, she now teaches in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA Program at The Vermont College of Fine Arts.