Description
Book SynopsisAlthough the United States prides itself as a nation of diversity, the country that boasts of its immigrant past also wrestles with much of its immigrant present. While conflicting attitudes about immigration are debated, newcomersboth legal and otherwisecontinue to arrive on American soil. And books about the immigrant experienceaimed at both adults and youthare published with a fair amount of frequency.In Immigration Narrative in Young Adult Literature: Crossing Borders, Joanne Brown explores the experiences of adolescents as portrayed in young adult novels. Her study features protagonists from a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds in order to provide a complete discussion of the immigration experience of young adults. In this volume, Brown analyzes young adult novels that portray various aspects of the immigrant experiencejourneys to the shores of the United States, the difficulties of adjustment, and the tensions that develop within family units as a result of immigrat
Trade ReviewDeftly weaving together immigration research, adolescent development theory, and literary analyses, Brown explores a series of critical questions about the immigration experience through more than two dozen young adult books....Engrossing and eloquent, Immigration Narratives in Young Adult Literature evidences deep knowledge of and care for both young adult literature and the various facets of immigration, particularly as it "[intensifies] the process of questioning one's identity" during the adolescent passage-"their stories are stories of ordinary people made extraordinary by undertaking an extraordinary experience" (pp. 23-24). The book would serve as an excellent basis for a middle or high school book group, an American Studies curriculum unit, or simply to enlarge understanding of and empathy for the diverse experiences of one's clientele. * VOYA *
This brief study is a useful tool for teachers who are organizing a course on the subject of immigration or a good starting point for scholars who are pursuing further research in this pervasive but largely undertheorized area of children's literature. * Children's Literature Association Quarterly *
