Immigrants & Refugees

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.

In the Country We Love

by Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford

Publication year 2016

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Future

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, Race & Racism, Biography, Social Justice, Politics & Government

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided (2016) is a memoir by American actress Diane Guerrero (with Michelle Burford). The narrative chronicles how the US government deported Guerrero’s undocumented parents to Colombia when she was 14 years old. The title emphasizes the author’s patriotism, which she projects onto her parents and the undocumented community more broadly with the use of the plural. Guerrero writes in simple prose and organizes the material chronologically, relying on... Read In the Country We Love Summary

In the Skin of a Lion

by Michael Ondaatje

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Canadian Literature

In the Skin of a Lion is the sprawling, often dreamlike story of Patrick Lewis, a Canadian man who moves from his rural hometown to Toronto in the 1920s. The novel was written by Canadian-Sri Lankan author Michael Ondaatje and published in 1987. Its loosely chronological narrative offers a patchwork of vivid, mysterious, tenuously connected stories that piece together Patrick’s journey over two decades, from the late 1910s to the late 1930s.The story and its... Read In the Skin of a Lion Summary

Into the Beautiful North

by Luis Alberto Urrea

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age

Tags Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Immigration & Refugeeism, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Travel Literature

Into the Beautiful North is an adventure story that parallels the plot of the Hollywood movie, The Magnificent Seven. Set in the village of Tres Camarones in Sinaloa, Mexico, the novel’s protagonist, nineteen-year-old Nayeli, notices that there are no men left in the village – they have all gone north for more opportunities and a better life. Fearing that the village will be taken over by bandidos, and with no real law enforcement or men... Read Into the Beautiful North Summary

La Linea

by Ann Jaramillo

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Immigration, Teamwork, Siblings, Safety & Danger, Coming of Age, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Perseverance

Tags Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Immigration & Refugeeism, Education, Education, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture

... Read La Linea Summary

La Migra

by Pat Mora

Publication year 1995

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Immigration, Race, Wins & Losses, Power & Greed

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Immigration & Refugeeism

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Letters from Rifka

by Karen Hesse

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Family, Immigration

Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Military & War, European History, World War I, Children`s Literature, Russian Literature, Jewish Literature, Education, Education, World War II, World History

Karen Hesse’s young adult historical novel Letters from Rifka (1992) takes place between 1919 and 1920 and follows a young Jewish girl, Rifka, and her family as they escape persecution in Russia and begin a new life in America. The novel takes the form of letters Rifka writes, but cannot send, to her cousin in Russia, composed in the blank spaces of a volume of poetry by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The work thus combines... Read Letters from Rifka Summary

Listen, Slowly

by Thanhha Lai

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age, Grandparents, Language, Self Discovery

Tags Realistic Fiction, Asian Literature, Grief & Death, Food, Immigration & Refugeeism, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture

Published in 2015, Listen, Slowly is the second novel from Thanhhà Lại, a Vietnamese American author who incorporates her experience as a refugee into her work. The novel was named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book, Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and one of NPR’s Best Books of 2015. This middle-grade novel is the follow-up to her debut Inside Out and Back Again which won the National Book Award and Newbery... Read Listen, Slowly Summary

Lost Children Archive

by Valeria Luiselli

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Language, Immigration, Family

Tags Action & Adventure, Immigration & Refugeeism, Latin American Literature, US History, Modern Classic Fiction, Travel Literature

Lost Children Archive is the first English-language novel by Mexican author Valeria Luiselli. Published in 2019, Lost Children Archive was awarded the 2020 Rathbones Folio Prize and was shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the 2019 Booker Prize. The novel illustrates the intersections and overlaps between a troubled family’s cross-country journey and the treacherous journeys of “lost” children migrating from Mexico to the United States.Lost Children Archive is also an archive in... Read Lost Children Archive Summary

Lucky Broken Girl

by Ruth Behar

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Immigration, Beauty, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Disability, Arts & Culture, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Jewish Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History

Lucky Broken Girl is a middle-grade historical novel by Ruth Behar. Main character Ruthie Mizrahi, an immigrant from Cuba, lives with her parents and brother in 1966 Queens. Together they try to quell their homesickness for Cuba while seeking new opportunities in America. When a car accident injures Ruthie, she becomes bedridden in a full body cast for over a year; during that time, challenges and fears she never anticipated give her a new perspective... Read Lucky Broken Girl Summary

Lupita Manana

by Patricia Beatty

Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Immigration

Tags Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Arts & Culture, Immigration & Refugeeism, Poverty, Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Social Class

In 1981, Patricia Beatty originally published the young adult novel Lupita Mañana about the difficulties faced by two teenage Mexican siblings who immigrate to Southern California to locate their aunt and find dependable jobs. The book has remained popular and in print throughout the years that have followed. The version summarized here is the 2000 Harper Trophy reprint. Though a perennial bestseller that has been exhaustively reviewed, commented upon, and nominated for the Jane Adams... Read Lupita Manana Summary