Lark Writes...on books and life

In The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens, Brooke Hauser enters the International High School in Brooklyn, New York, where the students are immigrants and refugees who speak more than 28 languages and come from more than 45 countries. Some are documented, some are not. All struggle with varying obstacles from loneliness, stress from past traumas, cultural pressures, separation from family, poverty, language barriers, where to go to college, and who to ask to the prom. But they all have their own American Dream.



The stories in this book are humorous, hopeful, and heartbreaking. One 11-year-old Tibetan boy escaped China curled up in a small suitcase; his older brother crossed the Himalayas on foot. Then there's Yasmeen, a gorgeous 17-year-old Yemeni girl who wants to go to college but who is a seriously considering accepting an arranged marriage so she can continue to take care of her younger brother and sister (because both her parents are dead). Other students come from Sierra Leone and Burma with equally moving stories. I found myself rooting for them all.

This is such a great read; it's interesting and well-written, and it feels very timely with the immigration debate that's going on right now. The New Kids is one of those books that I think everyone should read:  it's informative, and compelling, and completely unforgettable.