Sara Smolinsky, the youngest daughter of an Orthodox rabbi in 1920s New York, rejects her father's conception of Jewish womanhood and makes a stand for independence when she takes a job as an ironer and rents a room of her own.
Argues that society's expectations that people downplay traits that make them different in order to blend into the mainstream poses a threat to basic civil rights and encourages people to celebrate the traits that make them unique.
Explores how Southeast Asian Americans have adapted their skills and cultural traditions to adjust to life in America while remaining true to their culture.
A chance encounter between two families--the Donaldsons, and the Iranian-born Yasdans--at the Baltimore airport prompts an examination about what it means to be an American.
