Rana Joon and the One and Only Now

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When author Shideh Etaat taught high school English she would assign her students to write a poem about where they are from, just like Rana’s teacher Mrs. Mogly does. In the book, Mrs. Mogly asks her students to “write a poem about you. It’s about where you’re from, but also what and whom you’re from—all the smells and tastes and memories that make you who you are.” Have your students follow Mrs. Mogly’s assignment and create their own “where I’m from” poems.

Start by reading Rana’s poem aloud. Then read aloud “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon. Invite students to reflect on the poems, compare them, and study the structure they follow. As they think about what to include their own poems, ask them to consider the many different factors that make up who they are—the things about them that are influenced by external forces and those that they choose themselves. Encourage them to describe those things with vivid imagery as they draft and revise their poems.

Create community in your classroom while you get to know your students and they get to know each other when poems are read aloud.

Questions for Discussion or Reflective Writing

1. How does Rana process her grief for Louis? What were some of the ways Rana coped with her grief? How does she feel about grieving? Do you think her grief affected Rana’s judgment in some areas of her life? Why or why not? What else contributes to the choices Rana makes?
2. What is Rana’s relationship with her mother like? How does Rana’s father impact that relationship? How does their relationship change over the course of the book?
3. Rana loves Tupac. What song by Tupac do you think best represents Rana? Why that song? What other song or songs by any artist do you think Rana embodies?
4. Did you feel transported to the San Fernando Valley of the 1990s? What details in the book helped you feel placed in that era? How do you feel about the portrayals of casual sex and casual drug use? What would feel different about Rana and her story had the book been set in modern times and not 1996?
5. Everyone has a right to share their identities on their own terms. How do you think other identities or factors impacted Rana coming out? Why do you think that some people may not want to come out or be visible about a certain part of their identity? What can you do to help someone feel comfortable about sharing or not sharing their identities?

Related Resources

There’s No Right Way to Do Grief by Shideh Etaat from Teen Librarian Toolbox
Hip Hop Reading book recommendations from NEA’s Read Across America
Where I’m From by George Ella Lyon