We Didn't Ask for This

by Adi Alsaid

Overview

From Adi Alsaid, the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost, Never Sometimes Always, and North of Happy

Every year, lock-in night changes lives. This year, it might just change the world.

Central International School’s annual lock-in is legendary — and for six students, this year’s lock-in is the answer to their dreams. The chance to finally win the contest. Kiss the guy. Make a friend. Become the star of a story that will be passed down from student to student for years to come.

But then a group of students, led by Marisa Cuevas, stage an eco-protest and chain themselves to the doors, vowing to keep everyone trapped inside until their list of demands is met. While some students rally to the cause, others are devastated as they watch their plans fall apart. And Marisa, once so certain of her goals, must now decide just how far she’ll go to attain them.

“Engrossing.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335146762
Publisher:	Inkyard Press
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	403,990
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Born and raised in Mexico City, Adi Alsaid is the author of several young adult novels including Let's Get Lost, We Didn't Ask For This, and North of Happy, a Kirkus Best Book nominee. He's also the editor of Come On In: 15 stories of immigration and finding home . He currently lives in Chicago with his wife and two cats, where he occasionally spills hot sauce on things (and cats).

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/10/2020

In a timely novel featuring a large cast from around the globe, Alsaid (Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak) underlines ecological issues while showing the positive impact of creative problem solving and collaboration. Lock-in night is a much-anticipated event held annually at Central International School, located in an unnamed country—it’s a night when “people fell in love... stumbled upon new passions... discovered friendships.” But this year’s event may be the most life-changing of all after student activist Marisa and her cronies, demanding a list of 30 changes at the school and globally, chain themselves to the doors, preventing anyone from entering or exiting the building. Lock-in plans are suspended, ruining Peejay’s plan to throw an epic party, Kenji’s improv team showcase, and Amira’s chance to win the decathlon. Ironically, these students become Marisa’s protectors as other angry students attempt to thwart her mission and the lock-in stretches on. Through multiple points of view, Alsaid movingly examines characters’ home lives, their dreams and crushes, and their changing attitudes, leaving readers to decide whether the protest is a success. Ages 13–up. Agent: Pete Knapp, Park & Fine Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Packed with quips and insights, the wry narrative captures the intense yearnings of young adulthood; the ridiculous spectrum of clueless, controlling, and (sometimes) cooperative adults; and the overwhelming inertia of institutions."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"In a timely novel featuring a large cast from around the globe, Alsaid (Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak) underlines ecological issues while showing the positive impact of creative problem solving and collaboration."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

From the Publisher

02/01/2020

Gr 8 Up—Both a wide range of activities and a traditional secret party make the annual lock-in night at Central International School highly anticipated by the diverse, well-to-do student body. Marisa Cuevas plans for months, removing tools from school property and bringing in extra food to stage an ecoprotest during the lock-in. Marisa, Lolo, Eli, Joy, and Malik chain themselves to the exits, swallow the keys, and provide a list of demands, essentially taking 276 students and many teachers hostage. As tension and frustration build, violence toward Marisa begins, and soon a group of Protectors form around her: highly athletic lesbian Amira Wahid; Celeste, a black American student and introvert; improv-loving Kenji Pierce, whose father is building the Lokoloko resort that Marisa is protesting; and Peejay Singh, a gay, charismatic, popular student in charge of planning the party while his brother is in the hospital from a terrible accident. Though the premise is unique, plot details such as the unrealistic reactions of law enforcement are implausible. Readers may find it hard to keep track of so many main characters, and slow pacing may cause them to lose interest in the outcome. VERDICT Not recommended for purchase, as there are better choices with diverse characters and stronger story structure.—Laura Jones, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis

School Library Journal

★ 2020-01-12
An elite international school community reacts to one student's climate protest.

Marisa Cuevas, cued as Latina, is known mostly for being a good student until she, with several followers, chains herself to the doors of Central International School on its legendary high school lock-in night—turning a playful tradition into literal imprisonment. Nobody's leaving, she says, until each of her 30 environmental demands is met. She's prepared for condemnation and even fury from her classmates, but she doesn't expect the unlikely group that forms to protect her. Alsaid (contributor: It's aWhole Spiel, 2019, etc.) takes readers deep into the students' inner lives, winking all the while to offset the protest's tragic urgency: Peejay Singh, half Indian/half Scottish, all charm and popularity, desperate to live up to his older brother's example. Celeste Rollins, the black American new kid who befriends Japanese/British Kenji Pierce through improv but doesn't yet know his terrible secret. Jordi Marcos (ethnicity and nationality unspecified), the outlier who isn't sure himself why he's against the protest—but still is, violently. Finally, Malaysian decathlete Amira Wahid, who finds her mother's strictures falling away under Marisa's fierce gaze. Packed with quips and insights, the wry narrative captures the intense yearnings of young adulthood; the ridiculous spectrum of clueless, controlling, and (sometimes) cooperative adults; and the overwhelming inertia of institutions. Several main characters are queer.

A droll, engrossing exploration of privileged teens striving to do better. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews