Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card

In this timely memoir, Iranian immigrant Sara Saedi recounts her upbringing in the United States after her family brought her and her older sister to the United States when she was just two during the Iranian Revolution. Though her parents were socially liberal compared to most other Iranian parents, Sara still struggled with being caught between Iranian traditions (such as not being allowed to pluck the hair in one’s unibrow until the age of 15) and growing up in love with American culture and wanting to fit in. She eloquently demonstrates what it is like to live with the frustration of trying to get through the process of becoming a legal, documented immigrant while also deftly, and at times, hilariously, depicting the typical angst of a teenage girl with chronic acne, frizzy hair, and no date to prom, all while accurately portraying life in the 80’s and 90’s with an asundry of cultural references that is never overdone. Additionally, she describes her parents and grandparents sympathetically and admirably while demonstrating the importance of family to Iranians. The memoir, which includes diary entries from her teen years and pictures, provides an enlightening and entertaining look at what it’s like to be an Iranian immigrant at a time when it’s become much more difficult to be one.