Classroom Connections: No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam
age range: 8-12
genre: contemporary fiction
Maria Marianayagam’s website
★ Utter fun.
—Kirkus Review (starred)
★ A wonderful middle school story about family, friendship, and determining the right path. A must-purchase for all libraries.
—School Library Journal (starred)
★ The author rolls generous quantities of Sri Lankan food and customs into a story that is blessedly free of moralistic lectures…adds an array of spicy side dishes ranging from sweet budding romance and a dollop of redemption for the bully to sharp insights into Robert Frost’s poetry.
—Booklist (starred)
Marianayagam meditates on powerful messages surrounding family, identity, and finding friends in unlikely places in this bittersweet debut.
—Publisher’s Weekly
Please tell us about No Purchase Necessary.
Of course! I think the copy for this book states it best:
Ajay Anthonipillai has a million-dollar problem.
Ajay has lived his life dutifully following the rules set by his hyper-strict Tamil parents:
Rule #3: Straight A’s only.
Rule #5: There is no such thing as a no-homework day.
Rule #15: Never owe anyone anything.
However, moving to a new school gives Ajay a new rule to follow: get on eight grade’s most popular kid, Jacob Underson’s good side. When Jacob asks him to do the unthinkable and steal a chocolate bar from Scary Al’s convenience store, Ajay feels this is his chance to finally “get cool” and stop eating alone. But Jacob rejects his theft, leaving Ajay to discover that it contains more than he ever thought a stolen candy bar could—a wrapper with a million-dollar prize.
Faced with an extreme dilemma that sends his life spiraling out of control, Ajay, with the help of a new friend and his little sister Aarthi, will have to navigate his identity and morality in deciding whether or not to claim the one thing that could change his family’s life forever.
What inspired you to write this story?
When I was in fourth grade, our teacher asked a moral question, and our class was divided on what the right thing to do was. Her question was about a kid who loses two tickets to a concert on a bus. Another student finds it and knows who it belongs to, but instead of returning it, they choose to go to the concert and bring the original ticket-owner with them. The teacher asked: was that a fair thing to do? The answers were totally mixed. I wanted to ask a question like that but in the context of a Tamil Sri Lankan family and a boy who needs the money and is desperate to fit in. I find it fascinating how different people can justify their responses, and I wanted kids to enjoy an entertaining story while still thinking through these bigger, deeper questions. Of course, my own experiences as an immigrant middle schooler inspired many of Ajay’s experiences as well!
Could you share a few interesting tidbits about your writing process with this book?
Definitely! When writing this book, I wanted to incorporate different ways for Ajay to reflect on his decisions. Introspection can often slow down the pacing, but it’s an important part of getting into the character’s head and understanding how they’re changing. I wanted Ajay to use different parts of his life as tools to assess his next steps. So, for example, in the book, Ajay is working toward his brown belt in karate, and throughout the story, he thinks about the philosophies of martial arts. He also uses his parents’ rules, his own Catholic faith, and Robert Frost’s poetry to examine his choices. All of this required research to incorporate accurately into the book. But I also wanted to make sure it seamlessly flowed in the story and didn’t slow the plot in a major way.
What are some special challenges associated with writing about a culture and immigrant character your audience might be unfamiliar with?
I think the most challenging part for me was showcasing a family with strict parents and an overachieving, overly-competitive main character. It didn’t make for the most likable, or even relatable cast, especially in the context of North American culture and modern parenting. But I also wanted to demonstrate what love looks like in this family environment because there are lots and lots of kids who come from families like this. Their parents have left their home countries and made huge sacrifices, and these kids feel tremendous pressure to do well and make their parents proud. But that doesn’t mean that these parents love their kids less or that, despite their competitiveness, these kids don’t have other desires like fitting in and making friends. I hope this book gives readers a window into this life and creates a more empathetic approach to these types of students and families.
What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?
I’m so proud of the discussion guide that we were able to include at the end of the book. There are so many great questions about the characters, themes, and the morally grey questions posed throughout the book. I hope teachers can use these questions to get students to think critically about things like classism, morality, immigration, familial love, and self-love.