You Bring the Distant Near

A 2017 National Book Award Longlist Title with six starred reviews!

Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture-for better or worse. Fans of Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star will find a lot to love in this literary tour de force.

From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.

Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

Author Biography

Mitali Perkins has written many novels for young readers, including Rickshaw Girl, a NYPL Top 100 Book; Bamboo People, an ALA Top 10 YA novel; and You Bring the Distant Near, which was a Walter Honor Book, a National Book Award Nominee, and received six starred reviews. Mitali was born in Kolkata, India, and has lived in Bangladesh, India, England, Thailand, Mexico, Cameroon, and Ghana. She currently resides in San Francisco.