What Makes Us
author: Rafi Mittlefehldt
A viral video reveals a teen’s dark family history, leaving him to reckon with his heritage, legacy, and identity in this fiery, conversation-starting novel.
What Makes Us
author: Rafi Mittlefehldt
A viral video reveals a teen’s dark family history, leaving him to reckon with his heritage, legacy, and identity in this fiery, conversation-starting novel.
What Makes Us
author: Rafi Mittlefehldt
A viral video reveals a teen’s dark family history, leaving him to reckon with his heritage, legacy, and identity in this fiery, conversation-starting novel.
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WHAT MAKES US
RAFI MITTLEFEHLDT
haron knows nothing of his father except that he left
1p was a baby. Now a senior in high school and living
whe!
‘with his protective but tight-lipped mother, Eran is a passionate
young man deeply interested in social justice and equality. When
he learns that the Houston police have launched a program to
increase traffic stops, Eran organizes a peaceful protest. But a
heated moment at the protest goes viral, and a reporter connects
the Sharon fami
to a tragedy fifteen years earlier —and asks
hing like his father, a supposed terrorist. Soon
‘enough, Eran is wondering the same thing, especially when the
if Eran is any
people he's gone to school and temple with for years start to look
at him differently. Timely, powerful, and full of nuance, Rafi
Mittlefehldt’s sophomore novel confronts the prejudices, fears,
and strengths of family and community, striking right to the
heart of what makes us who we are.
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o prevent them from knowing, being, and lo
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hope and acceptance” — PubA NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
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mentioned one of the bombers having left behind a wife and three-year-old daughter. It
was a throwaway line, but it stuck with me—I couldn't stop thinking about that girl, who
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was, and how would she process that? How would others react to learning about her family
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What Makes Us began very simply as a story exploring those questions. But as I fleshed out
the two main characters, Eran and Jade, their personalities took the story deeper; toward
matters that are personal to me but relatable to so many. Eran’s volatility and tendency to
react instinctively force him to confront issues of impulse control and anger management.
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self-determination and to ask, What makes a person? As the novel switches between Eran’s
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all against the backdrop of a community on the brink of chaos
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafi Mittlefehldt is a writer who has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance theater
critic, and children’s author. His debut novel was It Looks Like This, Rafi Mittlefehldt lives
with his husband in New York City.
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