Mitali Perkins draws inspiration from her own adolescence for her latest novel, You Bring the Distant Near (Farrar Straus Giroux, $17.99). Sisters Tara and Sonia Das each narrate alternating chapters as they recount their family’s relocations from Ghana to Great Britain and, finally, the United States. While their mother, Ranee, can easily relate to Tara’s love of fashion, Sonia’s fierce independence and passion for social activism stand in conflict with the Bengali traditions Ranee holds dear. Eventually, Sonia’s marriage to a black man causes a seemingly permanent estrangement between mother and daughter. But as years pass and Sonia and Tara’s daughters become the new narrators of this story, Ranee’s relationships with her granddaughters bring about transformations in all three generations of Das women. Although set in the 1970s, this tale of immigration, cultural identity, and family ties is poignantly relevant to our society today. Ages 14-18.