At the beginning of The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, the book explains that everything in the universe is connected. It then introduces Daniel Bae, a Korean/American teenager living in New York City whose parents want him to become a doctor even though he really wants to be a poet. Daniel feels a lot of pressure because his older brother disappointed their parents. The story also has Natasha Kingsley, a girl who believes in science and facts instead of fate. Natasha finds out that her family is being deported to Jamaica that same day because they are undocumented immigrants. She spends the day trying to find a lawyer who might help her family stay in the United States, while Daniel is in the city for a college interview, and the beginning of the story sets up how their lives are about to meet.
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24/02/2026 10:11 am
The connection the story Sweet, Difficult Sounds by I.M. Desta and Brighter than the Sun by Daniel Aleman is two very hard working girls who are persistent on getting what they want. In both stories Sol and Nothukula struggle with fitting in and adjusting to what their “new life” has come of. Both stories include sayings in their own home language encouraging them to be the great woman their family can see. Both women in these two stories mainly show the idea of strength from the indigenous when they start fresh and try new things, it gives an insight on how they feel with the new and very big decisions. In the story, Nothukula finds her comfort person that gives her the confidence to speak freely and say the words that Americans say so smoothly, In Brighter than the Sun, Sol finds her best friend that helps her along the way through her harsh move from her home to her friends home to supply and support her family. “All these eyes staring at you. Except they're not really there. They're not really staring at you. Practice your poetry with this in mind. Keep reminding yourself as you speak and soon it won't matter if they are really there or not.” (I.M. Desta 67) “After i finish eating, i thank Nancy and Ari a million times for saving me food and sitting at the table with me, while they insist it’s great to have me here.” (Aleman 58)
What difficulties does your character face? Do they have support from others during these difficulties? Does having the support of others (family, friends, etc) help them overcome their difficulties?
For participants:
-Never use a peer’s real name, only use their username
-Respond to the question based on your book, not your personal opinion
-If the question doesn’t directly apply to something that appears in your book, be clear about what you’re seeing instead
-Make sure to include a summary of your book so far
-Include a quote with the proper citation to give context to your answer
-Acknowledge your lead’s reply to your response with a comment that clarifies information, offer a question to them about their book, or simply give a thumbs up
To exceed: Incorporate a quote from a different Ted Talk or a different CommonLit text that has not yet been discussed in your group
astark27 reacted
04/03/2026 10:35 am
In my book, Out Of Nowhere, by Maria Padian, there are technically 2 main characters, but were going to focus on Saeed, the boy from Somalia. He is an extremely talented soccer player and is very important to his team. Tom, the other main character, doesn't understand Saeed too well, and it can make it awkward at times. The book shows perspectives from immigrants, and it can be fascinating to learn about some of their differences. Some difficulties Saeed has are dealing with language barriers and having to deal with bullying or people simply messing with him. He has support from his soccer team and from Tom. One of the first things Tom did for him was help him sign up for the soccer team and helped fill out his papers. “‘I’ll put my mother down as Saeed’s second emergency contact. And I’ll write my doctor and dentist. When you get your own, you can change it” (Padian 19). This quote shows where Tom was helping Saeed fill out his papers, and this made it easier for Saeed to trust people, especially Tom.
jboisvert27 reacted
04/03/2026 11:13 am
In my book The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon is about a girl named Natasha that is struggling with facing deportation because they are non-documented immigrants. Because of this, Natasha is trying to wrap her head around the fact that she’s being taken away from the life she’s lived for so long and the only thing she really remembers. Those that are involved in the deportation process are telling her that she will be fine back in Jamaica, but nobody knows the life she lived there before moving.
Natasha struggles with nobody understanding what it's like back home in Jamaica and how her life here is the life she wants, not back in Jamaica. Her deportation officer is saying she will be fine back home, but nobody understands the life she had to live when she was back home. “ I’ve been to your country. I’ve been to Jamaica’ he says. He’s smiling at the memory of his trip. ‘ I had a nice time. Everything is irie there, man. You’ll be alright.’” ( Yoon 21 ) This shows that nobody will understand the life she had to live, people on every see the vacation side of Jamaica.
jboisvert27 reacted
25/03/2026 9:25 am
In Brighter Than the Sun, Sol is facing similar issues but she also has a good support from her best friend and her mom that she stays with while in the U.S. Nancy, her friends mother makes her feel at home and provides her with things as if she is her daughter as well making her feel more welcomed and at home.
25/03/2026 9:42 am
what if Natasha had a support system or a companion to understand her struggles in Jamaica?
25/03/2026 9:45 am
So at this point in your book does Daniel become aware of the fact that she and her family are being deported by the end of the day?
30/03/2026 8:27 am
In my book, Brighter than the sun by Daniel Aleman, Sol, a 16 year old who lives in Tijuana, Mexico but crosses the U.S. Mexico border every day to attend high school in the United States so that she can one day go to college. She then takes a part time job to help support her family. However, trying to balance school, work and family responsibilities drags her down when her grades begin to drop, leading to her questioning if she can even succeed in her dreams.
Sol’s family is struggling after her mother’s passing and their restaurant starts to fail, so she takes on a part time job in San Diego to help her support her family financially meaning she left her family at home and lived with her best friend and her friend’s mom during the week. She eventually becomes exhausted and overwhelmed with trying to deal with school, work including family responsibilities. Her grades begin to drop and she starts to question whether it is still possible or worth the sacrifice. ”Sol begins to feel pressure of balancing everything in her life. At one point she admits, ‘I’m so tired of trying to hold everything together.’ (Aleman 253). This quote shows how overwhelmed Sol feels as she tries to manage everything all at once by herself.
