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Book Reviews

First They Killed My Father: A Daugher of Cambodia Remembers

Author: Loung Ung

First They Killed My Father is a poignant story told from the perspective of a child who is experiencing the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's. This is the true story of the daughter of a high-ranking government official in Phnom Penh in imminent danger because of her family's social status. The memoir is captivating and illustrates the dispersion of  Ung's family, the brutality that she had to endure, and the plight of many of the immigrants from Cambodia. Bolstered by the shocking bravery of one brother and sustained by her sister's gentle kindness amid the hell of civil war, Loung forged ahead to create a courageous new life. Harrowing yet hopeful, insightful and compelling, this story is truly unforgettable. The content is disturbing and violent, but it can be used in a high school classroom.

Year Released: 2000

Grades 10-12

Digging to America

Author: Anne Tyler

When the Yazdans, an Iranian-American couple, and the Donaldsons cross paths at Baltimore's Airport while receiving their adopted Korean baby girls, they begin a relationship that connects three generations. The Donaldsons, Brad and Bitsy- an upper-middle-class couple with a enthusiastic extended family, refer to their little girl as Jin-Ho-while Sami and Ziba Yazdan name their daughter Susan. The story follows Jin-Ho and Susan's formative years via the relationships formed between the families. The decent people in Digging to America live normal, happy lives enriched by their efforts to embrace diversity; something that happens frequently in real life, too.

Year Released: 2006

Grades 9-12

Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl's Story

Author: Pegi Deitz Shea

Tangled Threads chronicles the immigration story of a young Hmong girl whose experiences parallel those of refugees from many parts of the world. Mai Yang is fifteen years old when she and her grandmother leave the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand to reunite with her uncle's family in Providence, Rhode Island. In a realistic, yet empathetic way, the novel tells of Mai Yang's long journey to the United States and her difficult adjustment to life there among members of her assimilated family and indifferent American classmates and teachers. The end of the novel- by which time Mai Yang has found a place for herself in her family, her school and in the Hmong-American community- is a testament to the will of all immigrants. Because of some graphic scenes and difficult subject-matter, this novel would be best for a high-school audience. The reading level makes it well-suited for high-school TESOL students.

Year Released: 2003

Grades 9-12

A Step From Heaven

Author: An Na

A Step from Heaven is told through the eyes of Young Ju in a series of titled vignettes as she grows from preschooler to young woman. When five-year-old Young Ju and her family emigrate from Korea to California, she believes that the United States will be heaven, a place filled with love, happiness and riches. Life there is more difficult, however, than Young Ju and her family had ever imagined. In a classic immigrant child conflict, Young Ju struggles to adjust to American ways and then disobeys her father in order to participate in typically American activities. The pressures of immigration and working long hours at multiple jobs lead Young Ju's father to become an increasingly violent alcoholic. Young Ju, her mother and her brother contend with the damaging effects of the father's abuse until Young Ju valiantly takes steps that set the family on the path to healing. The novel touchingly captures the ordeals of an immigrant family struggling to adjust to life in this country. The reading level and subject mater make this book appropriate for eighth through twelfth grade students. The book may also succeed with some high level TESOL students.

Year Released: 2001

Grades 8-12

Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail

Author: Ruben Martinez

Ruben Martinez's engaging and authoritative account of the Chavez family's struggle to live in Cheran, Mexico and work in the U.S. illustrates how the long-time U.S. message "We have jobs for you" has changed to "We have jobs for you, but you'll have more trouble getting across the line." Three Chavez brothers are killed in a high-speed chase while crossing the border. Martinez followed migrant workers to California, Arkansas and even Norwalk, Wisconsin where he found the Enriquez family working the night shift in a meatpacking plant. Martinez, whose grandfather came to the U.S. as a field hand, brings the readers right into small village life in Southern Mexico-through the treacherous border crossings and into the toxic fields where migrants toil. This is an excellent read for adults, especially with the historical backdrop the author provides.

Year Released: 2002

Grade 12- Adult

Facing the Lion

Author: Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton

This autobiographical story about growing up on the African Savanna of Kenya and ultimately coming to America relates the amazing odyssey of a poor farm boy who becomes an award-winning educator in the United States. While reading the story, students will be able to take a close look at the life of the nomadic Maasai. This fantastic book encourages young readers to see that they can overcome their obstacles and create positive goals in life just as Lekuton did. Lekuton's storytelling is fantastic and will surely capture the attention of readers of all ages.

Year Released: 2003

Grades 5-12

China Boy

Author: Gus Lee

The semi-autobiographical novel, China Boy, set in the predominantly black Panhandle area of San Francisco, California, is the story of seven-year-old Kai Ting, the only son of a high-born Mandarin family. After the tragic death of Kai's mother when he is six, Kai is ill-treated by his white stepmother, who is determined to erase everything Chinese from the Ting home, as well as beaten up by neighborhood bullies. However, Kai is supported by Toussaint and Mama La Rue, who teach Kai about friendship, by Uncle Shim who teaches Kai about noble Chinese traditions and by a group of retired boxers at the YMCA who teach Kai to defend himself. Lee's novel represents the vibrancy of the Asian-American immigrant experience through a thoroughly appealing protagonist and rich supporting characters.

Year Released: 1994

Grades 8-12

Born Confused

Author: Tanuja Desai Hidier

Seventeen-year-old Dimple Lala feels isolated from the Indian community of her immigrant parents as well as the American world of her contemporaries. When her parents arrange a marriage meeting with a "suitable boy," Karsh Kapoor, Dimple has no interest in getting to know him. However, when Dimple's best friend-perfect, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Gwyn- starts to pursue Karsh and to embrace Indian culture in order to attract him, Dimple finds herself learning to appreciate her family's heritage and begins to fall in love with Karsh. The language of the narrative is filled with striking photographs. Born Confused presents an absorbing account of the Indian-American experience from the viewpoint of a perceptive and artistic young woman.

Year Released: 2002

Grades 9-12

Newcomers to America: Stories of Today's Young Immigrants

Author: Judith E. Greenberg

Newcomers to America is an engrossing collection of interviews and conversations that candidly introduce over a dozen immigrants who tell their tales of leaving home and coming to the United States. The interviews capture the adaptation to a new culture and language, steps taken toward gaining citizenship and hardships and successes. Although the immigrants interviewed in this book represented every corner of the world, most of the individuals have settled in the DC-Baltimore area.  The book does a good job explaining immigration from an historical and political perspective through the interviews and the author's additions. The best feature of Newcomers to America is the 20-page collection of recipes in the back of the book that were contributed by the participants in this project.

Year Released: 1996

Grades 8-12

First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants

Author: Edited by: Donald R. Gallo

First Crossing, a collection of ten first-person narratives, tells the stories of teenage immigrants to the United States. While the stories in this collection cover diverse immigration experiences, each story deals with the challenges that are unique to adolescents arriving in a new country. The stories, though fiction, deal with the difficult realities many immigrant teenagers face- realities such as self-doubt, social and linguistic isolation, racism, and family conflict. The reading level and subject matter of this book make it suitable for middle school and high school students.

Year Released: 2004

Grades 7-11