First Daughter Series
By Mitali Perkins
Dutton Juvenile, 2007 & 2008
Reviews by Pooja Makhijani
From Kahani Spring 2008


In the first installment of Mitali Perkins’ fun First Daughter series, Extreme American Makeover (Dutton, 2007), readers met Sameera “Sparrow” Righton, whose dad is the popular Republican candidate for president of the United States. Sameera, who was adopted from Pakistan at the age of three, struggles with campaign staffers who want to give her a more “all-American” image: hip clothes, high heels, and even a new haircut. Sameera hates that her father’s staffers nickname her “Sammy” and can’t stand the blog (short for weblog; a personal online journal) that they have created in her name.

Hounded by the press, Sameera becomes involved with a group of South Asian Republican students and begins her own intelligent blog, which takes on some tough political issues. Ultimately, she decides to show America the real Sameera, not the fake “Sammy.”

Sameera’s adventures continue in White House Rules (Dutton, 2008). Now firmly ensconced at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Sameera masters the Viennese waltz for state dinners and watches first-run movies in the White House’s theatre. But life inside the Beltway quickly loses its appeal. Outside the White House, Sameera has little privacy; inside, she feels distanced. Sparrowhawk, a frequent commenter on her blog¬–and “her loudest online critic”–asks Sameera, “Ever had to worry about having enough money for groceries?” and tells her to “wake up... You wouldn’t make it one day in my territory.”

So, Sparrow decides to fly the coop.

Fans of Ms. Perkins’ previous protagonists–Jazz of Monsoon Summer(Delacorte, 2004) and Sunita of The Not-So Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Little, Brown, 2005)–will also love wholesome, conservative Sameera. Computer addicts will also appreciate Sameera’s love of blogging. In fact, fiction meets reality at www.sparrowblog.com, a real-life blog where you can read Sameera’s take on the current crop of potential First Children and tell Sameera what you really think.

Though the book touches upon race, class, and religion, it steers clear of today’s negative political climate. Thankfully, but slightly unbelievably, the Rightons live in an idealized Washington.

At the end, Sameera, with the blessings of her parents, makes some decisions about how she is going to live her life in the spotlight. Ms. Perkins also hints at a third book in this satisfying First Daughter series.