What Makes Us

A viral video reveals a teen's dark family history, leaving him to reckon with his heritage, legacy, and identity in this fiery, conversation-starting novel.

Eran Sharon knows nothing of his father except that he left when Eran was a baby. Now a senior in high school and living with his protective but tight-lipped mother, Eran is a passionate young man deeply interested in social justice and equality. When he learns that the Houston police have launched a program to increase traffic stops, Eran organizes a peaceful protest. But a heated moment at the protest goes viral, and a reporter connects the Sharon family to a tragedy fifteen years earlier -- and asks if Eran is anything like his father, a supposed terrorist. Soon enough, Eran is wondering the same thing, especially when the people he's gone to school and temple with for years start to look at him differently. Timely, powerful, and full of nuance, Rafi Mittlefehldt's sophomore novel confronts the prejudices, fears, and strengths of family and community, striking right to the heart of what makes us who we are.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 10/15/2019
ISBN: 9780763697501
Pages: 352
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.70w x 1.20d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2019
School Library Journal 09/01/2019 pg. 129
Voice of Youth Advocates 10/01/2019 - Recommended - Better Than Most