Plot Summary:Ama, the daughter of Senegalese asylum seekers, feels completely Dutch. When Ama's mother and brother are arrested, Ama sets off in search of her father through Rotterdam in the middle of winter, hoping to avoid deportation. During this frightening and exciting journey, she discovers her roots, thanks in part to her extraordinary totem animal: a gigantic porcupine.
Ama feels Dutch and has little interest in her parents heritage. When authorities prepare to deport her family, Ama finds solace in the totem animal emerging from her mother's tales of their homeland: a gigantic, magical porcupine