This compilation of study guides features the personal histories of immigrants and refugees from countries around the globe, including Haiti, Mexico, Syria, Rwanda, and others. Readers will learn more about the melding of cultures through these diverse stories: a perilous escape from Communist-ruled Vietnam; one woman’s journey through seven African countries to America; and memoirs about crossing the US-Mexico border. Common themes in this collection focus on identity, the dehumanization of refugees, and the struggle to find belonging in a new home.
Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Gender, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Immigration
Tags Gender / Feminism, LGBTQ, Immigration / Refugee, Religion / Spirituality, Biography
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Immigration / Refugee, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction
We Need New Names is a work of fiction by Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo. It’s her debut novel, which garnered critical praise upon its publication in 2013. Bulawayo’s narrative centers around 10-year-old Darling and her group of friends, in a Zimbabwean shantytown called Paradise, as the group perceptively observes life around them. When Darling later moves to America (a hope she’s long had), she’s confronted with the America of her dreams as it clashes with... Read We Need New Names Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Immigration / Refugee, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2017
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Play: Drama, Play: Comedy / Satire, Politics / Government, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Immigration / Refugee, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 1989
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags History: Asian, Vietnam War, Immigration / Refugee, Politics / Government, Military / War, History: World, Biography
Publication year 1971
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, WWII / World War II, Holocaust, Immigration / Refugee, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World, Classic Fiction
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (1971) is a children’s novel by Judith Kerr. The novel is set between 1933 and 1936, and traces the life of protagonist Anna, who is nine years old at the novel’s opening, as her family flees Germany for Switzerland, France, and, finally, England. Although the novel is a work of fiction, it is semi-autobiographical. Kerr is of German-Jewish heritage, and her family left Germany once Hitler rose to power in... Read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Summary
Publication year 1993
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Immigration / Refugee, American Literature, Race / Racism, Education, Education, Biography
The memoir When I Was Puerto Rican recounts author Esmeralda Santiago’s early years. It is the first of her three memoirs chronicling her childhood in Puerto Rico to her eventual residence in the United States. It is a coming of age story, but mines richer material than that. Questions of identity—national identity, hereditary identity, familial identity, female identity, spiritual identity, and semantic labels—underpin the stories Santiago tells.The book begins in Puerto Rico, when Esmeralda is... Read When I Was Puerto Rican Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Immigration / Refugee, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Biography
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Gothic Literature, LGBTQ, Magical Realism, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Mental Illness, History: European, Immigration / Refugee, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
White Is for Witching, published in 2009, is Helen Oyeyemi’s third novel, for which she received the Somerset Maugham Award. A finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, White Is for Witching explores both traditional horror and the horrors of racism. Oyeyemi’s novels often center the experience of historically marginalized groups, which perhaps reflects her own background as a Nigerian-born English citizen who attended Cambridge University. White Is for Witching frames histories of racism as supernatural... Read White Is for Witching Summary
Publication year 1999
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Immigration / Refugee, Education, Education, History: U.S., Asian Literature, Chinese Literature
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Self Discovery, Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Indian Literature