49 pages • 1 hour read
Neela Vaswani, Silas HouseSame Sun Here
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
September 2008-October 2008Chapter Summaries & Analyses
11 September 2008-13 September 2008 Summary
River usually walks through the woods from the bus stop to his house, and yesterday, as he walked, he heard a big machine in the distance. He followed the sound and saw bulldozers and a dump truck pushing down trees on one of the mountaintops. River told Mawmaw everything he’d seen, and she told him that for the past year, she’s been part of a group that fights against something called “mountaintop removal,” which is what River saw happening in the forest. Coal companies remove entire mountaintops to access coal. Mawmaw explains that coal companies often don’t care about the land or the people who live nearby; they only care about getting coal and making money. River is deeply affected by the nearby destruction of the mountains he loves so much, and he feels like his friends don’t care or understand like he does.
The presidential election is coming up soon, and River notices that Meena has mentioned Obama a lot, since Kiku loves Obama. He explains that Mawmaw plans to vote for Obama, but not many other people in River’s community are voting for him. River also tells Meena that he has an accent too. He knows what it’s like to be made fun of for his accent, since other Americans make fun of a hillbilly accent in movies.
In school, River brought up mountaintop removal and his concerns about it with his science teacher. Since coal mining is an important part of Black Banks’ economy and provides jobs for several of the townspeople, the teacher says it’s none of River’s business. However, River keeps talking about it; he repeats what Mawmaw told him about standing up for what he believes in, and the teacher sends him to the principal’s office. When Mawmaw arrives, she defends River to the principal and his science teacher. When River and Mawmaw get home, they go to the woods to check on the mountaintop. So much damage has been done in just one day, and it makes River feel sick.
River has never met anyone different from him before; Meena is his first friend who doesn’t look like him. Because of his friendship with Meena, River has the courage to talk to Mrs. Patel when he sees her at the grocery store, and the two become friends.
October 17, 2008-October 22, 2008
Meena is sad to hear about the destruction of the trees, and doesn’t understand why all the wood is being cut down and wasted. Environmental destruction happens in India, too. Meena’s family lost their farm because of the building of a dam to generate power for people in Delhi. She thinks River is lucky that Mawmaw stood up for him, since her parents would not do that for her. She has to get good grades and do what the teacher says, “no matter what” (76). Meena feels like she’s learning a lot about American culture from River; she realizes that stereotypes about the South and their prejudice towards non-white people are not always true because River is kind to her.
After hearing about the destruction of trees in River’s community, Meena’s mum told her a story about how Dadi and women in her village fought for their trees by joining hands around the tree trunks. They successfully saved the village trees, but many people have forgotten their heroism: “Mum says this is how it is all over the world. She says often a woman does the work but a man gets the credit” (82). Thinking about River’s mountains reminds Meena of Dadi and home, and she misses them. She feels like her heart is in Mussoorie with Dadi, as well as in New York. Meena recognizes that many people in the world live far away from home and feel homesick.
Talking to Mrs. Lau, Meena finds out that the apartment landlord wants to sell the rent-controlled apartments for a lot of money. He doesn’t allow the exterminator to come to the rent-controlled apartments because he wants those tenants to leave. Spending time with Mrs. Lau, Meena learns about all the animals she cares for, such as the pigeons she feeds and the parakeets and dog she has as pets. One of Mrs. Lau’s parakeets and her dog, Cuba, are friends, and Mrs. Lau says that if different animals can get along, so can different people.
At school, a boy makes fun of Meena’s legs because they’re hairy, so she decides to shave them. Kiku lends her his razor, and even though her mum is upset when she finds out, Meena is glad she did it. Finally, Meena’s happiest news is that her Daddy came home over the weekend, and they had a special time being together as a family. She finishes her letter to River with a translation of Dadi’s most recent letter to her about how things are going in Mussoorie.
September 2008-October 2008 Analysis
In this section, House and Vaswani develop a major part of the plot concerning environmental destruction in River’s community. River feels shocked and upset about the mountaintop removal of Town Mountain. Similarly, Meena expresses sadness knowing many animals will lose their homes, and trees are being wasted. Both young people have grandmothers who stand up for what they believe in: Mawmaw is an activist working against mountaintop removal, and Meena shares a story about Dadi and the women in her village who saved trees from being cut down. House and Vaswani show how the influence of these strong women inspires River and Meena to recognize injustice and the destruction of nature.
River’s discussions with Mawmaw about mountaintop removal introduce another of the book’s central ideas: the rich taking advantage of the poor. Many people in River’s town work for the coal company, therefore, conflict arises between what is best for the environment and what is best for the town economy. Mawmaw tells River that businesses often take advantage of poor communities because they are unable to speak up and fight back. In India, Meena’s family lost their farm because of a dam being built by the government. Furthermore, Meena’s landlord tries to force rent-controlled tenants to leave to sell their apartments for a lot of money. He doesn’t take care of basic needs in the apartments, such as spraying for bugs, in hopes that the tenants will move out. This is another example of how the rich or those in power can easily take advantage of the poor.
Meanwhile, as River faces losing his beloved mountains to the coal company, Meena confronts struggles of her own. She feels torn between being present in New York and missing her life with Dadi in India. She thinks she must choose between the two, even though her heart is in both places. Meena’s journey toward finding her identity as an Indian-American continues throughout the novel as part of her character’s development.
Finally, Meena and River continue to learn from one another. River has a conversation with Chandra, showing how he’s gradually learning to interact respectfully with people who are different from him because of his friendship with Meena. Furthermore, Meena learns that stereotypes about people from the South are not always true. Even though people say that Southerners are racist, Meena understands after getting to know him that River would never hurt or be mean to her because of her skin color.
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